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Shipment can either positively or adversely impact your Amazon business and your customers’ experience. One of the most important factors for 73.6% of shoppers when it comes to their overall shopping experience is shipping. A poor shipping experience can make 83.5% of shoppers unlikely to shop with a brand again. For Amazon sellers, late shipments can spell negative consequences, such as losing customers and getting negative feedback or low ratings, which affect your seller account metrics. Late shipments can also affect the seller’s reputation and may even lead to penalties or account suspension.
Whether you’re using Amazon FBA or doing the shipping yourself, the United States Postal Service (USPS) can help you deliver your parcels on time. So, does the USPS deliver on the weekends, specifically on Saturday and Sunday? This article takes a closer look at USPS delivery schedules for the weekends and how you can make the most out of its services.
The United States Postal Office is the only delivery service in the US that’s known to reach every address in the country. That’s 160 million addresses (residential and business) and Post Office Boxes. Founded in 1775, the US Postal Office became the Post Office Department through The Post Office Act of 1792. Here’s a fun fact: Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General in 1775. The Congress replaced The Post Office Department with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 1971.
As a non-military government institution, the USPS has the country’s largest physical and logistical infrastructure, allowing it to continue providing support and services for communication and digital commerce throughout the United States. The USPS is a self-funding agency that receives no tax dollars for its operations. Instead, it relies on selling its products, services, and postage to generate funding for postal operations. With more than 33,000 offices nationwide, it’s also considered to be the nation’s largest retail network, even outnumbering Dollar General, Starbucks, and McDonalds.
Some of you might be wondering if the United States Postal Service, also known as the Postal Service or Post Office, is a business or a public service. It’s actually both.
While it started as a public service, back when it was still the Post Office Department, the USPS became a business at the start of the 1970s. This was around the time when the USPS started relying on the sale of various products and services to fund its operations because it stopped receiving taxpayer money. As an entity that combines elements of a business and a public service, the USPS delivers to remote places that private carriers don’t deliver to because of the lack of profitability.
The USPS offers several options for its domestic mail and shipping services. These options allow you to choose a service based on factors like delivery speed, price, and online shipping vs. shipping to a Post Office location. These services include:
The USPS also offers international mail and shipping services. Keep in mind that several factors can affect delivery speeds and costs. These include:
The USPS has a Retail Postage Price Calculator that you can use to estimate delivery prices. You can also track your package via the USPS Tracking page using the tracking number found on your mailing label or receipt.
The USPS’ Saturday and Sunday deliveries, particularly Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express, incorporate insurance coverage ranging from $50 to $100. In case you need extra insurance, you can purchase additional coverage at a per-pound rate from the USPS.
The USPS does deliver on Saturday, as it counts as a normal delivery day.
However, it follows limited hours on Saturdays and deliveries should be completed by 5 p.m. (local time). Furthermore, local delivery times will depend on your location. USPS delivers the following types of mail or packages on Saturdays:
Note that of these types, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express are mainly delivered on Saturdays. Meanwhile, the rest of the services don’t have a specified delivery time on Saturdays. There are also several factors that could affect delivery times on Saturdays. These may include the volume of mail that needs to be delivered, the distance between a USPS warehouse and the recipient’s location, and the USPS service you’re using. If you want your items delivered within 1-3 business days, including Saturdays, you must choose either Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express.
Delivery times on Saturdays will also largely depend on your chosen USPS mail service. If you want your customers to receive their packages even on a Saturday, then you still need to choose either Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express.
Because of the growing demand for regular deliveries, the USPS offers mail delivery services on weekends.
While the USPS does deliveries on Sunday, it only delivers Priority Mail Express items and certain Amazon parcels. For Sunday deliveries, recipients can expect to receive the following types of packages:
Sunday deliveries will depend on the volume levels of packages. The USPS doesn’t charge extra for packages delivered on Sunday unless customers opt for an expedited service.
