United States Postal Service (USPS)

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
3. USPS-specific configuration settings

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 several 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 resell 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 Rates
  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).
• 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, choose “Online Rates” as the Rate Type 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” 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).

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.

With the “Hazardous Items” checkbox checked, standard USPS services will not be returned. Instead, services with the suffix “HAZMAT” are the only services that will be returned by USPS (e.g. Priority Mail Express HAZMAT, Priority Mail HAZMAT, or USPS Ground Advantage HAZMAT). Ensure you have at least one of these services selected under “Active Shipping Method(s) for this Carrier” on your USPS carrier in ShipperHQ.

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.

Specific Services

USPS Ground Advantage

USPS Ground Advantage is a USPS standard package service which provides a cheaper but slightly slower alternative to Priority Mail for domestic packages up to 70 lbs. It is available for shipments to all US states and territories including PO Boxes as well as APO/FPO/DPO addresses, military bases, and Freely Associated States. More information is available from USPS on their USPS Ground Advantage page.

Replacing Retired Services with USPS Ground Advantage

If you were using any of the services which have now been replaced by USPS Ground Advantage, you’ll need to update your USPS carrier in ShipperHQ to allow this service to be offered:

1. Navigate to the Carriers page in the ShipperHQ dashboard
2. Select the edit icon to the right of your USPS carrier settings
3. In the Basic tab under “Active Shipping Method(s) for this Carrier” click “Add Methods”
4. Find and select the checkbox next to “USPS Ground Advantage”
5. Click “Apply” and then “Save”
6. Update any Shipping Rules or Shipping Groups that applied to the retired services to apply to the new USPS Ground Advantage service
7. Deselect the checkbox for any retired services in your USPS carrier settings