Big Three Shipping Showdown: FedEx, UPS or USPS?

Let’s face it, usually when we realize we have a package to ship, we’re either already running a bit behind or are fighting the rest of the holiday madness. Bottom line, we want it there intact and on time. So who should you choose when you’re faced with shipping your granddaughter’s birthday gift?

There are a couple important comparisons that might sway your immediate choice:

• 1.Do they all ship to the same place? Thankfully, yes all 3 services do deliver to the almost 200 million U.S. residential addresses and most of the other U.S. recognized countries, territories, possessions and dependencies So good news, you don’t have to choose based on location.
• 2.Delivery days, are they convenient? According to consumerreports.org, USPS is your best bet. They deliver packages through their Priority Mail Express program every day of the year. Of course there is a surcharge, but for the everyday delivery availability, it’s worth it.
  
• 3.Can you count on them? When asked, FedEx and UPS wouldn’t share their rate of on time package deliveries. USPS openly shared that 87.5% of their packages made it on time, not too bad. If FedEx and UPS were proud of their rate, we’d imagine they would want to share. With that, once again we’re giving USPS thumbs up over UPS and FedEx for their consistency.
• 4.How do they measure up in cost? Maybe you don’t necessarily need your package there on a specific day, you’d just like the confidence your package will arrive when expected and that it won’t cost an arm and a leg. According to Consumer Reports and their experiment on delivery costs; USPS was the cheapest for next-day and second-day delivery. FedEx came in the cheapest for third-day and ground delivery, while UPS didn’t make the cut for either. If you’re looking to get the best bang for your buck, it appears UPS isn’t the way to go.
• 5.Overall, who is the champion? When you are making the decision to send your packages and want it to arrive on time, with flexible dates and for a reasonable fee, USPS may just be your “go to” shipping company.

When you ship don’t feel obligated to choose the first provider your shipping location gives you. Ask for more information and compare the true costs, time and someone’s potential happiness. The couple extra dollars spent could end up being completely worth it.