Cheapest Way to Ship Anything, Item by Item

The cheapest label depends on what is in the box. These 45 guides cover how to pack each item type and which USPS or UPS service to buy once it is packed.

  • 45Item types with their own packing guide
  • USPS and UPSCarriers you can print here
A 13 × 9 × 5 in shoe box is 585 cu in, well under the 1,728 cu in line where USPS starts billing for size, so the label is priced on its actual 2 lb.
The cheapest way to ship an item is decided by two things the carrier can see and you control: how much the packed parcel weighs, and how big the box is. I'd Ship That prints discounted USPS and UPS labels, and these 45 guides work through both variables for one item type at a time.

Start with the guide that matches what you are sending. Each one names the service to buy, the packaging that keeps the parcel under the next price break, and the failure mode that costs the most for that item, whether that is crushing, creasing, breakage or a dimensional-weight charge.

If you already know what the packed box weighs, go to the cost-by-weight guides instead. If you are choosing between two carriers rather than two boxes, go to the carrier comparisons.

45 guides, grouped by the service each item ships on.

Letter mail

Flat, flexible and light enough to travel as a letter instead of a parcel.

2 guides, typically $0.82 to $1.69

USPS Media Mail

Books, records and other media only. Slow, and usually the cheapest way to move heavy media.

2 guides, typically $4.39 to $5.86

USPS Ground Advantage

Soft goods and small boxes. Under one cubic foot, USPS prices them on actual weight.

25 guides, typically $5.63 to $19.20

Every I'd Ship That and in-app price on this page is a Pro price. Prices marked Pro price are what Pro members pay. On the free Starter plan, each label adds a platform fee of about 10% of the postage, rounded to the nearest $0.25, at least $0.50 and at most $2.50. Prices shown are for paying from your I'd Ship That balance; paying by card costs slightly more.

USPS Priority Mail

Fragile, valuable or dense items, where included coverage, Flat Rate or Cubic pricing does the work.

5 guides, typically $8.01 to $18.35

UPS® Ground

Large, heavy or regulated boxes: instruments, bikes, furniture, licensed shipments.

9 guides

Express and two-day

Perishables that cannot sit in a truck for a week.

2 guides, typically $33.43 to $85.74

Typical label cost per item, from each guide, on a log scale from $0.50 to $500.

Where to Go Next#

Rates by service
Zone and weight breaks for each USPS and UPS service.
Carrier comparisons
Where the cheaper carrier flips between two options.
Cost by package weight
What a package costs at each weight tier.
Guides by selling platform
Which service each marketplace expects.
Delivery times by service
Business days by zone, and whether it is guaranteed.

Start Saving on Shipping Today#

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