How to ship boxes with USPS when moving

When you’re moving across the country, it’s imperative that you weigh up all the available options to move your household items to the destination address. As you probably know, the easiest way to do it is to hire a top-rated cross-country moving company that will take care of everything for you.

That’s correct – as soon as you secure the services of one of the best full-service movers in your area, the pros will take it from there, thus freeing your own moving calendar for other important activities such as meeting up with your good friends for a last goodbye or visiting your favorite places in town one more time before you move out.

The only thing that may stop you from doing just that is the price. Hiring a full-service moving company is usually the most expensive way to move long distance, and when you’re moving on a tight budget, then you should be looking for the cheapest ways to move across the country.

The good news? You’ve got a number of options to choose from.

One option that you may have never considered before is to ship some of your items as domestic packages with the United States Postal Service (USPS). As you’ll read below, shipping boxes by U.S. mail can have a number of benefits, including a lower price compared to standard moving services offered by professional movers.

Here’s why and how to ship boxes with USPS when moving house.

When shipping boxes by mail is a good idea

Shipping boxes by mail is an alternative option of moving your items across the country. Depending on what you’re shipping and where you’re shipping it to, using the services of USPS can prove to be one of the cheapest ways to ship boxes to another part of the country. In general, you should consider taking advantage of that moving option when you’re only moving small loads across the country.

In addition to the affordable price, other major advantages of shipping boxes by mail are that you should be able to set up the whole service online and that you may be eligible for free package pickup. Also, the USPS should include basic insurance in case something happens with your belongings on the road.

The main disadvantage when shipping boxes via U.S. mail is that you’re going to have to play by the USPS rules and thus meet their box shipping requirements if you wish to use their services. For example, you can’t ship boxes that weigh more than 70 pounds and that are bigger in size than 108 inches in total length and girth – find more information below.

How to ship boxes with the United States Postal Service

Here are the detailed steps for shipping boxes by mail when moving to another home:

Step 1. Prepare the boxes

To ship packages with USPS, the very first thing you’ll need to do is pick the right boxes.

• MEASURE all boxes you plan to ship via USPS. Keep in mind that the USPS will not accept boxes that exceed 108 inches in maximum length and girth. Take a look at this diagram to understand how to measure your packages.
• USE only strong, dry and clean boxes with no signs of any previous damage. All cardboard containers should be able to close flat when full and have enough room inside for extra padding in case you’re moving fragile items.
• REINFORCE all flaps with high-quality packing tape to play it safe.
• COVER or black out old logos, labels and addresses whenever using second-hand boxes.

Read also: Where to find free moving boxes

Step 2. Pack the boxes

You should pack the boxes the same way you would if you were shipping them with a moving company or loading them up in a rented moving van. Here’s a great packing checklist that will help you with that arduous task.

When shipping boxes by mail, there are a few special requirements that your packages must meet:

• KEEP the weight of each packed box below 70 pounds. The USPS will not accept domestic packages that are above that weight limit.
• DO NOT PACK any restricted and prohibited items in your boxes. In fact, what you can ship domestically by mail is regulated by the U.S. and USPS guidelines. Here you can take a look at the full list of items that are restricted (only allowed under specific conditions) or forbidden (strictly forbidden).
• PACK all boxes in a way that they can close flat and don’t bulge anywhere. Use only packing tape to close up your boxes because using cord, twine or string can cause the containers to get caught in the automated mail-processing equipment and create additional problems.
• ADDRESS your packages correctly. Using a permanent marker, write both addresses on the same side of each box. Also, you can make your life a bit easier and print out address labels. Either way, don’t forget to include the ZIP codes.

See also: How to pack boxes for moving

Step 3. Choose the right mail service

Of course, whether or not you choose to use the services of USPS to ship boxes across the country will depend primarily on the price. Prices start from around $7 per box at most Office locations or online. However, USPS offers a variety of mail services with different prices, delivery speeds, package sizes and extra services such as mail tracking and insurance.

• USPS Retail Ground. Needless to say, it’s clear that your primary focus is the price – the lower the shipping cost, the better – even when that means slow delivery. In your case, you may be content to use the USPS Retail Ground shipping service that is a reliable and economical way to ship boxes across the country. It is the slowest mailing services offered by the United States Postal Service (2-8 business days) but it’s also the cheapest one starting at $7.35 at a Post Office.
• Medial Mail. Media Mail is a cost-effective method of shipping media and educational materials across the country. In your specific case, it may be the perfect way to ship your books to the new home. You know how heavy books can be, so a regular moving company is likely to charge you much more to transport your book boxes to the new address. Luckily, USPS prices for Media Mail start at $2.75 at a Post Office.

Do take a look at all Mail & Shipping Services offered by USPS with their respective conditions and prices.

Step 4. Calculate the price

Try out the USPS Postage Price Calculator to calculate the shipping costs in advance so that you can figure out whether the effort will be worth it in the end. As you will see when using the postage price calculator, the shipping cost will depend on a number of factors.

Double-check to make sure you’ve entered the correct information in order to get the actual postage price.

Step 5. Ship your boxes

If the postage price offered by USPS is agreeable to your moving budget, then the final step to shipping boxes by mail when moving house is to… drumroll… ship your boxes.

In most cases, you will need to take the boxes you plan to send by U.S. Mail to a Post Office. Also, you should be able to request a Free Package Pickup during regular mail delivery, or Pickup on Demand if you wish your boxes to be picked up at a specific time, for a fee.

When moving house, it’s a good idea to look at various options to ship boxes across the country so that you can pick the cheapest and most convenient method for you. Under the specific circumstances, shipping boxes with USPS may or may not be the best way for you to ship boxes across multiple states.

To make an informed and educated decision that you won’t regret later, make sure you request free cost estimates from top-rated full-service moving companies in your town and city and then compare their prices with those of USPS.