With more people than ever before buying stuff online, companies like UPS (as well as FedEx, USPS, DHL, and others) have been looking for ways to provide economical and speedy shipping solutions. A few years ago, UPS unveiled what they called “UPS SurePost” – and it was unbelievably successful, almost overnight!

Today, SurePost is one of the most popular services available through UPS, particularly if you are a small to midsized business owner that does a lot of online e-commerce or are looking to ship a lot of orders each and every day. But before you decide that SurePost is right for you is important that you understand exactly what this service brings to the table. And that’s why we have put together this detailed guide.

Below we go through the “nuts and bolts” of (almost) everything you need to know about SurePost, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of this service compared to other options. We also share a virtual mailbox service at the end of this quick guide that can help you get a much better handle on your mailbox – whether that’s for your personal mail or your business mail, too! Let’s jump right into it.

What Exactly is UPS SurePost?

Right out of the gate, it’s important to understand that SurePost is essentially a fast and economical solution for packages and parcels that are to be sent to residential addresses throughout the United States and all US territories. As of right now UPS SurePost is not currently available for international delivery, though it would be all that surprising if in the near future UPS found a way to make this service available across all of their global delivery routes.

Recognizing that small business owners (particularly those running e-commerce operations online) have been desperate for a reliable, safe, secure, and reasonably fast shipping service that wouldn’t destroy their profit margins, UPS filled the void with SurePost and has enjoyed tremendous success right from day one.

Will UPS SurePost Really Help You Save Money?

Absolutely! UPS SurePost shipping rates are some of the most affordable options available from UPS (or any other shipping partners/carrier/delivery service, for that matter). You’ll need to make sure that your UPS SurePost packages meet all of the necessary requirements to be sent via this delivery option, but as long as they fit the bill you’ll be able to take advantage of significant shipping savings that can cut costs by 30% or more compared to other services.

UPS SurePost Less packages are the least expensive to ship, and they should weigh less than a single pound and should not have any more than 130 inches in total volume. UPS SurePost 1 Pound or Greater packages are a little bit heavier, but as long as they don’t exceed 130 inches in total volume they’ll be able to enjoy deeply discounted shipping costs, too. Of course, if you’re sending bound material you can ship your books, magazines, etc. via UPS SurePost Bound Printed Matter. This allows you to save big time on otherwise pretty heavy packages that would have cost a bundle to send through standard shipping services.

Finally, you have a chance to send media (binders, movies, CDs, etc.) via UPS SurePost Media. You’ll need to make sure that your packages tip the scales at no more than 70 pounds to capitalize on these discounted shipping options, but again as long as they tick off that checkbox you are good to go!

What Kind of Delivery Timelines Does UPS SurePost Offer?

As a general rule, UPS likes to try and make sure that their packages sent via UPS SurePost are going to arrive at their ultimate destination between two and seven business days after they have been sent out. Sometimes it’s going to take a little bit longer than that for UPS to get your packages where they are headed, and sometimes you’ll be able to enjoy even faster delivery times. It really all boils down to how far away the originating location and the final destination are, as well as a couple of different factors that are outside of the control of UPS, too.

All in all, though, your package sent via SurePost should never take more than seven business days. If it takes any longer than that you’ll want to get a hold of UPS directly to see what happened and what went sideways (inclement weather, busy shipping season, etc.) and to try and make sure that it doesn’t happen again in the future. SurePost isn’t necessarily the fastest shipping or delivery service available from the UPS, but it is nowhere near the slowest service, either. As long as your packages don’t have to arrive at their ultimate destination within a day or two (most of the time) this is the service to use for sure!

Is Tracking Included with UPS SurePost?

Like pretty much every other one of the UPS services available you’re going to enjoy 100% free tracking information provided with your SurePost service. The tracking information is going to be provided to you the moment that your shipping label is created, which may be before your packages even accepted by the UPS in the first place. This information is almost always included not just on the shipping label but on your receipt and in any email confirmation messages, too.

The beautiful thing about UPS tracking is how simple and how straightforward it is to follow along. Unlike FedEx (which changes tracking information even the tracking number when they use “last mile” delivery services from the USPS), UPS provides fully integrated tracking information that follows your package from the start all the way through to its final delivery. All you really have to do to track UPS SurePost packages is punch the tracking information into the search bar of any web browser or major search engine. You’ll immediately be provided with the most up-to-date tracking information available. You can also jump on UPS.com and use the tracking tools that they provide there. There’s also a UPS application that you can download to your Android or iOS device to track your packages as well. At the end of the day, you’ll never have any trouble whatsoever tracking your SurePost packages moves around the country right up until the moment that it is actually delivered.

