Overnight Mail: Guide to Sending Overnight Mails

April 20, 2022

Overnight Mail: Guide to Sending Overnight Mails

How to Send Overnight Mail Effectively and What are the Available Options?

80% of customers expect businesses to offer same-day shipping! Though this may not always be possible, looking into some overnight mail options and staying prepared is always beneficial.

Along with completing orders, you may also need overnight mailing to send crucial documents, like checks, invoices, tax forms, etc. Hence, such services can come in handy and save you from potential troubles.

There are several more benefits of shipping speedily:

Improved brand reputation
Increasing customer satisfaction
More conversions
Better efficiency, etc.

Luckily, businesses have plenty of mailing options to ship their mailpieces overnight. From the USPS to FedEx, almost all service providers offer overnight mail delivery. But, it is essential to choose an option that best fulfills your requirements and fits well with your mailing budget.

In today’s blog, we will discuss the different ways to ship urgent items. Also, we will talk about other related topics, like how long does overnight mail take and what the costs are. Let’s begin!

What is Overnight Mailing?

Overnight mailing is delivering mailpieces overnight or on the next business day. It is often also referred to as next-day shipping or 1-day shipping. Basically, this mailing service helps you send urgent items on a priority basis.

However, do not forget to check the cut-off times and eligibility criteria before sending overnight mail. Sometimes, your carrier may refuse to mail your item overnight owing to some reason. For example, shipping to some rural localities the next day is almost impossible. Try understanding the eligibility criteria in detail before you plan on sending something urgently. There are several options for you to choose from and ensure that your mail arrives on time.

Along with the eligibility, try to learn about your courier’s cut-off times. For instance, the overnight USPS mail needs you to post items no later than 5.45 PM for next-day mailing. Like the USPS, other mailing providers also have their own cut-off times and requirements that you should follow.

Most of these providers offer guaranteed delivery, allowing you to claim a full refund if your items aren’t delivered in the said time frame. Hence, you must always research well and find a suitable service to meet your needs.

Top 4 Overnight Mail Options to Choose From

Several companies are confused regarding how to overnight mail. To help you out, we have enlisted the ideal mailing options for you. All of these options have varied features and prices. Let’s discuss them in detail below:

USPS

Priority Mail Express is one of the best and most affordable overnight mail delivery services. But, how long does overnight mail take USPS? Well, it offers next-day to 2-business day delivery by evening 6 PM. This USPS option also has a money-back guarantee to safeguard your financial interests.

Remember that this service offers next-day delivery only for selected or specific locations, depending on the distance. For example, mailing from one city to another overnight should not be a problem. But, in other cases, the USPS delivers your item within two working days.

Some people refer to Priority Mail Express as USPS overnight mail as it delivers the next day to most national locations. Using this method, you may mail to almost all residential, commercial, and P.O. box addresses throughout the year.

Apart from exceptional speed, Priority Mail Express is also known for several other features, like:

Holiday and Sunday delivery: The overnight USPS mail option already offers Saturday delivery. So, if you mail on a Friday, you can still expect your item to arrive the next day. The best part is that you can also get urgent items delivered on federal holidays and Sundays when the USPS does not normally operate. You need to pay an additional fee while availing of these services, but it is still worth it during emergencies.
Free package pickup: You can schedule a request with the USPS to pick up your overnight mail packages right from your office or home. Thus, you can save tons of time and prepare for speedy deliveries in advance.
USPS tracking: With the help of USPS tracking, you can stay updated regarding your mail status. Also, it’s included in the price, so you don’t need to pay anything extra to get delivery updates.
Insurance coverage: USPS overnight mail also provides insurance coverage of $100 for most shipments, hence, protecting your items against any potential risks via transit.
Proof of delivery: You can request a signature record for your mailpiece while posting. It helps you assure delivery and get proof of the same.

Please note: The USPS Priority Mail Express or overnight mail option is only for local and national delivery. Also, you can only mail packages up to 70 lbs, so be sure to measure your items before mailing.

Other USPS Mailing Options

There are two more popular USPS mailing options that you can consider for sending domestic mailpieces. Though these services don’t offer overnight mail delivery, they can help you send your items at reasonable rates.

