As a business owner, you’re responsible for ensuring orders are shipped to customers without delays or inconveniences. However, as a person, there are situations you can’t control. Sometimes, you won’t make it to the post office before it closes. Other times, you might get held up at your business and have packages in need of shipping. The good news is, USPS offers both pickup and drop-off options to help get your packages out. 

Schedule free USPS pickups 

Did you know you can schedule free USPS pickups directly from your Stamps.com account? Packages shipped using Priority Mail Express®, Priority Mail®, and First Class International services can be picked up from your business or home without additional fees. If you’re using a different USPS service, don’t worry! The service is still free as long as you’re also shipping another package using one of the aforementioned services. You can schedule a USPS pickup through your Stamps.com using these steps: 

1. Go to the History menu on your dashboard and click Schedule Pickup. 

2. Once the Schedule Pickup drop-down menu appears, select either All Eligible Packages or Select Packages, depending on which packages will be included in your pickup. 

3. Confirm your pickup address and the number of packages shown are correct. 

4. Select where at your location the postal carrier will pick up your packages and include any necessary notes/information. 

Note: You don’t have to be at your business or home when your postal carrier arrives. 

5. Verify all of the information on your screen is correct and hit Submit to schedule your pickup. 

Note: You have until 2AM to schedule a pickup for the current day. 

USPS SCAN forms

If you have several packages, you can create a Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice or SCAN form. A SCAN form creates one barcode that includes all of the information for a group of packages, so each package doesn’t have to be scanned into the system individually. SCAN forms can be printed after the labels for your daily shipments have been created and printed. 

To create a USPS SCAN form: 

1. Click the History menu on your dashboard. 
2. Locate the Create SCAN Form button. 
3. Choose Eligible Packages or All Eligible Packages, depending on which package you’d like to include in your SCAN form. 
4. Select Print SCAN Form. 

When your postal carrier arrives, hand them the SCAN form. If you plan to drop shipments off at the local post office, you’ll hand the SCAN form to the postal worker at the counter. Speaking of, how do you find the nearest USPS location?

Finding USPS Drop-Off Locations Near Me 

USPS offers a couple of drop-off options, including collection boxes and post offices. Collection boxes are containers with mail/package slots where you can drop-off mail packages. While USPS has several types of collection boxes, you’re probably most familiar with the Standard Collection Box Receptacle (Blue Box) or the blue, metal collection boxes for mail and small packages like the one below. 

Look for the labels on the collection box to see when a postal carrier will retrieve packages and to determine if the collection box accepts Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express shipments. Collection boxes will also have scannable QR codes which send you to a post office locator tool. For more information on collection boxes, visit the USPS website.

Additionally, packages can be dropped off at your local post office. SCAN forms can be accepted by postal workers at the counter. However, if you have a large number of packages, you might be asked to pull around to a loading dock or to drop-off the packages at another location around the post office. You can find your closest USPS collection box or post office using their PO Locator tool.

Conclusion  

Being a business owner still means you’re a human being. Life gets busy, but you still need to get packages to customers. Ship around your schedule with USPS pickup and drop-off options! If you’re stuck at the office or home, let USPS come to you. If you need to drop packages off while you’re out and about, find the nearest collection box or post office. For big shipment days, create and print a SCAN form to save time for your business and postal carrier alike.

With ongoing inflation and supply chain issues, keeping your shipping budget on track will be challenging this holiday season; this includes budgeting for peak holiday surcharges from carriers. How can you offset higher shipping costs during the busiest shipping season of the entire year? Also, our study with Retail Economics found that 30.3% of customers think the delivery cost is the most important factor when trying to decide whether or not to purchase from a business. So, raising your shipping costs needs to be a last resort to better align with your customers’ expectations. We’re going to summarize some of these surcharges for you as well as give you the gift of four tips to help keep your holiday shipping budget intact. 

Summary of 2022 carrier holiday surcharges

Holiday surcharges are additional and/or increased fees that are applied to certain carrier services throughout the holiday shipping season. These surcharges typically include increases in the amount you pay for a service when using it to ship or increases in adjustments you can receive year-round for things like incorrect shipment measurements or using incorrect packaging. Holiday surcharges usually begin in early to mid-fall and stay in effect through the holiday season and into the new year. We’ve highlighted some of the biggest holiday surcharges for each carrier below. 

USPS*: Midnight (12:00 AM) on October 22, 2022 – Midnight (12:00 AM) on January 22, 2023 

• $.25 – $6.50 increase for Priority Mail^®  and Priority Mail Express^® services with USPS Commercial Rates  

*All USPS Holiday surcharges can be found on our blog. 

FedEx: September 5, 2022 – January 15, 2023

FedEx is basing holiday surcharges on shippers’ specific parcel volume. These charges will vary from $1.25 – $7, depending on the volume. We recommend visiting FedEx’s website directly for more information. 

