Although shipping calculators are accurate, there are times when the actual shipping cost for a package exceeds what the merchant expected.

(Other carriers, I should add, also include free boxes with their flat-rate services.) Merchants will still need to purchase packing peanuts or similar cushioning material, but avoiding as much as $1 per box can be huge savings. Merchants order them at no cost and start shipping. Here are seven reasons to consider USPS’s flat-rate and prepaid flat-rate boxes and envelopes. The USPS offers some of the most attractive options among the various carriers available to North America-based online merchants. Even enterprise retailers such as Amazon and Walmart use the service.

Today, USPS flat rate services address many ecommerce delivery problems and costs. More than a decade later, on November 20, 2004, the USPS released the Priority Mail flat-rate box. The postal service’s flat-rate offering began in February 1991 when it introduced the Priority Mail flat-rate envelope. Shoppers expect to place an order, obtain free shipping, and receive that order in about two days.įortunately for merchants, the USPS is a leader in flat-rate shipping services.

Most online stores now offer free shipping - thank Amazon, L.L. Moreover, free and fast ecommerce delivery is ubiquitous. A business must pay shipping and carrier fees, buy packing materials, and hire labor to pick and pack each order. Shipping can be a significant challenge for ecommerce merchants. For more than 20 years, the United States Postal Service has offered flat-rate boxes and envelopes that have helped online stores reduce shipping costs while improving shoppers’ buying experience.

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