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Who doesn’t love a good blanket? It’s the perfect company for taking a nap, reading a book, or watching your favorite TV show, and it makes the design of your bedroom come together with an added dash of color and personality. Blankets are one of the most common household items that retailers and individuals ship every day, but shipping them can be expensive due to dimensional weight charges that carriers may impose. This guide is all about which service to choose when shipping blankets, how to save the most money, and what to look out for in terms of extra costs.
Table of Contents
- UPS vs. USPS: Which Carrier Should I Use to Ship Blankets?
- Packages Containing Blankets May Be Subject to Dimensional Weight Charges
- You Don’t Need Any Special Packaging
- Use Shipping Software to Save Money on Postage Costs
UPS vs. USPS: Which Carrier Should I Use to Ship Blankets?
When comparing USPS to UPS for boxes of blankets, UPS Ground will often be the best choice. UPS has beefed up its Ground service in recent years to offer some of the most competitive rates on the market, along with some of the quickest delivery times. UPS advertises 1-5 business days for Ground packages, but in our experience, delivery often happens quicker than the 5-day threshold (depending on how far your package needs to travel). Comparatively, while USPS advertises a delivery timeframe of 2-5 business days for packages via sent ground transportation, it isn’t uncommon for USPS to take up to two weeks to deliver Retail Ground/Parcel Select Ground packages.
On top of the speed, when your package is loaded with a heavy blanket or two, UPS Ground will be even more affordable than other services. UPS is the premier carrier for sending larger, heavier packages, and out of the three major carriers in the United States, they have positioned themselves to offer the most affordable rates for these types of shipments.
Stacked up next to USPS ground shipping, UPS Ground is often cheaper and faster, making it an easy choice for sending a box of blankets.
Packages Containing Blankets May Be Subject to Dimensional Weight Charges
Some blankets are bulky and heavy, and some are bulky and lightweight. Either way, blankets tend to require fairly large boxes when shipping them due to their size. As a result, boxes of blankets may be subject to dimensional weight charges.
Shipping carriers like UPS and USPS impose dimensional weight charges for boxes that are large and lightweight. In this case, the cost of postage is based on how much physical space your package takes up on their delivery trucks, rather than the actual weight of your package itself. Think of space inside a shipping carrier’s truck like real estate. If your bulky box takes up a lot of room but doesn’t weigh too much, the carriers could have technically made more money by fitting more boxes into the space that your package occupies. As a result, they charge you extra to make up for those lost revenue opportunities.
You Don’t Need Any Special Packaging when Shipping Blankets
The good news is, since blankets aren’t in the least bit fragile, perishable, or temperature-sensitive, you don’t need any special packaging to send them. You can use any sturdy cardboard box, or even a large bag if you want!
Pro Tip: To avoid dimensional weight charges, you’ll want to keep your packaging as small as you can. This may be tough when shipping blankets since they tend to be on the bulkier side…but don’t be afraid to really smush the blankets in the box so they fit as snugly as possible!
Learn more about how your package dimensions can make or break your small business.
Use Shipping Software to Save Money on Postage Costs
Whether you decide to go with USPS or UPS for your blanket shipment, saving the most money on your shipping labels is crucial…and the best way to do that is to use shipping software to buy discounted postage online.
When you use shipping software, you get to take advantage of “economies of scale” deals that these companies have entered into with carriers like UPS and USPS. Since shipping software companies have so many customers, they have negotiated the best bulk discounts that shipping carriers typically only offer to huge commercial shippers. In some cases, these discounts can save you up to 89% off what you’d pay to ship the same package at the Post Office or your local UPS Store! In addition to those discounts, you’ll also be able to buy and print your shipping labels from your home or office, and schedule pickups for your packages so that you don’t have to make any unnecessary trips.
Of course, you’ll still be subject to dimensional weight pricing when you use shipping software (when it applies). That said, your label will still be much cheaper than it would be if you go to the Post Office or your local UPS Store to ship your blankets!
Last Updated:
jon zvolanek
Your transit time on Retail Ground and Parcel Selct Ground is incorrect. It changed last August from 2-8 days to 2-5 days. And rates have been lowered.
Starting Aug. 1, 2022 USPS will shorten the delivery window for its Retail Ground (RG) and Parcel Select Ground (PSG) products from two-to-eight days to two-to-five days within the contiguous U.S.
Priority Mail shipments can take 1-3 business days for packages to arrive at their destination. Parcel Select Ground shipments, on the other hand, can take anywhere from 2-5 business days.