Priority Mail

Priority Mail delivery takes anywhere between one to three business days. It is not apt for overnight mailing, but it is still an excellent option to send letters and parcels urgently.

Like Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail also allows you to ship packages up to 70 lbs only. However, the express option is more expensive because of the differences in mailing speed. Still, you can use Priority Mail flat rates to keep costs under control for both Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express.

First-Class Mail

First-Class Mail is also not an overnight mail option. It is the most basic or standard USPS mailing service used by individuals and businesses. But, you can only mail letters and lightweight packages weighing up to 13 oz using this service. Prices start at $0.58 only for 1 oz letters but rise gradually with increasing weight. For packages, the rates start at $4.50 and vary according to the weight, size, and mailing distance.

Find below some more rates that First-Class Mail offers:

Postcards:
- Rectangular, standard-sized postcards start at $0.40
- Unusually shaped, oversized, square postcards start at $0.88
Letters:
- Rectangular, standard-sized envelopes start at $0.58
- Unusually shaped, oversized, square envelopes start at $0.88
Small Packages/ Large Envelopes
- Flats or large envelopes start at $1.16
- Small parcels start at $4.50

The above rates are budget-friendly and fit the needs of all companies and individuals. But, it does not offer overnight mailing. First-Class Mail takes one to five business days to deliver envelopes and about one to three working days to deliver parcels. But, it is still an ideal option to send your marketing and transactional items affordably and efficiently. So, if you cannot post your items by the Priority Mail Express cut-off times, you can consider these two options that we discussed.

At PostGrid, we often get queries like — can I overnight Certified Mail? Please note that you can only use Certified Mail as an add-on service for First-Class Mail and Priority Mail, not Priority Mail Express. Hence, you may or may not be able to send Certified Mail overnight, depending on your mailing distance.

If you need help to print and shipping items, PostGrid’s direct mail services can assist you in completing these tasks effectively. They can help you send all your marketing, compliance, and transactional mailpieces online—without any manual effort.

UPS

Like USPS Priority Mail Express, UPS (United Parcel Services) also has an overnight mailing option. It is known as UPS Next Day Air and is available for mailers in three versions:

UPS Next Day Air Early

It is the fastest way to send your overnight mail items via UPS. This option helps deliver urgent documents as early as 8 AM the next day. It also has a money-back guarantee and free UPS packaging. However, UPS Next Day Early is the most expensive option that UPS provides—so consider your requirements and budget before choosing it.

Remember that the 8 AM overnight mail delivery is only for metropolitan cities. For delivering items to other cities, like Alaska, Anchorage, etc., you can expect the arrival anytime between 8 AM to 9.30 AM.

UPS Next Day Air

This service is relatively less expensive and ensures your mail delivery from 10.30 AM to 12 PM. UPS Next Day Air also offers optional Saturday delivery and pickup services, making it an excellent choice to send overnight mail.

UPS Next Day Air Saver

The UPS Next Day Air Saver service is apt for mailers who want their mailpieces delivered the next day but aren’t concerned about the time. This UPS option guarantees commercial deliveries between 3 PM to 4 PM. However, residential deliveries may arrive by the end of the day and not during prescribed time frames.

FedEx

FedEx is yet another popular and reliable shipping service provider in the US. Fortunately, it also provides overnight mailing through its service- FedEx overnight.

You can select from three FedEx Overnight mail services, namely:

FedEx First Overnight: This service guarantees early morning delivery between 8 AM to 9.30 AM. However, this timeframe is only available for deliveries to some cities. You can expect deliveries by afternoon 2 PM for the rest of the locations. You can inquire with FedEx beforehand if your mailpiece can be delivered early morning and then decide accordingly.
FedEx Priority Overnight: FedEx Priority Overnight provides mid-morning delivery between 10.30 AM to 4.30 PM. This overnight mailing option prioritizes commercial deliveries to contiguous US locations. Thus, deliveries are completed by 10.30 AM for businesses, noon for residential addresses, and 4.30 PM for rural areas.
FedEx Standard Overnight: FedEx Standard Overnight helps you send your mailpieces by 4.30 PM to business locations and 8 PM to residential areas. The good news is that it is the least expensive option and helps you ship overnight without straining your budget.

