Calcurates' Guide on Shipping With USPS for E-Commerce

USPS offers many convenient domestic shipping options for mail and package deliveries. The great advantage is that you can use the USPS Click-N-Ship® service which allows you to print a shipping label from your home, and even schedule USPS pick-up directly from the comfort of your home or office. Currently, USPS is offering several domestic shipping services.

Click-N-Ship is a shipping service offered by USPS. It allows the sender to ship packages directly from home. This service offers you to use supplies from Priority Mail® or Priority Mail Express® for shipping. How does Click-N-Ship work?
It is very simple, orders these supplies from USPS, print shipping labels, and schedule package pickup online. To USPS schedule pickup, all you need to do is to fill out the pickup address.

USPS offers a wide range of international shipping services depending on postage prices, delivery times, shipping destination, tracking service, and more. Let's have a look at the main USPS international shipping services.

If you want to know how to track international and domestic USPS packages and mail, have a look at our article on "How To Track a USPS Package" with and without tracking number, directly at the post office and through the website.

Informed delivery
Home delivery service by USPS called Informed Delivery allows you to digitally manage your upcoming mail and packages. This is a free and optional service, purely informing customers about their scheduled delivery. With Informed Delivery, you can track your packages, schedule redelivery, and preview incoming mail. The tracking process is very simple, all you need to do is create an account, verify your identity, and receive notifications that will inform you about mail delivery.

Hold for Pickup
One of the USPS delivery options is Hold for Pickup. This delivery option allows a receiver to pick up the package directly at the Post Office or any other similar location. You can use the USPS post office locator to search for available locations to pick up your package from.

Premium Forwarding Service Residential®
This is a great option for anyone planning a long-term vacation or relocating abroad. Forward Mail service offers to forward your mail from your home address to your new temporary address. For a weekly fee, mail can be sent to you starting from a period of at least 2 weeks up to 1 whole year.

USPS domestic delivery service takes anywhere from 1 to 8 days depending on the shipping service selected. The starting price for the domestic shipping services varies from around $3 to $27 depending on the shipping service used, shipping destination, and product attributes. 
USPS international deliveries depending on the shipping services selected take on average from 1 to 10 days. The starting price of the cheapest shipping service is $1.20 and of the most expensive $61.70.

Yes, USPS delivers on weekends as well. Though only a limited number of services are available for weekend delivery. First Class Mail delivers on Saturdays only. Priority Mail Express delivers both on Saturday and Sunday. Naturally, for the weekend delivery, the sender might need to pay extra.

USPS offers tools and services tailored to the needs of small businesses. As a business owner, you can take advantage of USPS loyalty rewards which include Click-N-Ship®, marketing, and advertising help, or free shipping supplies. For more info visit USPS small business official site.

Each carrier has a certain set of advantages and disadvantages. USPS is generally regarded as the most affordable carrier of all, with many drop-off points. USPS is reporting an unprecedented increase in volume due to the impact of pandemics. To see the advantages and disadvantages of USPS vs USP vs FedEx have a look here.