The Daily Times

My kindergartner is doing a project in school that requires her to mail letters to friends and family in other states. As I started preparing the addresses to send to school, I realized that almost everyone we know lives in Tennessee.

Aside from minor inconveniences like this one and the inability to save money on hotel stays, I love living near our family and friends. In addition to shorter car rides, free babysitters, and frequent family get-togethers, we now also have the advantage of cheaper shipping.

I primarily only ship items like a pair of shoes or phone charger my in-laws accidently leave behind after a visit. Most of the time, if it’s necessary enough to bring with them, it’s something they need back ASAP.

Priority shipping rates for smaller items are higher than I think they ought to be and make me sometimes question whether it would not be easier to just re-buy whatever it is that was left behind. Luckily, the USPS recently announced a new shipping option that erases that concern.

In January the USPS began offering Regional Priority shipping. The fees are based on the distance the package is traveling and your choice of two package sizes.

Like traditional Priority shipping, the boxes are available for free. There are a few differences, though.

The program was intended for use by commercial shippers, so you cannot just walk into the post office and ship via this method. Boxes must be ordered from http://USPS.com or by calling 1-800-610-8734 and labels must be paid for and printed from that website or through Paypal.

You can either print shipping labels or simply use regular paper and tape it to the box. If you have not done this before, it is very easy. You will also have the option of requesting that a mail carrier pick up the package at your door, which is one of my favorite things about Priority shipping.

Regional Priority boxes are similar to flat-rate Priority boxes in that they are not based on weight. They differ in that the rate is variable by distance and flat-rate boxes have higher weight limits.

To give you an example of the differences in shipping fees, I will use a 6 pound box shipped from Maryville to Gallatin, where my in-laws reside.

To ship this package via regular Priority mail, the cost is $8.91 while a medium size flat-rate box is $10.50. Remarkably, the rate for a comparably-sized Regional Priority box size A is only $5.08 and the larger box size B is $6.88. All three packages should arrive in 2-3 days.

Whether you ship once a week or once a year, I highly suggest checking the Regional Priority rates. I priced the same box shipped to California and discovered for the box I was shipping, the Regional rate was still lower than shipping via regular Priority Mail.

My in-laws are visiting soon, so I am going to order some Regional Priority boxes in anticipation of their arrival. I hope they are not needed, but I am glad to know that if I do have to ship something, it will cost less because they are nearby.

Amy French Habart is a Maryville native who writes and speaks about bargain shopping and living well on a small budget.  She offers more tips and tricks on her blog, http://www.cheaptricks.blountblogs.com and can be contacted at (cheaptricks@ymail.com)

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