DHL

The DHL Same Day overnight mail option is available 24 x 7 on all 365 days of the year. Like other service providers, DHL does not have cut-off times but expedites your delivery by sending your items via the next immediate flight.

It has two Same-Day mailing services: Jetline and Sprintline. Jetline is mainly for mailing to international locations, whereas Sprintline helps you ship urgently to national destinations.

DHL offers several impressive features, like 1-hour pickup, real-time notifications, and pre-clearance. However, please note that DHL is only ideal for mailing to international places as it is very costly.

How Much Does Overnight Mailing Cost?

Let us start by discussing the USPS overnight mail rates. The shipping prices of USPS Priority Mail Express for overnight mailing begin at as low as $26.95. The rates can rise to $688.20, depending on mail weight and where you are mailing. You can also use flat-rate pricing to mail irrespective of the distance and weight and cut costs. Or, you may use other USPS options, like First-Class Mail and Priority Mail, to ship items at lower rates.

UPS offers similar rates to the USPS. Its Next Day Air Saver service starts at $26.07 for letters and $29.35 for postcards. However, the Next Day Air Early rates start at $56.59 for letters and $62.09 for postcards. The faster you want your items to arrive, the higher the rates. Also, your destination location plays a significant role in deciding the rates.

The rates to send FedEx overnight mail start at $27.48—higher than all other service providers. Also, this rate is for FedEx Standard Overnight, wherein your mailpiece arrives up to 8 PM at night. Hence, compared to the USPS and UPS, FedEx charges higher rates. However, it is still cheaper than DHL because DHL’s Same Day overnight mail delivery service charges almost twice as much.

How Can You Send Overnight Mail Affordably and Efficiently With PostGrid?

As already established earlier, the USPS overnight mail is the best option for businesses looking to ship items on an emergency basis. PostGrid can help them prepare, print, and mail their items through the USPS in an automated manner—at industry-best pricing. Below are some top-notch features that PostGrid’s direct mail API offers:

Professionally-Built Design Templates

We understand that you may not always have the time to look for and hire a designer. Furthermore, it is a costly task as most designers work on a per-hour basis and charge extra for edits. However, PostGrid helps you speed up your overnight mailing task and cut costs by providing pre-built, customizable templates. You can add your images, copy, logo, etc., according to your needs and have your artwork ready in minutes. Have a look at our template gallery by clicking here.

Zapier Integration

Our CRM integrations help you connect our API with your system and start mailing immediately. Again, they help you prepare, print, and ship off overnight mail quickly.

With our Zapier integration, you can connect with 1600+ apps and expand your database. PostGrid can be integrated with other popularly-used platforms as well, like Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, etc.

Address Verification

One out of five companies loses customers because of incomplete and incorrect data. Plus, incorrect mailing addresses are one of the prime reasons for delivery delays. Naturally, it is hard for the USPS workers to offer overnight mail delivery if your delivery address does not exist or has incorrect details. In these cases, the mailpieces are either returned to you, lost in transit, or delayed.

Thus, PostGrid also offers address standardization and verification to help you send mailpieces with correct addresses. This way, the USPS can process your items speedily and more systematically.

Campaign Insights and Reporting

Naturally, you may want to know if your overnight mail items reached their destination on time. Hence, our API and direct mail management software allow you to track your items in real-time. Apart from tracking, you can also access periodic reports and insights from your dashboard to check your campaign progress.

Some more benefits of using PostGrid’s overnight mail delivery services are:

Flexible plans
Data privacy and security
API documentation
Dedicated customer support
PDF uploads
Triggered campaigns, etc.

To Conclude

Overnight mailing is a blessing to individuals and businesses that often need to send something urgently. It helps them in emergencies and allows them to line up their other tasks accordingly. But, sending overnight mail is expensive as you are asking a courier service to prioritize your mailpiece and expedite delivery. We hope this blog helps you select the ideal mailing service according to your budget and needs.

To further increase efficiency and save costs, try PostGrid’s direct mail API that helps you send on-demand and bulk mail. You can also use PostGrid to mail internationally as we print and distribute items worldwide.

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The post Overnight Mail: Guide to Sending Overnight Mails appeared first on PostGrid.

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