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People choose different shipping carriers for different reasons. Maybe for how the package will be delivered, the cost, or familiarity with the carrier. However, making an educated decision regarding which carrier is right for you will save you money in the long run and boost your efficiency. Choosing the right carrier can be a task, but don’t worry. This article will help you.
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The Three Major Carriers
When it comes to shipping carriers, there are USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Let’s basically compare shipping rates all carriers.
USPS – the United States Postal Service
USPS is no doubt the best carrier for shipping small and medium sized packages to any state in the country. It is also the only carrier that is officially authorized to deliver mail to all residential addresses in the United States. Furthermore, the carrier also offers postage discounts, e.g. Commercial Plus Pricing, which small businesses can access when buying postage via shipping software.
UPS – the United Parcel Service
UPS is great when you want to ship heavier, larger packages. UPS allows you to ship packages weighing up to 150 pounds. So, if you want to ship a heavy or large item, UPS can be the best choice. However, be careful when shipping small packages UPS. This is because their trucks are designed to transport heavy, large packages and occasionally large packages may crush relatively smaller parcels.
FedEx – Federal Express
FedEx is highly popular for overnight shipping. Although their rates tend to be relatively pricier than USPS and UPS, FedEx is your best option if you want to deliver a parcel overnight. One thing you should note is that FedEx prices each shipment based on the actual weight or the dimensional weight of the package – whichever is greater.
Choosing the Right Shipping Carrier
The shipping carrier you should choose depends on different scenarios as well as what you want to ship. Following are some of those scenarios:
Shipping Papers
Paper doesn’t weight a whole lot. So, unless you are sending a thousand-page manuscript, you will almost always be better off shipping with USPS. This is because USPS offers the most competitive pricing on lightweight, smaller envelopes under 13 ounces. It can also be beneficial to ship them via USPS First Class Mail.
Shipping a Small Box
USPS is a recommended carrier if you want to ship a small package. The main reason for this is Priority Mail Cubic. It allows you to ship small rectangular boxes at great discounts, as long as their total weight doesn’t exceed 20 pounds, and they fall within a certain size.
Shipping Large, Heavy Items
Choosing UPS is your best move if the item you want to ship weighs a lot. Strike USPS from the board as they won’t even ship packages weighing over 70 pounds. While FedEx also allows for packages up to 150 pounds each, the overall rates of UPS will beat FedEx’s every time thanks to their UPS Ground service.