It's Now Cheaper To Use Fedex Ground Than USPS Ground For Some Zip Codes

Sent a package on FedEx for $2 less than USPS. Ground Advantage about doubled over recent years.

So true. Even Priority Mail Flat Rate used to be a good deal, but now they are pricing themselves out of the market.

The USPS says they have raised prices "to reflect market conditions in prices for competitive products that can support the Postal Service's ability to achieve the universal service obligation in a more financially sustainable manner going forward" meaning that increased profits in package delivery are needed to pay for losing money in first class mail delivery.

"Although Mailing Services price increases are based on the consumer price index, Shipping Services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions. The governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the organization with needed revenue. As the Postal Service previously announced, the organization will not raise prices in January for Mailing Services. This means the price of a First-Class Mail stamp will not change."

I always heard that competition is good for lowering prices. In this case, the USPS is raising prices for their competitive products (packages) because they can, and there's nothing any of us can do about it (except to switch to a cheaper service and create more revenue loss for USPS).

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/nat...e-change.htm

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/nat...for-2026.htm

The writing has been on the wall for the USPS for quite some time. It is dying a slow, costly death. You watch it in the private sector where companies burn piles of cash to stay alive, but everyone knows what the outcome will be. The politicians will never hurt the sacred cow though. Just give it a 100-billion-dollar bailout. You won't even notice that chump change when you have a 40 trillion-dollar debt.

The USPOD then the USPS is the only company with that requirement and that for first class letters the price must remain the same across the street or across twenty four time zone and an international date line.

So far this month, I received two FedEx shipments at my USPS Post Office Box for last mile service.

Once mail service is restricted to just the urban areas and the USPS is allowed to buy their own planes prices will not drop.

USPS is also getting slower. I have stopped using them.

Around here FedEx is very unreliable. You may or may not get your package. We play a game on Facebook where people post a delivery photo and everybody tries to figure out where the package got mis-delivered to so you can go get it. USPS on the other hand always seems to come through.

I've posted this before, but sadly, it is even more relevant today.

Easy to target DeJoy but this BP has been a long time in the making.

I ship packages to my sister in Canada and UPS is less than half of using USPS. With UPS she does have pay GST on value. I have no idea if USPS does something similar.

In playing with USPS prices, once a package has all dimensions exceeding 12 inches the price goes up dramatically.

USPS must be charging a storage fee for the extended time in their possession, (ha)

Using Fedex wasn't such a good idea either. This package has been in and out of California (destination) 4 times now and seems to be visiting every state in the union. So far, NJ, NM, UT, CO, IA, MN. I'm not doing this again.

That's because it isn't traditional FedEx. It is Smart post which operates in an entirely different way and that's why the rate was low.

They are right when they say delivery speed is SLoooooooooooooooW.

I had a package sit at their FexEx facility in Dallas for nearly three weeks (per FedEx tracking) before they got around to moving it the final 40 miles to Denton. And that was after the sender filed a complaint.

Don't use it for shippng live chicks or ice cream.

It took over a month to arrive. Had to refund the buyer. Guess I'm off FedEx ground for ebay sales. Just have to bite the bullet on $7 envelopes going to "rural" zip codes.

This the SmartPost you're talking about?

https://smartpost.us/en/

One of the cheap services we've got in the UK (I think it's Evri) have al-fresco sorting offices in car parks on industrial estates.