4 tips to lower the impact of carrier holiday surcharges

Order free packaging

Carriers like USPS offer free packaging for services like Priority Mail^Ⓡ, so you don’t have to worry about finding boxes on your own. You can even order some of these supplies directly from your Stamps.com account. Free USPS supplies usually arrive in 5-7 business days, so you can plan your supply orders accordingly throughout the holiday season. Also, when you order free USPS supplies through Stamps.com, some of these supplies can be automatically shipped after a specific timeframe, so you can just sit back and sip your hot chocolate. 

Carefully measure and weigh your shipments 

With peak holiday surcharges increasing costs, measuring your boxes correctly is more important than ever. Don’t be afraid to measure and weigh your boxes multiple times so your calculations are as accurate as possible. This way, you’ll cut down on the likelihood of receiving adjustment fees and charges, some of which increase during the holiday season.  

It’s also the perfect time to familiarize yourself with Dimensional, or DIM, weight. DIM weight is based on the measurements of your package as opposed to the number you see when you place your package on the scale. For USPS and UPS Shipping, you’ll start by finding your shipment’s volume (length x width x height). If this number is smaller than 1728, your shipping cost will be calculated based on your shipment’s actual weight. If this number is larger than 1728, you’ll divide this number by 166 to find your shipment’s DIM weight.*

*Note: If you’re shipping to Canada, you’ll divide this number by 139. 

Introduce product bundles to increase AOV

The holiday season is a great time to create product bundles because it can help increase your average order value or AOV. For example, if your store sells electronics, you could offer customers a new phone case and charging cable whenever they buy a new iPhone. These product bundles can even be promoted on your store’s website or in your customer communications to highlight deals and increase your AOV. A higher AOV means more money back to your store, so you can help offset the cost of holiday surcharges. 

Offer promotions to increase sales 

Offering free shipping or free shipping over a certain threshold are two of the best ways to earn more sales during the holidays. If a customer is close to the free shipping threshold, they’re more likely to grab an additional item or two. You can even showcase smaller items as recommended products to help your customers remember things they might have forgotten while shopping. Sending your repeat customers exclusive holiday discounts will also help to not only boost your sales but show your customers you care. 

Conclusion

Ongoing financial and availability strains are going to be prominent throughout this holiday season, so peak holiday surcharges are significant to budget for. The increases for these services are unavoidable, so finding ways to save on your shipping costs is key. Utilizing free USPS supplies, offering your customers promotions, creating product bundles, and measuring/weighing your shipments before buying postage are all easy ways to offset those surcharge costs. Taking the time to incorporate these tips into your holiday shipping routine will help you increase your sales and cut back on your shipping costs while setting you up for year-round success. 

Keep your holiday shipping merry and bright by signing up for a free trial with Stamps.com.

Customers Express Need for Speed, UPS Invests to Deliver

E-Commerce sales are going through the roof. With this increase, there has also been a jump in customer expectations of how fast their purchases will get to them. 62% of U.S. online shoppers reported that fast shipping speed is the most important factor in a positive retail experience according to a 2019 survey from Avionos. UPS® Ground shipments are now faster than ever thanks to new strategic initiatives. Our Fastest Ground Ever allows U.S. customers to save an entire day on shipments to businesses and residences. Think about what a difference a day can make!

Routes to cities across the U.S. are faster than ever before. Now you can save at least one day on shipments to businesses and residential destinations. UPS is investing in innovative solutions that provide greater accuracy and speed for all our customers, from pickup to final mile. A few notable enhancements include:

• Network Planning Tools*(NPT) allows UPS to optimize the flow of up to 60 million packages with advanced analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

• Enhanced Dynamic Global Execution* (EDGE) uses real-time data to enhance strategic decision making.

• On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (ORION) determines the most efficient delivery route to reduce our carbon foot print.

• Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD) integrates AI to enable drivers to meet customers’ expectations.

• Convenient and secure UPS Access Point® locations have also helped UPS streamline. More than 12,000 UPS Access Point® locations have been added where customers can easily arrange to receive deliveries or accept returns, including CVS, Michaels, and Advance Auto Parts.

*NPT & EDGE will be fully deployed in 2020 Crush Deadlines and Bottom Lines

Speed and Reliability:

By the end of 2022, UPS will add more than 10 million pounds of additional air cargo capacity as 44 new aircrafts will join our fleet. This is the largest air capacity expansion in recent history.

In 2020, UPS has added even more capacity and network enhancements including:

· Five new regional “super hubs” in Atlanta, DFW-Arlington, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. These facilities will help improve time in transit, reliability, & flexibility across our network.

· UPS® Smart Logistics Network, which continually evolves to incorporate real-time data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technological advancements.

· These significant investments will enable us to drive operational and sustainable improvements for our business, and provide greater accuracy& speed among our global network.

Our Fastest Ground Ever not only buys you time, it also provides peace of mind. The most recently available information from ShipMatrix shows UPS leading the industry in on-time deliveries too:

With UPS’s Fastest Ground Ever, merchants can crush both deadlines and bottom lines for their customers. Try out the new and improved system enhancements and rest easy knowing that your package is in the UPS network.