As an Amazon seller, if you use Priority Mail Express for your packages, you can expect them to arrive at the recipient’s address by 10:30 a.m. The latest delivery time for Sunday deliveries Is around 6:30 p.m. In case the recipient doesn’t get their package by 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday, then they’re eligible for a full refund.
Delivery times for Amazon shipments can still vary and run anywhere from 8:00 p.m. up to 10:00 p.m. Note that delivery times can still be affected by factors like the recipient’s location and mail volume.
Customers can also opt to get their packages directly from the USPS, but they will need to pick up their items before their intended delivery times. They must also have a valid reason for doing so. Below, we’re sharing some of the reasons why customers may choose to pick up their packages instead of having them delivered:
Depending on your Post Office station, sellers can leave their packages before 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. You can also choose to have your package picked up to ensure that it’s dispatched immediately, especially for mail or packages using the overnight service.
Due to its partnership with Amazon in 2013, the USPS started shipping Amazon packages even on Sundays. This has made it more convenient for both Amazon sellers and shoppers to send and receive their parcels even on weekends.
USPS carriers use the Postal Service’s Dynamic Routing Tool (DRT) to create efficient routes and deliver Amazon Sunday parcels to multiple ZIP codes. At the end of April 2014, the USPS Office of Inspector General, reports that the Sunday service was operating at more than 400 Postal Service hubs in 22 districts, delivering over 2.7 million parcels on Sundays from January to April 2014.
A few months ago, it was announced on the Amazon Seller Central seller forum that Amazon is working to bring the USPS Ground Advantage shipping service to sellers through the Amazon Buy Shipping program. USPS Ground Advantage consolidates several current shipping methods, including:
Once this service is enabled, sellers can choose from the following shipping methods:
Ideal for packages that weigh less than 1 lb.
Recommended for packages that weigh between 1 lb. and 70 lbs.
Pricing for this option will depend on factors such as package size and distance instead of package weight. Once these new shipping methods are launched, sellers can purchase labels through Amazon Buy Shipping. Furthermore, existing shipping methods for Amazon sellers will be automatically updated to their equivalent USPS Ground Advantage shipping method. While these services aren’t live yet, sellers can continue using the USPS shipping services that are currently available.
Additionally, Amazon introduced a new workflow called Send to Amazon in 2022. This new shipment creation workflow is intended to help FBA selling partners save time when it comes to creating shipments and replenishing their FBA inventories. Other benefits of using this new workflow include being able to save and reuse shipment details (case pack templates), FBA sellers having the ability to pack single-SKU and mixed-SKU boxes prior to creating shipments, and being able to select the best option to ship their products.
The USPS weekend mail delivery services are capable of serving every mailing address in the country. To access the USPS weekend delivery services, you first need to create a USPS account.
Once your account is live, you need to fill out a form to specify shipment details and check shipping costs and dates. Then, you need to select the type of service you’ll be using, which should either be Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express, for the package to be delivered on Saturday or Sunday.
Once done, pay for postage, schedule the package pickup from your home or business address, and place the shipping labels on your packages. For sellers with no printer for shipping labels, the USPS offers a Label Broker service. Through this, sellers can get their shipping labels delivered to their address for a fee or have them printed out at their local Post Office station.
As we’ve previously mentioned, there are many factors that affect delivery times. We’re sharing some actionable tips below to help facilitate more seamless deliveries for Amazon packages with USPS.
Amazon offers guaranteed delivery for eligible products and for certain delivery speeds. In the event that a package isn’t delivered by the guaranteed delivery date, Amazon will refund the shipping fees associated with that particular order.
As an Amazon seller, one of the most crucial components to keep track of is fulfillment. You need to ensure that your items are shipped on time so that your customers will have the best shopping experience possible. When it comes to shipping, the USPS provides sellers with several options for mailing their packages, including having their items delivered on the weekends. With Saturday and Sunday deliveries, the USPS offers a more convenient solution for both sellers and shoppers.
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