How to make sure holiday packages get there on time
NEW YORK — If you’re looking for a deal on festival shipping, your conveyance for mailed matter carrier may have existence able to release.
The U.S. Postal Service offers several boxes and envelopes at fixed prices ranging from $4.80 to $16.50, regardless of their weight or destination in the country.
You can even go away online to have your mail carrier drop off and pick up the boxes at your house. Print the postage at home and you’ll also get a 3.5 percent discount on antecedence or squeeze out mail.
“It’s proper in the same manner as having a post berth at your fingertips,” reported George Flood, a spokesman for the agency.
In fact, a novel test by Consumer Reports found shipping through the post office was generally a better deal than using FedEx or UPS for local and long-distance shipping.
That’session because the put in the mail office already has a huge delivery network in place that operates regardless of any additional business.
“If you’re shipping to a small town in the middle of nowhere, you know the post office is delivering in that place. With FedEx or UPS, you have to pay for a wares and gas for the driver to get there,” said Mark Perton, executive editor of ConsumerReports.org.
Flat-rate boxes and envelopes take a trip fairly quickly, likewise; priority mail is delivered in pair to three days and categorical mail is guaranteed overnight.
Boxes come in three sizes:
• 12 inches by 12 inches by 5 ½ inches
• 11 inches by 8 ½ inches by 5 ½ inches
• 11-7/8 inches by dint of. 3-3/8 inches by 13-5/8 inches
In contrast, FedEx and UPS charge based on weight and degree of remoteness, so costs can add up.
The test by Consumer Reports, for instance, found big differentials when shipping a book for next day delivery from Yonkers, N.Y., to Oregon. The Postal Service charged $16.50 during a flat-rate envelope, time UPS charged $62.87 and FedEx charged $54.57.
If you’re not using a flat-rate box or envelope, however, mailing packages through FedEx or UPS may be slightly cheaper betwixt certain cities. One example provided by UPS, for cite, would be shipping a 10-pound parcel from New York to Los Angeles.
The cost would be $17.05 with UPS ground delivery, versus $27.55 for priority mail with the postal avail.
The test by the agency of Consumer Reports also found sending a 5-pound package from New York to California through ground was slightly cheaper with FedEx ($10.06) than through the postal service ($10.58) or UPS ($13.99).
Additionally, FedEx and UPS include tracking in prices and cover packages for up to $100 of declared hold in high esteem. Tracking and insurance at the post position cost extra.
FedEx and UPS also show a small in number services not available at the column office. Procrastinators, for instance, could opt to have packages delivered the same day or by early the next peep of day to certain areas (albeit with regard to a very steep price).
For those who opt for FedEx or UPS, there are a few ways to keep costs down:
Drop not upon the package at a FedEx or UPS store. There’s a $4 indict for scheduling a pickup from your home.
Pack items yourself. Otherwise, you may be charged for packing materials.
Discounts are available for account holders. At FedEx, clients get betwixt 8 and 16 percent off certain shipments, said to Carla Boyd, a company spokeswoman. Packaging shipments properly to keep its weight down will too impair costs, she said.
