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.

Priority Mail Express®
Priority Mail Express is the fastest domestic delivery service offered by USPS. The package delivery takes 1-2 days or can be also overnight. Deliveries are made on the weekends as well. The price for the service is rather in the more expensive range. Prices start at $26.35. Find out more detailed info on USPS Priority Mail Express official site.

Priority Mail®
This USPS domestic shipping option takes 1-3 days to deliver. It is a less expensive option than Priority Mail Express, as it takes longer. USPS states that this shipping service is their bestselling. Tracking is included in the service. Prices start at $7.70. Find out more about USPS Priority Mail here.

USPS Retail Ground®
The package delivery with USPS Retail Ground service can take between 2-8 days. This is one of the slower options provided by USPS. Package delivery is restricted to ground shipments, under the weight of 70lbs only. However, this rule applies to the majority of USPS delivery options. For more information on pricing and restrictions, please navigate to the official USPS Retail Ground site.

Media Mail®
This is the best option to send educational and media materials. Using media mail, however, is subject to some shipping restrictions. Items falling under the media mail are books, video and sound records, play scripts, manuscripts, printed music, test materials, and more. For detailed information about Media Mail shipping rules visit the official USPS site. Regarding the weight, the packages sent must be under 70lbs. Prices start at $2.89.

First-Class Mail®
Estimated delivery with First-Class Mail is up to 3 days. The sender can choose to send mail or smaller packages up to 13oz. This is a very affordable and convenient way to send light packages and envelopes. According to USPS the prices currently start at $4.00. For more information, proceed here - First-class mail by USPS.

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.

Global Express Guaranteed®
Delivery of the international shipments within 1-3 days. There is an overnight delivery option to some Canadian destinations, as well. Global Express Guaranteed ships to over 190 countries worldwide. Prices start at $67.80. Additionally, USPS Tracking is included in the price.

Priority Mail Express International®
Priority Mail Express International shipping option takes on average from 3-5 days, so it is a little bit longer than Global Express Guaranteed. However, when it comes to price, Priority Mail express is considerably cheaper. The prices start at $45.95, as stated by USPS. The shipping is offered to 190 countries. USPS Tracking is within the price.

Priority Mail International®
Obviously, this is a very similar shipping service to Priority Mail Express International, just with longer delivery dates. On average it takes 6-10 days for the package to arrive. The prices are also cheaper, starting from $28.50, the cheapest. The shipping service also includes a USPS tracking system. Here is more information on pricing, shipping restrictions, and rules on Priority Mail International service by USPS.

First-Class Mail International®
This is the cheapest shipping service provided by USPS. The service can be used to ship letters or lightweight packages. The prices start from $1.20. Prices vary by country, and there is no insurance or tracking system included in the price. Have a look here for more information on the USPS First-Class Mail International shipping service.

First-Class Package International Service®
The shipping service has available tracking information, return receipt and registered mail option, however, these are not included in the price. Insurance on the shipment shipped is not available at the moment. The prices vary from country to country, the starting price is $14.25 though.

Airmail M-Bags®
Airmail is the most optimal shipping service for sending a large amount of printed material according to USPS. The printed material can be anything from magazines, newspapers, scripts, and more. Naturally, it is subject to some shipping rules and restrictions. For example, the maximum weight of the package is 66lbs. The shipping cost starts from $51.70. Only USPS tracking is available as an additional service. For more information visit the official website about Airmail M-Bags® shipping service.

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. More information on Premium Forwarding Service Residential®.

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. 

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.