I have to send a small package (Priority Mail small box size) from San Francisco to Miami. It was sent to me FedEx and I got it in about three days. There was a problem with the item, I got a full refund, including shipping, and now I have to send it back, so I checked FedEx prices, and am once again shocked (because I never use them). To send the identical little box via FedEx to arrive in a week costs about 2.5 times what regular Priority Mail costs, which generally arrives in 3-4 days (but no guarantee).
What’s the appeal of FedEx over USPS for domestic small packages? Do you find it worth the extra cost? (I know USPS is supposed to be going through stuff right now, but I have personally felt absolutely no effect of these events, I’m still receiving packages and mail as fast as I always have. Just lucky?)
My guess is that FedEx is pricy because you’re a retail customer and they’re optimized for business customers. In my experience, FedEx Home Delivery might be cheaper, but that might not work for you.
USPS is quite obviously slower, at least where I am. I order a lot of stuff on-line (I work from my house, so I am always ordering electronic parts). I’ve noticed delivery times doubled (or more) compared to last year.
That said - USPS has always been the cheapest way to ship stuff as an individual. Amazon might get good prices from FedEx and UPS, but I’ve never found them to be cheaper than the good old Post Office for any of the boxes I ship.
Insider tip: go to Pirate Ship, and make an account. That will save another 10-20% when shipping parcels with USPS. It seems too good to be true, but it works, and I use it all the time.
(BTW - they have one of the best domain names in the history of domain names…)
I checked home delivery on the rate calculator. And I don’t understand why it’s so much cheaper to use my packaging rather than one of theirs (complete opposite to USPS).
Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I have a lot of packages to send.
The biggest problem with USPS is that their tracking is unreliable. I often get notified of a delivery that doesn’t actually happen until a day or two later. The last time this happened, I was sitting on my porch when I got the notification that the package had been delivered. The mail truck had not been and was not then on my street. The package showed up the next day. I’ve never had that issue with FedEx or UPS.
Interesting. I’ve never had that issue with USPS. I wonder if it isn’t to do with the local driver marking something as delivered before it actually was, especially if it was too large a package to be brought by your mail carrier.
For small packages, 2 pounds is traditionally the break point where FedEx Ground becomes cheaper than USPS Priority. Going all the way across the country, Priority will get there faster, but in the same region, Ground may actually be faster. Priority cost is quite a bit more expensive for larger packages, but is a great deal for small ones.
Different business models. FedEx packaging is cheap or even free for commercial customers that do a lot of shipping. For private individuals who likely don’t have suitable packaging just sitting around, or who want the imagined added security of “proper” packaging, FedEx can and does charge a convenience premium.
I tried Pirate Ship for this one package, and I really liked in the “how it works” video the way they explained the various cutoffs, such as to use one’s own packaging for Priority Mail if it’s under a pound (I think it was, don’t take my word, watch the video) and things like that. USPS certainly doesn’t make that clear in their rate charts, nor do the clerks explain it to you.
This has definitely been my experience. The hub from which FedEx delivers to my area has all kinds of bad reviews on line, including from me. They may or may not show up when they say they will. They don’t answer the phone. And last time they delivered here, they left the box in the middle of the driveway. Had I not seen their truck drive up, it’s entirely likely that I’d have backed over it when leaving the garage. For whatever reason, the driver couldn’t be bothered to walk the extra 10 feet to the porch. And one time, they left a package at the end of the driveway - 100’ from the house - in the middle of a flower bed. I only saw it when I drove out on my way to do some errands.
USPS, on the other hand, will leave packages on the porch against the house so they’ll be out of the weather and out of sight from the road. Granted, their online tracking is hit or miss, but they get it right more often than not for me.
Another with careless Home delivery from FedEx. Places like Walmart, Amazon, and Target ship via FedEx and I wish I could tell them to stop.
Before the pandemic USPS had gotten pretty good, their Priority Mail was affordable and reliable 2-4 days anywhere in the USA. But since the pandemic, election, Trump appointing the asshat, and Christmas, they have never gotten back to where they were.
I will say FedEx delivery is still worse; coming at random times, different driver every time, leaving packages in dumb places like right on the edge of a porch in a rainstorm instead of just pushing it back a few feet. But FedEx at least seems faster than USPS these days.
My best guess for why companies are using FedEx more than UPS is that FedEx gave them a better deal. In the last few years UPS started charging “dimensional weight”, which is an additional charge for large boxes.