Basic used to be 5 lbs max, then UPS raised the weight.
It used to be Smalls Sort only, had to fit thru the opening on a coat hanger. Then they raised the size.
It used to be "Super Rural" zips only. Then they added the "Rural" zips. Now it's more than 23,000 zips. I have the zip code list if anyone wants it.
Then they added "PO Box" service, even if the customer has a home address-who doesn't have a home address? So now Basic packages go to every zip code in the US.
It used to be offered to only non-UPS shippers, but now they offer it anybody who wants it, current UPS customer or not. UPS says it';s "new business". It's many cases it's not. The UPS sales rep will even show them how to do it. You "switch" to FedEx for a couple of months and then switch back to UPS. Now guess what? They can get now get Basic! It's "new" businesses.
Basic shipments have grown over 40% per year in the last two years!
So UPS charges $2.40 for a "regular" ground shipment to a home for resi, plus another $2.65 if it's rural, on top of a the regular charge. Then the shipper says "that's too expensive". So UPS says, "fine, you can use Basic." UPS has Basic for one reason-it makes UPS more money.
At this rate, ALL the packages are going to qualify for Basic. And with DHL going out of business, where is a lot of that business going to go? Yeah, you guessed it, most of it has already gone to Basic, or is about to!
1 in 3 Basic pkgs are delivered by USPS. It used to be 1 in 5. Pretty soon it will be 1 in 2.