Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion U.S.P.S. Shipping Cost Changes Affect Us All!

I know many of you ship and receive gas and oil goodies via the U.S.P.S. There were certain weights and box sizes that made the U.S.P.S. the shipper I would use sometimes (compared to FedEx Ground or U.P.S.).

All of these shippers had a package rate increase around the middle of January. Well, the U.S.P.S. went one better. In addition to raising their package rates, they also eliminated the price discount they previously extended to all online "Click-N-Ship" customers (like me). So now, the online Click-N-Ship rate is the same as going into the post office and paying retail over the counter.

In the past, I have always passed along the Click-N-Ship discount to the person I was shipping to. Well now, that unfortunately is a thing of the past. I just wanted to let folks know about this very recent U.S.P.S. change, since it affects both buyers and sellers. John

Last week the Priority Mail small box flat rate increased from $5.95 to $6.80.
Joe

good info.. ...

Yeah they increased the rates despite over a %50 reduction in their fuel expenses. I ship FedEx ground for all packages as their rates are the best and so is the service

Medium flat rate went from $12.65 to $13.45

I got back at them today though! I shipped 3 Veeder Root motor kits in a medium flat rate box, and the postal employee told me that it would have cost over $45 otherwise!

It's all kind of disappointing because I bought a new postal scale and got all set up for the "click-N-ship" thing, and now it isn't worth my time to bother with!

I signed up w/Click N Ship last year,and they sent me a free digital postal scale for doing so.
Now that the discount is gone,I suspect this scale will break shortly too.

Well this goes in hand with how does a company like FedEx which has far less claims and better service has cheaper rates and makes billions of dollars profits a year and USPS loses billions LOL

I shipped 6 30" sign rings last week with USPS (after the increase). It was twice as much as UPS. I'll be going back to UPS in the future! The rate increases are another example of why government doesn't need to dabble in business! Instead of cutting unnecessary expenses within the USPS, they choose to raise rates.

You have to do your homework to find the best rate. Sometimes USPS is cheaper than FedEx and sometimes not, all depends on size and weight.

I downloaded each of their apps onto my phone and do a quick price comparison to find the best rate for my customers.

You can't bet the USPS on the smaller items.

Tom.

Tom is right. USPS is still the best on small items and short distance items.

FedEx is the best for larger items or long distances.


On a side note, anyone that has paypal can do click-n-ship i believe. Here is the link, just choose USPS or UPS and then fill out the info, and it creates the label to print out.
https://www.paypal.com/shipnow

I have used bikeflights.com on numerous occasions and they have always been cheaper on larger items, They are a mainly a bicycle shipping company who ships thru Fedex. A very easy site to navigate thru and get a cost estimate.

I also use Greyhound Package Express on larger items. Their rates can't be beat! The only drawback is you have drop off and pick up the packages at the Bus Station. It also takes an extra day or two depending on distance. If you're not in a rush and are able to travel to the bus station, Greyhound is great for large/heavy packages. Maximum size is 85" any length, not combined. Weight limit is 100 or 150 lbs.

USPS & Fed Ex.

Sign up for daily pick-up if you do that much business.

Put a sign under your mail box that says "YES" on one side, on the other side put 'NO" for both USPS & FedEx. You never have to even answer the door or go to either of the places.

It is not how much the shipping is, it is how far you have to travel to the shipper to send the package.

Both USPS and FedEX have pick-ups if you can print out the shipping label.

Jack Sim

anyone can schedule a usps pickup for any amount of packages...

https://tools.usps.com/go/ScheduleAPickupAction!input.action


unless you have something arranged, i believe FedEx charges for pickups

Click-N-Ship adjusts pricing error
Posted Feb. 1 at 12:11 p.m.

USPS recently fixed a mistake in its online Click-N-Ship offerings.

The implementation of the Jan. 17 price change mistakenly removed Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes A and B from the Click-N-Ship offerings.

Customers who use Click-N-Ship to print their labels will now be charged the rates indicated on page 11 of the online price list.