Can I Drop Off UPS At USPS? – The Useful Information for You

By Phillip Adcock
Last updated: Jan 8, 2023
Can I Drop Off UPS At USPS

You might have heard about the business partnership between USPS and FedEx, in place since 2001. But what about USPS and UPS? Do they have any working partnership where the two can be used somewhat interchangeably?

Namely, can I drop off UPS at USPS? Have you ever been able to do so? Here is the answer you have found.

What Are USPS And UPS?

USPS and UPS are distinguished by a single letter. These are highly renowned courier services that provide affordable overseas and national shipping services and their distinct benefits and drawbacks for eCommerce firms.

However, many eCommerce businesses have heatedly debated UPS and USPS, particularly UPS Ground. Choosing between USPS and UPS for one eCommerce company mainly depends on specific business requirements, given their upsides and downsides.

USPS is frequently a better choice for small packages weighing below 13 lbs., whereas UPS is a good deal for larger packages. USPS is usually faster, but strict regulations may limit what you can ship with this enterprise, so one courier such as UPS may be a better option.

UPS also provides superior tracking. This makes it an excellent choice for businesses shipping internationally. Weekend deliveries, in contrast, are probably suitable to USPS because UPS does not provide unlimited Saturday delivery.

Can I Drop Off UPS Package At Post Office?

You could try, but that’s like heading to McDonald’s and ordering McNuggets. They are two distinct corporations. Therefore, you should not drop off your UPS package at USPS.

UPS delivers parcels to post offices for Smart Post delivery. When employees leave, they request that UPS drivers take your UPS parcels. And there’s no assurance they’ll remember or follow through.

FedEx is one completely different story. They didn’t go to the post office regularly. Therefore,  FedEx parcels may be brought back to customers, or if USPS employees are feeling charitable, they may be dropped at one FedEx office on their way back home.

Furthermore, UPS numbers always begin with 1Z. When you see important factors that begin with 1Z, you know they’re going into the famous UPS distribution system.

It would help if you took it to one of the UPS stores or authorized UPS destinations. In case you install its app on the smartphone and use the “location” feature, you’ll be able to find nearby drop-off spots.

Does USPS Accept UPS Packages?

This occurs only in a single exceptional case, which we will cover next.

However, this is more common in smaller towns and cities where a UPS retail store might not have been. In other words, post offices would EXCLUSIVELY accept FEDEX or UPS packages for special PO Box clients.

You could put it in one Collection Box. However, it will most likely take at least one day. It would not be approved at the cash register.

What Happen If I accidentally dropped a UPS package off at USPS?

“I did this same thing! I used Amazon Prime Wardrobe to try 4 different white jeans jackets, selected one, and asked for the prepaid label to return the others. I also love to use Stitch Fix, and their returns are by USPS, and I can just leave them in my mailbox. So I did the same thing with the Amazon Prime Wardrobe return. I kept checking my account to see if the return cleared, and about a week later it still showed pending. So I got on Customer Service chat, and told them I left it in the mailbox. The CR rep said “Well, thats the problem it was a UPS prepaid!” I felt so stupid but he was great and said it happens often. He cleared my charges and said sometimes they get the stuff back from USPS but most of the time they do not. So if you used an Amazon prepaid, check with Customer Service!”

Source: Quora

The companies such as FedEx or UPS would normally send their truck to the building of USPS daily since they had something like mail, and the staff in USPS would deliver them whatever they had.

Does USPS Deliver UPS Packages?

Most post offices in the cities also receive daily shipments from UPS and FedEx, and they maintain contact with the drivers. Also, the Letter Carriers send to locations where FedEx and UPS pickups are available, such as UPS Stores and office superstores. Thus, there are numerous chances to get packages to the correct carriers.

May You Drop USPS Off At UPS?

Drop A Package In A Usps Mailbox

The answer would be no. Your package would almost certainly be returned to USPS, and it may take some extra business days.

Moreover, the packages would be completely at the mercy of handlers while they are being transferred, so you cannot track them or know where they are.

Major shippers such as FedEx, USPS, and UPS have developed a habit of gathering packages intended for themselves to deal with these common blunders.

For more information about USPS, you can read our articles on Can I Drop Off UPS At USPS, Can You Drop Off USPS At FedEx and USPS First Class Package Time.

Do UPS And USPS Work Together 

By collaborating, UPS and USPS can reduce costs, better serve their customers, and accomplish sustainability objectives such as lowering carbon footprints. While UPS and USPS are fierce rivals, they also serve customers.

What Is The Difference Between UPS And USPS? 

Because of the government department’s amount of time in function, USPS is an expert in the courier sector. The United States Postal Service, sometimes known as the US mail or postal service, provides domestic and first-class mail courier services.

In contrast, UPS is a package delivery firm, including courier express, freight forwarding, and logistics.

Whereas UPS is a publicly listed corporation, USPS is one governmental agency that raises revenue by selling delivery services and postage stamps it provides to clients.

Moreover, priority mail from the US Postal Service takes about three working days to arrive. However, if you select UPS Ground, it may take a couple of weeks for the shipment to be sent to the receiver.

The USPS even has tougher limits about item size and weight, whereas UPS may deliver items of nearly any size.

Conclusion

In general, customers should avoid using UPS for USPS items, no matter how advantageous it may be.

While UPS and USPS may transport items to each other, your shipment is virtually untraceable until their relevant carrier scans it into their systems, rendering them susceptible.

* Disclaimer: We do not buy, sell or provide service, we only share with you our trusted sources, and experience. In case of any changes in the products or services of the companies, all the information below is supposed to change at any time.

Phillip Adcock is the founder and Managing Director of the research agency Shopping Behaviour Xplained (SBXL), a shopping research organization using psychological consumer insight to explain and help consumers answer their questions about stores and services.

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