The pricing charts for USPS, UPS, and FedEx are hard to coordinate since they use different measurements and their shipping zones vary a bit. When I tried to figure out how to ship product outside of my state, it seemed like I was stuck with an $8-12 price tag for any medium sized box, which was too much for our products. I felt frustrated with Amazon.com for creating a marketplace in which we expect free shipping. Then I found out about USPS’ Regional Rate Boxes.
USPS
Does anyone else know about USPS Regional Rate boxes? They are different than the Flat Rate Boxes you may be familiar with. The Post Office came out these boxes last year and they can be a lifesaver for a small business. Instead of the relatively expensive medium and large Flat-Rate boxes, the Regional Rate boxes are $5-6 when shipping within your region. The intent of this service is to encourage large distributors to create regional distribution centers. If most of your business is done within your region (like many of Vermont’s small businesses), you can ship anything up to 15 pounds in a Regional Rate Box A. This means from Burlington, Vermont I can ship up to 15 pounds of product to Boston for a few pennies over 5 dollars. You have to order the boxes in advance (plan for 10 days shipping), but they are absolutely free.
The prices for the Regional Rate boxes were even competitive when shipping outside of my region (zones 0, 1 and 2). I could ship all the way to Florida for less than it would cost to do the same with UPS and FedEx. Around Colorado is where the prices started to match those of the Flat Rate boxes, giving you about half the country to ship to for less than what most others are paying.
What about UPS and FedEx?
The prices for UPS and FedEx will be different based on what you’re shipping (size and weight), but for the most part UPS and FedEx’s prices were the best for large and/or heavy packages that needed to go cross-country. We had some problems with UPS’ delivery times since it was a perishable product, but their prices were just about the same as FedEx.
In short, the Post Office has the best option for small businesses. Despite their financial troubles, they are coming out with some great ways to innovate shipping.