Now you can select USPS as a shipping method and automatically have rates generated for your shoppers. 

Here are some tips for using USPS shipping rates.

The first tip is to offer free shipping. This simplifies the buying process because your shoppers don't need to take shipping cost into consideration when making a purchase. One less thing to worry about means more sales for your business.

Ok, I get it, you don't want to spring for shipping. You want the customer to pay for it. Well, you're going to need to decide what shipping options you're prepared to offer. There are a whole bunch of things you need to take into account. The costs, where you're shipping to, where you're shipping from, your packaging, how long it's going to take the package to be delivered, whether, tracking, and more.

So lets try to get some of these questions answered. The first thing is probably determinging the type of things you'll be shipping. What are you shipping? What is the size and weight. 

If you're shipping something that is less than a pound and it can fit in an envelope or box than First Class Mail is probably a good option. First Class Mail will take 3-5 days to be delivered depending on where you're shipping to and from. 

Alright, maybe you're shipping something bigger than a pound. If you're sending something heavier than a pound but less than five pounds than Priority Mail is the way to go. When you ship using Priority Mail your package is going to take 2-3 days to arrive depending on where you're shipping to and from. It's going to cost a little more than First Class Mail.

That's cool but let's say you need to get something delivered to someone overnight. USPS does have an option for that and it's called Priority Mail Express. Something important to remember about Priority Mail Express is that it won't always get there overnight. Depending on where you're shipping to and from it may take 2 days for your package to arrive. If you absolutely need to get something delivered the next day try using UPS or Fedex. They're just better at it. One nice thing about Priority Mail Express is that you can send an envelope or box weighing under a pound to most places and it will get there the next day. Those shipments also include a tracking number.

Speaking of tracking numbers, you can add those to First Class and Priority Mail shipments as well. You can then enter the tracking numbers by clicking on the Orders tab in the WebStarts Store app. That will send an email to your cusotmers providing them with the tracking number. So they won't be calling and emailing wondering where their package is.

There's one more USPS shipping option I want to talk about and it's called Retail Ground. In most cases I don't recommend offering Retail Ground because it costs about the same as UPS ground which gets delivered faster, and handled with better care. If you do decide to use USPS Retail Ground it's good for large boxes weighing more than 5lbs and takes 2-8 days to arrive. Keep in mind Retail Ground is only available when your shipping criteria falls into USPS shipping zones 5-9. You can familiarize with those requiremetns here https://postalpro.usps.com/NZCM_Overview

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