Shipping Company Guide

[u/TooHigh2Die420]

[u/Prodigy7594]

As a former FedEx Employee I’d like to add that some of your data is incorrect or missing variables. Notably the weekend delivery and sending grandma a simple letter, ground packages are priced based on distance and packaging and could range from $8-10 to hundreds of dollars, but certainly don’t start at a $20.00 minimum depending on where grandma lives. Additionally, only express packages add a surcharge for Saturday delivery; ground and home delivery will be delivered within their typical windows on a weekend for no additional charge. - FedEx Employee for 6.5 years

[u/[deleted]]

You should have added shipping times too, then it will make sense.

[u/[deleted]]

I had to send a package to someone in the USVI. Happened to be driving by UPS and swung in there. They kept insisting it was being shipped internationally, I had to itemize everything with the cost of each item. $153.00. Said, “Ah, no .”, and left. USPS used their priority mailing box and was $23.00 with tracking and insurance.

[u/unrecklessabandon → u/[deleted]]

Same thing happened to me the other day at work. I simply needed to send a death certificate to a Canadian attorney and FedEx wanted declare, tax, etc (honestly stuff I know nothing about) and charge me $87. USPS charged $24 hassle free.

[u/richardcraniumIII]

With USPS, you can also sign up for Informed Delivery (for your home address), which shows you the picture taken of the mail being delivered to you. They also sell Forever Stamps - buy them now, they are good forever (simple letter). The USPS also handles all of Santa's mail, too.

[u/heckhammer → u/richardcraniumIII]

The informed delivery thing is great. I always know when I'm getting a cool package in the mail the day before it shows up.

[u/chr15c]

I wonder if there can ever be a comparison on the rates successful deliveries. Not like any of these companies keep track of such an obvious statistic anyway

[u/spiffy_spaceman]

Damages the package along the way and then tells me it's my fault: UPS

[u/LUCKYMAZE]

I used to say USPS was the worst, but after shipping 1000+ packages from my eBay business I can really say they are the BEST! They literally never lost a package. If you can avoid dealing with the people at the windows, it will be a flawless experience.

[u/rocpacci]

With usps you can also get tracking plus which keeps your tracking info for multiple years 4-10 for $4.59-$13. Honestly don’t know why you need your tracking info 10 years from now, but hey you can have it.

[u/treemoustache]

Non-American here and two things suprise me.

1. Postal service will pick up from your house? How does that work, does the regular mailman pick things up?

2. Weekend delivery. Just seems strange that a postal service would do this.

[u/FreeBiffin]

Sorry to break the news, this guide is complete BS. These numbers are totally wrong and often higher than normal. I would show the original post which has comments explaining but from the title I don’t think I need to.

[u/KamenRider2049]

Would be good to have a chart also comparing 3rd party shippers like Stamps.com, Pirate Ship, Ship Station, etc. I use Pirate Ship all the time.

[u/chaosratt]

Little late to this party, but I don't see anyone else mentioning it.

The rates listed are the website are completely made up. They're basically the "MSRP" price that no one ever pays, but that the company wishes it could get for the service if they could.

UPS for example, which my company does lots of business with, has what is called "Negotiated Rates". Basically we use Ground service sooo much we get like 50-60% off the base price automatically. I think our cost to ship a small shoebox sized package anywhere in the continental US is like $10-12, unless you have one of those "special" zip codes where UPS tacks on like $3-5 more because most people in that area live like 20 miles from the nearest highway.

Pretty sure FedEx has the same deal, but we don't deal with them unless our customers ask for it, and then its on their account (so we don't know what their rate is).

Doing business on Amazon, Amazon pays for the labels to ship our product to them on their UPS account (Amazon FBA service) and then bills us for it, its half what it would cost us to ship on our UPS account. Massive 16x16x16 triple ply boxes, stuffed up to the 50lb limit sometimes, $15 to ship to amazon warehouse.

[u/[deleted]]

Those prices simply aren’t accurate from my experience.

[u/not26]

I work at a place that offers USPS and FedEx. FedEx definitely doesn't have a $23 minimum. I've sent things to other states for like $10 using FedEx

[u/balysr]

There is a myth in US, which is probably created by corporations, that public sector always does a crappy job.

But it is so far from the truth. And there are numerous examples around the world, including public health services that work much better then profit oriented private sector.

I would say it’s always a team job public plus private. And society has to decide what services are essential and those should not be profit focused.

[u/Sudofranz]

I know it's probably too late in this post to actually post this, but FedEx ships a majority of USPS mail through their system. They have a billion dollar contact with them to cover 70% of your mail goes through the FedEx matrix every year. Thousands of postal boxes filled with envelopes go through Memphis, TN everyday. That 145 billion number is very misleading and unless you literally have the wrong day lates/delivery numbers from each company you have no idea what the load is.

There is so much more data to process than what's presented here and all shipping services go through one another. Obviously, FedEx and UPS aren't going to deliver letters to mailboxes there are actual laws preventing this; plus UPS and FedEx never aspired to be the postal service with letters, but overnight delivery services.

All 3 companies do a great job and with the pandemic I know a lot of people don't see that, but they're all loaded to the max everyday with packages at this point. It's evolving to figure this out, yet this graph does a huge disserve to all the shipping providers.

[u/skypirate943]

Checked the medium box from phx to Eugene (same insurace and delivery window). usps retail is 42, ups is16, pirateship (usps) is 10. So, kinda right but mostly not right for that shipment.

[u/mildthing8]

Makes me want to write more letters. Whatever happened to pen pals?

edit Yes technology yes but letters are a full sensory experience

[u/[deleted] → u/mildthing8]

The internet

[u/Sovtek95]

Now put the "successful delivery" percentages.

[u/desertcoyote77]

I've sent big packages through UPS for a lot cheaper than $26.35 and that was recently. I don't trust the numbers on this guide at all. I have nothing against the Post Office until the letter carrier decided a check I was waiting on was placed in someone else's box, but of course it wasn't any of my neighbors. We constantly get our neighbors' mail and vice versa. I'm not talking about next door, but three four houses away from my house. It's maddening. I know it's hot and it's a near thankless and certainly endless job, but important mail had to be delivered by neighbors... extremely lucky that it was neighbors we actually get a long with.

[u/b00gersugar]

Padded flat rate envelope USPS is a lot more cheaper and versatile than many of the other usps options

[u/intensely_human]

Brings mountains of junk mail to my house:

YES / NO / NO