Jan 2019 update: USPS just changed their price policies a bit for this year, the noteworthy things being the following:
- First class parcels (under 16oz) are now calculated by zone, so its a bit pricer to ship farther away than it used to be. Still always cheaper than small flat rate though.
- Parcel select is now slightly cheaper across the board, but large, lower weight packages will see a significant increase in price since they made a major change to the dimensional weight calc. Large low weight items (wads, hulls) are probably best off to use UPS/fedex now vs parcel select.
March 13th 2016 Update: I rolled this all into a flowchart, see image at bottom.
You can save a lot of money with this, the amounts are not trivial:
- Example 1: If you put a 19lb package in a regional B box (similar size to LFRB) instead of a LFRB, and it is going one or two states over, you will pay about $7 instead of $18.75.
- Example 2: A 10oz item in your own small box will cost about $4 First class vs $6.80 in a SFRB and should arrive just as fast.
I have significantly edited this original post to streamline things for easy reference since it is now a sticky.
I am a novice loader and have gained a lot from this forum. Since I am new to reloading and don't have much to offer in that regard, this is a way I can give back.
Two things are necessary to get the lowest shipping rates possible.
1: Follow this chart to decide what method to use to ship your package
2: Print the label online (see below for details) to qualify for discounted pricing (saves 11-15% on every package
#1: The chart: I made it personally based off my own testing and my intent is that it leads you to the cheapest option in 100% of weights/sizes, 100% of the time including first class and regional rate boxes, over any u.s. distance. If the chart does not yield the lowest price (even for one oddball time) PLEASE let us all know in this thread or PM me and I will update the chart accordingly. As of march 13th, 2016 this is a test run only, but is reasonably well validated at this point. I have done a thorough test, but need more feedback from people in unique circumstances to be sure of my "rules" that I used to create the chart. I want this to be 100% accurate so if you find a false case please let me know! I have not shipped a lot of packages in my life and I'm sure I'm wrong on something here. Let's say it has to be at least 25 cents cheaper for me to update the chart.
#2: Discounted pricing:
- The most important thing I have learned to save money is that you can get discounted parcel shipping rates fairly easily if you have a paypal account, even if the other guy doesn't use paypal and none of the transaction went through paypal. Before the rate increase this january, this used to be available through usps.com, anyone who printed a label there got "commercial" pricing, now that no longer works.
-To get the discounted pricing now, you have to either use a pay-monthly service like stamps.com or create the label through your paypal account. When you're already signed into your normal paypal account, just change the url to /shipnow after the paypal.com part, this lets you create a discounted label to send to anyone you want regardless of whether or not you have an invoice. I don't want to make an actual link since that would look shady so you will have to manually do this yourself once normally signed into your account. I don't know why this isn't a better advertised feature of paypal but it is legitimate and it works. Google it if you are worried about doing it, or read below and see that people have tested it (as well as me), it is ok.
-Here are the savings for discounted vs regular flat rate pricing:
SFRB: Normal:$6.80, Discounted: $6.10
MFRB: Normal:$13.45, Discounted: $11.95, savings of $1.55
LFRB: Normal:$16.35, Discounted: $18.75, savings of $2.40
I hope this helps keep more money in your pockets to blow on reloading expenses!
I will keep this original post updated and will not update other posts I make to this thread, so please keep that in mind if you are viewing files or conflicting info.