How to Ship Water With USPS

Summer is upon us! After a long spring cooped up inside, people are gearing up to explore the great outdoors again. As a result, tons of shippers have been asking us, “How do I ship water with USPS?” Despite its liquid nature, the process for shipping water is actually pretty cut and dry. Let’s twist open the bottle and see what we’re looking at, shall we?

USPS Priority Mail Cubic is the Cheapest Mail Class to Ship Water

There’s a secret ingredient for saving the most money on your water shipments, and it’s called USPS Priority Mail Cubic. Unlike other USPS mail classes, Priority Mail Cubic (or “cubic,” for short) rates are based on the outer dimensions of your box, and not its total weight. That means you can load up your boxes with as much heavy items as you want (like water, for instance), and it won’t affect the price. In fact, if your box is small enough to qualify for this mail class, you can fill it up with as much water up to 20 pounds and still be able to ship at the heavy discounts that cubic offers.

Oh, and speaking of discounts—did we mention that you can save up to 90% off what you’d pay at the Post Office with Priority Mail Cubic? Look into it. You won’t be sorry.

Properly Packaging Your Water Shipments

If your water is in sealed containers already, then you don’t have to worry about much as far as packing your box goes. Water bottles are fairly shock absorbent, so if your box gets tossed around during transit, the possibility of them leaking or breaking is slim to none. However, there are certain measures you can still take if you’d like to be extra careful. We’ve laid out those for you below:

• Line the bottom of your box with lightweight, absorbent packing material, such as rags
• Seal your water receptacles inside airtight plastic containers, like Ziploc bags
• Line the inside of your box with styrofoam layers to absorb and contain any leakage

Pro Tip: It’s always good to be careful. However, keep in mind that all of these extra steps may cause the need for bigger packaging. When you ship water with Priority Mail Cubic, the bigger your box is, the more it will cost to ship. So, do your best to protect your water containers while still using the smallest packaging possible!

Save the Most Money by Using Online Shipping Software to Buy Your Shipping Labels

Like shipping literally anything else, you’ll save the most money on water shipments when you use shipping software to buy postage online. The best shipping software options are free, and give you access to the deepest discounts that USPS offers, known as Commercial Pricing. Truth be told, the only way to save real money on your shipments is by buying labels with shipping software in the first place.

On top of the massive savings on postage, shipping software also allows you to buy and print shipping labels from your own home or office. You’ll also be able to schedule free pickups, done by your letter carrier. That way, you’ll never have to wait in line at the Post Office again. Talk about a deal!

Do You Need Insurance?

Let’s talk about protection….and by protection, we mean shipping insurance. All Priority Mail services come with $100 of insurance when you use shipping software to buy your shipping labels. So, unless your water is worth more than $100, you’ve already got great coverage in case anything happens. In most cases, sticking with the built-in USPS insurance will do just fine!

However, you should note that USPS insurance only covers you if your package disappears in transit, or arrives damaged. USPS won’t pay out a claim if your package goes missing once it’s delivered, which is actually a huge pain point for lots of shippers. Therefore, we always purchasing extra shipping insurance to protect yourself in all situations. It never hurts to over-prepare!