The agency provides a huge line-up of shipping services to its members. The huge lineup of services is to meet the different shipping demands of its customers. Among the different services the agency provides is the most popular one, the flat rate shipping.
With that said, this article sought to answer queries like how does flat rate shipping works? How fast is the flat rate shipping among other many queries?
How fast is USPS flat rate shipping?
The USPS flat rate shipping is divided into two sub-categories; priority mail and priority mail express.
The speed of delivery depends on the category which a customer has decided to use. The USPS priority mails ship between one and three days on the other hand flat rate packages bought under the priority mail express deliver speedier than the priority mail, this is because it takes only one to two days to deliver a package. The prices are dependent on the category of delivery and the dimensions of the box purchased for delivery.
What is the USPS flat rate shipping?
USPS flat rate shipping is one of the shipping services provided by the USPS agency. The flat rate shipping is found under the priority mail express or priority mail categories. USPS allows a customer to buy a box at the prevailing flat rate and ship the box without considering its weight, all these are transacted under a fixed price (the flat rate fees).
The flat rate shipping amounts are dependent on some variables and hence can vary depending on the destination of the package and the delivery category that one has preferred to use (priority mail express or priority mail). Flat rate shipping costs are however independent of weight, as compared to a typical package.
How does the USPS flat rate shipping work?
Just like all other shipping companies, the price is always dependent on some factors including the dimensions of the package, the weight of the package, and the destination where the package is to be dropped. These factors determine the number of fees that are to be charged when shipping a package.
However, the USPS flat rate shipping operates differently, instead of taking into consideration the three aforementioned factors, USPS determines the cost of shipping a package by considering the distance that the package will cover before reaching its destination and the dimensions of the package.
Flat rate shipping boxes, how much do they cost, and what are they used for?
There are four different size variations that the USPS flat shipping boxes come in, small, medium one and two, and large.
For small packages like electronics (phones, small cameras, watches, and other smaller electronics) the small flat rate box is very ideal, this is because it comes just for around nine bucks. The medium one flat rate shipping box costs 14. 50 bucks and is suitable for parceling items such as shoes and other items of such nature and size. The third box is the medium two flat rate shipping box which is more of sideloading than top-loading. The box is kind of bigger than the medium one and is perfectly suitable for stationeries, it is surprisingly the same cost as the medium. Lastly, the large flat rate shipping box comes for 20 bucks and is suited for packing much larger electronics such as laptops. Desktop monitors among others.
USPS flat rate shipping features
Being under the USPS priority mail express and USPS priority mail, the flat rate shipping category offers all the same features as the two categories mentioned there before
For customers using the flat rate box under the priority mail express, one can expect to be issued with a tracking number for the package. In addition to the tracking number, insurance coverage of up to 100 bucks is given built into the cost of the box.
Furthermore, using the priority mail flat rate box guarantees access to the package tracking number and insurance coverage of up to 50 bucks at zero extra cost. For extra caution, a customer can add some extra coins to use the signature feature and additional insurance coverage for the package.
Conclusion
The USPS flat rate shipping is an extension of the priority mail express, priority mail, and the USPS shipping services. The delivery of a package is dependent on the service category under which the package falls.
Therefore, when a customer is using the flat rate box with the priority mail to send a package then the delivery time should be between one and three days while the priority mail express delivery should be expected between one and two days.
Q: Is it more costly to use the USPS boxes than my box?
A: USPS boxes are always cheaper than individual envelopes.
Q: Can I ship anything in a flat rate box?
A: If the shipping is to be done domestically then there is no need to weigh any package as long as it can fit into the desired flat rate box.
Q: Do they charge for the USPS boxes?
A: The flat rate shipping boxes are indeed free. You can walk into the USPS and pick one at no cost.
