Domestic Shipping Questions

When it comes to shipping costs, it's important to evaluate different carrier options, such as USPS and UPS. USPS (United States Postal Service) is a popular choice because of its affordability and extensive network. With competitive rates, USPS provides various shipping services like Priority Mail and Ground. In contrast, UPS (United Parcel Service) offers reliable and efficient service, including features like real-time tracking and guaranteed delivery dates. We've excluded FedEx from this comparison because it tends to be twice as expensive as these carriers.

Currently, we exclusively use USPS for all our shipping needs. While USPS is generally more cost-effective for smaller packages, shipping costs for packages over 20 inches can actually be higher than those of UPS. So why stick with USPS?

The reason is that UPS has a reputation for tacking on unexpected fees after a package has already been shipped—sometimes over $13. Once a package is sent, it’s difficult for retailers to recover these additional costs from customers, meaning the retailer ends up absorbing the loss. We spent all of 2021 trying to resolve this issue with UPS but never could, even though the package sizes and weights were accurate.

Everyone loves the idea of free shipping, and I’m no exception. But the truth is, nothing is truly free—retailers always build shipping costs into their product prices. On our website, we’ve set a flat shipping rate of $4.50, which is what we pay for a small package weighing 7 ounces or less. So even though you're being charged, you're still not paying the full cost of shipping. For signs priced at $28, our shipping costs can exceed $30.

I hope this clears up any questions you have about shipping costs. Remember, nothing is free—ultimately, you’re paying for it in one way or another.