Let’s talk about plot selection terrain. Ground service has always been one of the postal service’s least popular shipping options, used primarily for shippers shipping hazardous materials like lithium-ion batteries, aerosols, and more. however, this is not the case lately. Like all carriers, the USPS raises prices every year, and in general, each service they offer gets more expensive. this time, however, something different happened. When USPS announced the 2022 price changes, package selection ground service became much more attractive.
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- package pick ground rates just got a lot cheaper in 2022
- advertised delivery times for usps ground service may not be accurate
- los Senders get what they pay for
- does shipping speed matter to you?
land parcel selection fees became much cheaper in 2022
Historically, the USPS has never set select ground rates for parcels much differently than Priority Mail. for example, if a package costs $10 to ship with priority mail, the package pick ground rate would often fall around $9.90, or something like that. this negligible cost difference led many carriers to choose priority mail service over ground. why not? For just a few cents more, your package would be delivered faster (1-3 business days) and you’d get built-in insurance protection that USPS doesn’t provide for ground shipments. However, this all began to change when the 2022 USPS rate changes were made public.
With the new 2022 rates, selecting ground packages can save several dollars in shipping costs per package. yes, you read that right: dollars, not cents. in some cases, it can even be up to 79% cheaper than priority mail! As a result, we’re seeing more and more carriers switch to the ground package selection to save as much money as possible. The thing is, while our goal is to save you money, there are still a few things you need to consider before you switch all of your shipments to ground service.
advertised delivery times for usps ground service may not be accurate
The postal service advertises delivery times for ground shipments as 2-8 business days. Most USPS ground shipments fall within this delivery window, but speaking from our own experience, this is not always the case. In some situations, USPS ground shipments can take much longer to deliver, with some deliveries taking up to 2 weeks after the ship date!
Generally speaking, delivery times for USPS ground shipments increase as the package must travel. For example, if you ship a package via select ground package from Los Angeles to San Diego, it won’t take long since the package only needs to travel about 120 miles. however, if you use ground package selection to ship the same package from los angeles to new york, it’s not uncommon for delivery to take up to 14 days… or even longer.
shipping to hawaii, alaska and territories takes even longer
given that hawaii, alaska and the us territories. uu. are much further away than destinations within the contiguous United States, select package shipments to these areas have been known to take even longer! In some cases, we’ve seen shipments go to these locations and take a few weeks… which is a far cry from the 2-8 day delivery time advertised by usps. therefore, if you are sending a ground shipment to one of these locations, we suggest that you inform your recipients that their package may take longer than normal to arrive. this helps minimize friction by setting precise expectations from the start.
Senders get what they pay for
Trust us when we tell you: select parcel rate changes make this service much more attractive than it used to be. Saving money helps maximize your margins, and if you’re an eCommerce business owner, we can’t blame you for wanting to do that. if you’re considering switching to ground service to save more money, we’d even tell you to go for it in many cases! however, you should keep in mind that what you might gain by cutting costs, you might lose in customer satisfaction. In general, consumers expect packages to arrive quickly…and when a shipment can take up to two weeks or more to arrive, it may not be the best option for your small business.
does shipping speed matter to you?
If shipping speed isn’t important to you and your business, then you don’t have to worry! use the ground package selection and save as much money as you can on shipping. however, if so, here’s a good rule of thumb to follow: If your recipients or customers are relatively close, within a 100-mile radius, then parcel selection is a great option. You’ll save a lot more money than opting for priority mail, and your packages should still arrive in 1-3 days or so.
On the other hand, if your package needs to travel a longer distance (like across the country, for example), we suggest you spend the extra money to ship it with priority mail. It may cost more than ground service, but your shipment will reach its destination much faster and you can continue to operate your business without worrying about those “where’s my shipment?” that cause anxiety. questions.