UPS is one of the shipping courier services that offer value-added services to collect and deliver items, notification and the handling of the shipping needs for domestic and e-commerce businesses national and worldwide. Shipping cost is increasing continuously due to numerous reasons that affect the cost of the UPS also. Let’s know Why is UPS so Expensive?
One of the reasons that make the price of UPS so high is the devastating effects of pandemics all over the world. The overwhelming effects of the pandemic in the year 2019-2020 upset the economy worldwide. Therefore, several other causes can affect the prices of UPS. These are:
1. High fuel prices
2. Expensive shipping
3. Shortage of manual labour
4. Rise of dollar prices
What is UPS?
UPS is abbreviated as United Parcel Service, originated in 1907 and is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It is a public trading company which is known as the world’s largest shipping service. It also deals with cargo services and is prioritized for more profitable deliveries, particularly for small and medium-sized business packages.
Services of UPS
When you deliver some valuable item to your friend or family member or do e-commerce trading domestically or internationally, your priority would be to look around the courier service that is trustworthy, reliable and would be able to deliver the package without damage or loss. Therefore, UPS has all these qualities and provides secure tracking packages due to following reasons:
1. Insured packaging
2. Faster delivery services
3. Difference between urban and rural area shipping
4. Large and heavy package
1. Insured package
All shipping providers have some insurance policies for lost, damaged or stolen packaging to attract their customers and to give them security and safety about their delivery items. It must be obligatory for the shipping company to refund the declared cost of the item in case of broken, lost or damaged items or when the receiver is unable to receive them due to any reasons. However, all shipping companies have their own rules and regulation and offer different fees for lost or broken items.
Similarly, one of the best things that upsurge the reputation of UPS is the insured packaging. If you claim to the UPS company for the lost or broken package, it is the company policy to recover the fund within an average of 10 days. UPS also refunds most packages up to $100 for domestic as well as an international shipments. Furthermore, UPS provides an additional fee for packages that go above this amount. Similarly for the shipment from Amazon, you have the facility to use the Amazon-branded lockers where you can pick up your order from the retailer. Here you will receive a text when your order arrives and then you pick up your order from the locker location.
2. Faster delivery services
The speed of the shipping packages is related to the cost you pay. There are different types of delivery services that UPS provide to the customers. For instance, the use of UPS Next Day Air Early will be more expensive than the UPS ground services. The reason behind this is that the UPS ground needs limited and less expensive resources like trucks to travel from one place to other. Hence, UPS Next Day Air provides the fastest delivery services as the packages will be delivered quickly by planes. Therefore, the cost of air packages and ground packages are different and depend on the sensitivity of the item.
3. Difference between urban and rural area shipping
The cost of a UPS package also depends on the distance between the urban and rural area shipping. Like many other courier companies, UPS distributes the area as highly populated zones and less populated zones. Highly populated zones are less expensive due to the frequent availability of trucks. However, in less populated or rural areas that have fewer conveyance facilities or where daily trips for UPS are not feasible, the shipping costs will be more than usual. Generally, rural areas shipment is more expensive than urban areas.
4. Large and heavy packages
The cost of the UPS depends on three prominent factors. These are
a) The distance from sender to receiver
b) The period of delivery
c) The weight and size of the package.
As the first two factors are already highlighted, however, the weight and size of the packages need more cost due to their extra effort and more room. By and large, the rates of UPS for large and heavy packages depend on the size of the items. However, for sensitive and superior value items, the best choice would be UPS because it provides safety for large and heavy packages.
Difference between UPS with other shipping services
There are three best-known shipping service companies in the US, known as UPS, USPS and FedEx. Although, all these three are the best service providers a brief comparison will show the difference among them. USPS is the best choice for small packages, while on the other hand UPS is familiar with the safety and security of the higher value and large items. Similarly, FedEx is famous for its fast shipping and specializes in overnight delivery with fewer charges than UPS.
Merits and demerits of UPS
UPS, like any other courier, has its own exclusive merits and demerits. It is the best choice for quick and secure shipping, has an excellent tracking system, affordable for two-pound weight items, offers Saturday commercial and residential supply, provides you services of same day and next day shipping, is reliable and has a good reputation for meeting timelines and making available discounts for regular customers. Whereas, the demerits include the shipping cost that includes more fees and surcharges. It also does not have free pickup services.
Why is UPS more expensive?
UPS is considered an expensive shipping company due to its fees and surcharges. It is particularly more expensive for smaller shipping packages.
How much time do UPS take to deliver international packages?
Mostly it depends on the demand of the customer and how fast he or wants to deliver his/her packages. However, UPS takes one to three business days to deliver internationally.
Conclusion
The prices of UPS are getting expensive over the last couple of years. There are multiple factors involved in increasing the price of UPS shipping. The most prominent covers the effects of pandemics all over the world, the shortage of labour, the immediate rise in the fuel cost and dollar price etc. Other factors are size and weight of the package, fast delivery service, shipping zone and distance etc. However, it specialises in the safety of the package domestically and internationally.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does UPS determine the price? UPS determines shipping costs as other carriers do. Size, weight, and delivery destination are the main factors to determine charges of delivery.
- Is UPS good for international? Due to its wide network, it offers faster supply times for international shipments than FedEx and USPS. However, it depends on the cost you pay for shipment and the sender and receiver shipping location also.
- What does the UPS package’s insurance cost?
All UPS packages are generally insured for up to $100. This means that if your package is lost or damaged, it is the company policy to refund you that $100.