If you need to mail prescription drugs, you’ll want to get to know federal and state laws about shipping these items before trying to ship them with the USPS. Here are the basics of mailing drugs via the USPS. You will need to be familiar with what is permitted, and what isn’t, to avoid any legal issues.

Prescription Drugs

As the name implies, prescription drugs are not available except with a written order from a licensed medical provider. You are only permitted to mail prescription drugs via the USPS if you are a pharmacist or medical provider mailing such drugs to the patient they have been prescribed to. This means that without proper medical licensing you can receive prescription drugs, but you cannot, under any circumstance, mail them.

Over-the-Counter Drugs

Prescription drugs are only permitted to be sent via USPS under specific circumstances—but what about over-the-counter drugs?

Any drug that is available for retail without a prescription is considered an over-the-counter drug. Common examples of such drugs are mild pain-relief medicines and skin creams. Anyone can mail such drugs with the USPS as long as they comply with federal and state laws such as the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 and the Consumer Protection Safety Commission Requirements.

Controlled Substances

Controlled substances are drugs in which the federal government tightly controls. These substances are placed into five categories, or schedules, each with varying regulations and mailability. Some controlled substances are treated as prescription drugs—they can be mailed by medical professionals with the proper documentation. Other controlled substances are not mailable under any circumstances. The USPS takes the shipment of narcotics very seriously, and the Postal Inspection Service Prohibited Mail Narcotics program investigates shipments of illegal drugs through the mail and works closely with state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies to combat this illicit trade.

You cannot mail a controlled substance unless:

• You and the person you are mailing the drugs to are registered with the Drug Enforcement Agency or are exempt from the registration requirement. (Law enforcement, civil defense workers, and members of the military do not need to register with the DEA).
• You are participating in a federal mail-back program to dispose of such drugs and follow the mailing regulations for participation in the program.
• You are a drug manufacturer or pharmacy owner who is filling a prescription containing narcotics.
• You should be aware that anything used to take narcotics, such as pipes or syringes, cannot be mailed under current federal guidelines.

Rules for Packaging Drugs

Controlled substances must have inner packaging that is marked and sealed in accordance with the Controlled Substances Act in addition to providing information on the inner packaging about the prescription, such as the prescription number and the name and address of the pharmacy dispensing the drug. The outer wrapping of such packages must be plain and cannot contain any information identifying the package’s contents.

Other drugs must be placed inside a plain wrapper or package.

Promotional samples of non-prescription drugs may have a brief description of the product on the outside of the package along with the words SAMPLES ENCLOSED.

It is important to follow all of these rules because mailing drugs in a non-allowed manner is considered a breach of federal law and can result in serious legal consequences. If a USPS inspector finds non-mailable drugs in a package presented for delivery, that worker is required to report it as well as reject the item for delivery.

Starting on July 1, 2020, the U.S., Canada and Mexico will start a new trade agreement called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which will be replacing what was formerly known as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  The purpose of the agreement is to encourage trade between the three countries, ensure fair labor practices are followed and provide incentives for manufacturing in North America.

For online retailers, one of the key changes within this new agreement is the de minimis threshold values for express shipments (and via customs brokers) into Canada and Mexico from the U.S.

De minimis is a price threshold which countries use to determine if duties and taxes will be applied on shipments.  The de minimis threshold is different for each country, and is determined by the total value of your shipped goods, including shipping fees.  Online retailers like high de minimis thresholds for each country, since a higher threshold keeps duties and taxes from being added to the product cost for a buyer.  As an example, if the de minimis for Australia is $1000 USD, then we can ship items up to $1000 (including shipping cost) without incurring additional duties and taxes.  If the product cost plus shipping is over $1000 USD, then the buyer is going to have to pay additional costs (duties and taxes) to receive the product.

IMPORTANT!  Changes for de minimis starting on July 1, 2020 only applies to express shippers and custom brokers.  Shipments handled by the Postal Service are not changing!

Shipments Entering Canada

Postal Shipments de minimis (USPS delivery to Canada Post)

•  Goods valued over $20 CAD will have tax applicable (Unchanged)

Express Shipments/Custom Brokers de minimis

•   Goods valued over $40 CAD will have tax applicable (New with USMCA)

•   Goods valued over $150 CAD will have both duty and tax applicable (New with USMCA)

Shipments Entering Mexico

Postal Shipments de minimis (USPS delivery to Correos de México)

•   Goods valued over $300 USD will have tax applicable (Unchanged)

Express Shipments/Custom Brokers de minimis

• Goods valued over $50 USD will have tax applicable (Unchanged)

•  Goods valued over $117 USD will have both duty and tax applicable (New with USMCA)

Interested in lowering your international parcel shipments?  Contact GlobalPost and take advantage of free coverage, an easy claims process, no hassle of printing customs forms and more.