Under 1 pound.

gman042

Been around the block a few times
Can anyone explain why UPS sets the minimum shipping weight at 1 lb? It seems there is so much more volume out there that we lose to USPS for this reason. I know smalls can be bothersome to sort. There is one local account that ships 2-300 smalls with USPS and about 4 pkgs with UPS.....a DAY. Just wondering.
 

UPSGUY72

Well-Known Member
Can anyone explain why UPS sets the minimum shipping weight at 1 lb? It seems there is so much more volume out there that we lose to USPS for this reason. I know smalls can be bothersome to sort. There is one local account that ships 2-300 smalls with USPS and about 4 pkgs with UPS.....a DAY. Just wondering.

I give you one guess who is making billions of dollars and who losing billions???? There is a minimal cost that UPS can charge it's customers without losing money.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
Yeah, they could stuff it in a UPS envelope, mind you, depending on Zip code, even that would cost around $10.
Much cheaper with USPS.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
I think it has more to do with the Post Office regulations. There was a big stink when Fedex and UPS first started shipping letters. They had to be air shipments to get around this. I don't think that we can ship things by ground using a "Letter" rate, so we have to charge one pound.
 

gman042

Been around the block a few times
Not so much letters but bubble paks that weight less than a pound. I realize that our system rounds up....but why not pro-rate depending on the weight. Say it costs $10 dollars for a 1 lb shipment. If the package weighs in at 8 oz then charge $5. Still more than USPS, but closer to their rates. Something we can compete with and perhaps get volume we would not otherwise have.
 

mike1646

Well-Known Member
UPS will not take any volume that's not going to make a profit, and $5 for a delivery? If you make a stop every 4 minutes and you're making $0.51 per minute that don't leave too much room
 
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JonFrum

Member
Can anyone explain why UPS sets the minimum shipping weight at 1 lb? It seems there is so much more volume out there that we lose to USPS for this reason. I know smalls can be bothersome to sort. There is one local account that ships 2-300 smalls with USPS and about 4 pkgs with UPS.....a DAY. Just wondering.
The Private Express Statutes have something to do with it. By Law, the Postal Service has a monopoly on First Class Mail. (There are a few exceptions.) UPS can only handle certain items. These restrictions in turn probably make other items under one pound unprofitable to handle.
 

gman042

Been around the block a few times
It has been said that the USPS will be unable to move the mail as early as next summer if their current financial crisis is not resolved. That leaves the private sector to pick up the slack. UPS had better look at ways to be able to move smaller packages and make it profitable.

What am I saying?.......if we the taxpayer can bail out banks and car manufacturers then we will bail out the USPS also. We will never notice it in the trillions of dollars of debt.
 

bluehdmc

Well-Known Member
I give you one guess who is making billions of dollars and who losing billions???? There is a minimal cost that UPS can charge it's customers without losing money.

Doesn't the USPS have to go to congress to raise their rates? Where the board of directors at UPS decides.
Also what doesn't ever seem to get mentioned when the demise of the USPS is talked about is the $5billion pension "pre-payment" that no other federal agency has to pay.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
Well, Obama is finally changing all that. Getting rid of Saturday delivery, and being more lienent towards those huge pension payments.

Reality check : If I send a postcard to the USA for 70 cents, do you really think UPS could deliver it ? Or is mail from other countries going to go up to $10 a letter/postcard to the US ?

The post office is needed !
 

brown_trousers

Well-Known Member
Well, Obama is finally changing all that. Getting rid of Saturday delivery, and being more lienent towards those huge pension payments.

Reality check : If I send a postcard to the USA for 70 cents, do you really think UPS could deliver it ? Or is mail from other countries going to go up to $10 a letter/postcard to the US ?

The post office is needed !

I completely agree, without the cheap shipments of postcards this country would be in shambles
 
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