16 New Freebies this Week.
UPS, FedEx ad USPS are one of the famous shipping companies that help people to ship their products. If you are the one who needs a shipping company frequently or you have a small e-commerce business in which you need a shipping company frequently. Whatever could be the reason you need to find the best company so that you could save money. FedEx, UPS and USPS are one of the most famous companies in the country to ship products to your desired destinations. If you want to choose the best, it depends on what factors does your definition of best depends. I have used all of these companies along with some others too and today I will share my personal experience with you, I will tell you about some of the ins and outs of these service. How is the service of these companies? What is the price? How could be one better than the other? These are the questions I will be talking about today.
I can’t decide the best for you, but you can choose which is one is best for you. You can choose according to the price, service and some other shipping facts. As the costs and other factors vary with each company. So let’s first talk about the some features regarding price of these 3 companies,
Price Comparison
1 USPS
United States Postal Services shortly known as USPS was founded by the United States Congress in 1971 in Washington DC. This postal service company works independently under the commands of the United States federal government. USPS is always known for its cheap shipping prices and they are less than of the UPS or FedEx. But unlike FedEx and UPS, the price also depends on the size of the box. So it is better to make sure you have a standard box size for shipping. To determine the USPS rates I have took a 2-pound box which is to be shipped from Minneapolis to Phoenix like the other two. The ground shipping costs only $11.60. The Priority Mail 1-Day and Priority 1-Day AM costs $46.20 and $51.20 respectively. The price for the Priority 2-Day Large box is $21.10, for the medium box it was $15.05 and for the small box it was $8.30. One of the amazing things you will find here is that the 2 day priority shipping is cheaper than the ground shipping.
USPS has another amazing feature that could help you to save more money. If you have a business of Media items such as Books, CDs, DVDs, manuscripts and such type of other items, you can save a lot of money then. If you have anything that comes in the category of Media mail you can then use this option and save a good amount of money. For instance the same 2 pound box stated above will cost only $3.33 for ground shipping if it was Media Mail. This option is such a money saver that it could help you save a hundreds of dollars monthly if you use to send media items frequently.
2 FedEx
One of the famous companies for shipping in the country is FedEx. If you visit their website, you will get to know that the price for shipping a product varies on a number of factors. The main factors that determines the shipping cost of a product are package weight, dimensional weight and delivery time. On FedEx you can get a free shipping box for your delivery. If you want to know the price for shipping your products before visiting their actual location, you can use their website, on their website you can find an estimator option from which you can determine the price for shipping of your product by providing some of the essential details. Keep in mind that this price could vary.
For a 2 pound box that is to be shipped from Minneapolis to Phoenix, let me tell you about the prices for different delivery options. If you want to use the First Overnight option, then it will cost $108.46. The price for Priority ON and Standard ON is $77.22 and $72.44 respectively. While the price for two-day AM, Two-day and Three day is $37.68, $32.89 and $24.18 respectively. These prices are for the box and you can use whatever size of box you want. But if you change the packaging in to tube shaped then the prices go up. For a U-shaped packing, it will cost $155.71 for a First Overnight shipping. While for the priority ON and standard ON it is $124.48 and $123.07 respectively. So you saw how much the price changes with the packaging. So if you are using FedEx do not change the standard packaging.
3 UPS
United Parcel Service shortly known as UPS was founded in 1907 in Washington. They are famous for their cheap shipping and made a great name in the field of delivering goods. To get an estimate of the rates you can use their store instead of going to the store directly. Their site has an estimator that you can use to get knowledge about their charges. When I checked for the 2-pound package that was to be shipped from Minneapolis to Phoenix. The cost for Next Day AM was $108.74 and for Next Day and Next Day Saver was $78.51 and $73.58 respectively. The Second Day option cost $35.83 but there was no information for the Three Day and the Ground Shipping. UPS and FedEx do not have the ground shipping estimator on their website, but if you want to know the rates you can make a visit to the nearest location of both. Both does not give ground shipping estimates because of the destination and size of the parcel. But I will always prefer ground shipping over other options because it is much cheaper than other options.
Conclusion
So, after comparing all these options, it is clearly shown that USPS is the cheapest option from all the three. So, if the money is the only factor that matters to you then you can take the USPS for shipping products. Now let’s about some other factors on which you can choose the best,
Insurance
USPS, FedEx and UPS all of the three companies provides insurance for your package and it is up to you to decide that whether you want to take insurance on your packages or not. You need to ask yourself some questions before you pay for the insurance so that you could answer yourself for the insurance payment. You need to think that will you have to pay for item if it is damaged during shipping? Or does the parcel that important? It is up to you to decide the worth of the package and then take the insurance or not. The prices for the insurance depends on the value of the parcel that you are shipping while in most cases all the three companies offer really reasonable prices.
I will suggest that if your parcel is important for you, then do take the insurance so that in case of any mishaps your lost could be compensated.
Tracking Service
Tracking service enables you to track your order, you can get information about your parcel that where it is currently and at what time it will reach at the final destination. All three companies provide tracking services but USPS tracking service is a bit different from others. When you ship a parcel through UPS and FedEx, your parcel automatically gets a tracking number. The tracking number can be used to find details about the package like I said earlier that where the package is and when it will arrive. You can use the company’s website that you are using. Now talking about USPS, USPS only offers tracking on a number of packages, you cannot have a tracking id of a single box you send. You can still get a tracking number but the details are not enough like they are in UPS and FedEx. You can ask the receptionist of your USPS location about the tracking options.
So when it comes to tracking I will definitely suggest UPS and FedEx has a more detailed tracking systems than of the USPS and If you need a parcel urgently, then you should use UPS or FedEx because USPS tracking service will not provide you enough information. If you can tolerate the tracking service, you can still choose the US Postal Service.
Customer Service and Care
Another factor that might change your answer to best shipping company is the customer service and care. Which company has the best customer service and care? The answer to this is difficult and it depends on how your local outlet management is because it depends upon the persons. Although all the companies try hard to be the best but there are some branches which are good than other so it is up to you to decide by visiting of all of the local outlets and determining the best customer service and care.
Conclusion
So, these were some of the pros and cons of the 3 famous shipping companies of the country. Always remember to take certain precautions to protect your parcel. You should try to use the right size of box, try to use some protective materials between the product and the box and label it clearly and properly so that it could be handled with care.
Now it is up to you to decide which company is best for you and what company will you choose for shipping. You can get some discounts and details by asking the receptionist about them. Do comment in the comment section below and also share your experiences regarding shipping the parcel from these companies.
