How to Set Up USPS Carrier

Overview

In this section we will cover:

  1. How to set up your USPS Carrier in ShipperHQ
  2. The different rating types you may use for pricing
ShipperHQ does not integrate with Stamps.com or Endicia rates, these Online Pricing Discounts are comparable to discounts on postage from a USPS e-reseller, however, you can use account settings on USPS to match the discounts you might get through a reseller.

Steps To Add This Carrier

  1. Go to the Carriers page in the ShipperHQ dashboard
  2. Click + New to add a new carrier
  3. Select Live Rate Carrier
  4. Search for and select USPS
  5. Success! Your USPS carrier has now been added to your list of carriers in ShipperHQ using Retail Rates!

Account Settings Options

USPS Discounted Rate Types

USPS offers five standard rate cards/rate types. These rate cards are offered in different scenarios and outlined below. It’s important to note that ShipperHQ does not provide USPS rate cards. If you offer a certain rate card to your customers it’s important to ensure that you can actually ship at those rates. Talk to your postage provider (e.g. Endicia, Stamps.com, or Pitney Bowes) or USPS rep to determine which rate card you’re eligible to use.

  • Retail Pricing
    What you would pay if you buy postage from a Post Office. This is the most expensive rate the USPS offers.On your USPS carrier in ShipperHQ, you can select “Retail Rates” in the Rate Type field of the Account Settings panel to have these rates shown to your customers (of course, you can always surcharge or discount these rates at will using handling fees or shipping rules).
  • Online Pricing
    This rate type offers discounted rates, especially for USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes. Although ShipperHQ does not integrate with Stamps.com or Endicia rates, these Online Pricing Discounts are comparable to discounts on postage from a USPS e-reseller. Online Pricing does not reflect special discount negotiations, but you could use this rate type along with Shipping Rules to match your deeper negotiated discounts.On your USPS carrier in ShipperHQ, you can select “Online Rates” in the Rate Type field of the Account Settings panel to have these rates shown to your customers (of course, you can always surcharge or discount these rates at will using handling fees or shipping rules).

    Note: There is no support for Retail Ground with this rate type.
  • Commercial Base Pricing (CBP)
    In many cases similar to the Online rate but offers some discounts for services other than USPS Priority Mail. In ShipperHQ, you can use Online rating to return CBP pricing.
  • Commercial Plus Pricing (CPP)
    The highest discounts USPS offers. In order to receive CPP pricing, you’ll either need to sign a direct volume contract with the USPS or a contract with a USPS Reseller like Express One, Express Save, or USS Logistics. Most merchants will not use CPP pricing. On your USPS carrier in ShipperHQ, you can select “Commercial Plus Rates” in the Rate Type field of the Account Settings panel to have these rates shown to your customers (as above, you can always surcharge or discount these rates at will using handling fees or shipping rules).

    Note: There is no support for First-Class Mail Package with this pricing.

Packaging Size

This value is sent to USPS when ShipperHQ retrieves shipping rates from USPS. Choosing “Regular” is the most flexible option. Choosing “Large” will tell USPS to return only shipping services that support Large packages and is not recommended.

Machinable

Machinable is a USPS term for any packages, envelopes, etc. that can be processed automatically by USPS sorting machines. All standard boxes, envelopes, padded envelopes, and other packaging normally used for shipping via USPS is Machinable so we recommend leaving this box checked unless you know for sure that you ship packages which are not machinable. Unchecking this option will result in USPS not returning some services which are not eligible for shipping non-machinable packages and returning higher rates for services that are eligible for non-machinable packages. Consult the USPS directly if you are unsure.

Hazardous Items

The USPS allows shippers to ship some hazardous items by some shipping services. If this option is checked on your USPS carrier in ShipperHQ, ShipperHQ will indicate to the USPS that the shipment contains Hazardous Items and the USPS will only return services that are eligible for shipping Hazardous Items. It is your responsibility to ensure that any items tendered for shipment to the USPS comply with all USPS guidelines including Hazardous Item restrictions.

Show Cheapest Flat Rate

If you want ShipperHQ to only show the cheapest between Small, Medium, and Large Flat Rate methods, you need this setting enabled.

This will automatically hide the more expensive flat rate shipping methods like med/large when small is chosen. NOTE: This requires enabling the Dimensional Shipping Feature.

You can find this setting by editing the Carrier > go to the Basic panel > scroll to ‘Account Settings’ section.

Note For more information on configuring your USPS carrier, see our Carrier Configuration article.

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