One more quick thing you should know about tracking SurePost packages, something that’s a little bit different than standard UPS deliveries. Unlike traditional UPS deliveries your package does not have to be signed for when a SurePost package arrives at its final destination. Delivery drivers with UPS are empowered to leave the package at your home (in a safe, out of the weather location) so that you don’t have to worry about rushing to your home address to sign for the package in the middle of the day. You’ll also be provided with an Info Notice (the sender as well as the recipient) via email that the package has been delivered so that everyone is aware of its arrival.

Who Can Make the Most of UPS SurePost?

Plenty of people can take full advantage of UPS SurePost services (including folks that are sending random packages every now and again), but the people that are going to be able to make the most of this specific service are:

• Small to medium-sized business owners…
• That ship a lot of packages every week and…
• That need to take advantage of last mile delivery without spending a small fortune while…
• Not necessarily needing their packages to be delivered as quickly as humanly possible

If you fall into any of those categories (or all of them combined) the odds are very good that you’ll be able to make good use of everything that SurePost brings to the table. This is, after all, first and foremost a service that has been designed with small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses in mind. These are the kinds of businesses that need to send a lot of packages throughout the week, that are looking for more economical reliable services, and that want to capitalize on all the benefits that UPS shipping has to offer without spending a fortune. UPS SurePost is definitely worth looking into, particularly if you want to keep your business shipping costs down without having to cut corners on the quality of your shipping services along the way.

Pros

A big part of the success behind UPS SurePost are the myriad of benefits that this service offers, benefits that no other shipping service provides – especially not specifically for e-commerce operators and small to midsized businesses with significant shipping volumes each week.

Some of the biggest advantages of using UPS SurePost include (but are not limited to):

• Saturday delivery at absolutely no extra cost
• Dramatically reduced shipping prices for still quite fast shipping speeds
• 100% unified package tracking, including with last mile tracking
• Effortless UPS SurePost integration with all popular shipping/e-commerce software

Cons

All that being said, we aren’t suggesting that UPS SurePost is picture-perfect from top to bottom. There are certainly a few drawbacks to using this service to be sure, drawbacks that UPS is always working hard to rectify and remedy but drawbacks all the same.

Here are just a few of the downsides to using UPS SurePost that you’ll want to be aware of before you jump right in:

• Delivery speeds are a little bit slower than traditional UPS Ground (2 to 7 business days on average)
• It’s not currently possible to use UPS SurePost for orders to be sent outside of the United States
• Shippers are going to have to use their own shipping and packing materials instead of one’s provided by UPS
• Unified tracking isn’t always up-to-date in real time or super easy to decipher

All in all, though, none of those disadvantages are enough to outweigh the myriad of benefits that SurePost has to offer. There’s a reason why so many people around the United States take advantage of this service each and every day, and a big part of that is because of its reliability and its price.

If you are sending a lot of packages and a lot of parcels to customers in the United States, it’s always a good to see if your profits would be boosted by switching from your current shipping service to UPS SurePost. You might be surprised at just how much “found money” you’re able to dig out of your business just by making this switch!

Get a Better Handle on Your Mailbox with US Global Mail

Of course, switching to a platform like UPS SurePost may only be one small piece of the puzzle to better managing your business or residential mailbox situation.

A lot of small to medium-sized business owners are looking for a better mailbox option than what the USPS can provide, a more modern and more feature-rich experience that provides great speed, great security, real time updates, and so much more.

That’s where US Global Mail comes into play! Widely regarded as the premier virtual mailbox service under the sun, US Global Mail has built a legendary reputation in the modern mailbox community over the past 20+ years.

Not only does US Global Mail provide all of their customers with a “permanent” physical street address that offers a lot more security and better anonymity these days, but they also provide:

• Digital scanning of all mail, packages, and parcels that arrive in their mailbox
• Mail forwarding to almost any address on the planet at up to 80% off of traditional shipping prices
• Check depositing features that streamline your business banking experience

… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

If you are unhappy with your current mailbox experience (whether that’s a traditional mailbox experience through the USPS, a PO Box from USPS or another shipping partner, or something else entirely) you’ll want to look into the US Global Mail platform.

For more information about this service, or to have any questions you might have about a virtual mailbox answered from the experts, contact US Global Mail today!