Please Teach Me About Using USPS Priority Regional A and B Boxes

[18704d]

Will someone who knows how to save money please tell us all about using Regional A and B boxes?   I've been simply using normal Priority boxes.. plugging in their weights when buying eBay labels ... and paying that amount. (or flat rate when very heavy)

About a month or so ago, on a thread here .. a couple boardies mentioned they wished they'd have learned earlier about regional boxes.

So..

I live in Illinois.

Today I shipped out a package weighing 2 lbs, 9 oz going to California.

eBay shipping showed me about 13.50 dollars.

Then, curious about my options, I selected Regional A box.

It re-calculated to about 10.00 dollars.

I wanted to learn more.. (because I don't know if I'm IN Region A or B .. or What that means?)   so I re-selected Region B.

It showed me around 15.00 I think.

Anyway, my question:

Can anyone on the East Coast or West Coast or Midwest....

select Region A or B ... no matter where they ship to ... and compare that to normal priority price?

And package their shipment with the appropriate box with the choice that is less expensive?

Thanks,

Lynn

[sam9876]

"A" and "B" refer to the size of the box, not region.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

First off - Region A boxes and Region B boxes aren't based on YOU being in a nominal Region A or B.

It's just means a Regional A box will ship up to 15lbs for the same price as a zoned 2lb PM (non FR) box and Regional B box will ship up to 20lbs for the same price as a zoned 5lb PM (non FR) box.

[swilson137]

Hopefully, someone who knows more can give more information, but the short answer is:

Regional A and Regional B boxes refer to size not to location.  They are free from the USPS, but have to be ordered online.  The Regional A box is smaller than Regional B. 

The cost of mailing them is dependent upon how far away they are going. 

I hope this helps. 

[dhbookds]

Lynn, you need to use the Boxes as provided by the USPO......labeled  A or B....it's not just any box.

Here's some good info......

https://www.stamps.com/usps/priority-mail-regional-rate-box/

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

To calculate the zone a parcel will be going to - enter first 3 numbers of your zip here > https://postcalc.usps.com/DomesticZoneChart

[berserkerplanet · Accepted solution]

Forget about the word "Regional" - Has nothing to do with "regions".

Regional Rate boxes are just zoned Priority Mail, but with some "if it fit's it ships" like flat rate characteristics.

Anything that fits in a Regional A box up to 15lbs ships at the 2 pound PM zoned rate.
Anything that fits in a Regional B box up to 20 pounds ships at the 5lb PM zoned rate.

That changes slightly on Jan 27, 2019 when Regional A pricing will no longer exactly align with the 2lb rate and Regional B pricing will no longer align with the 5lb rate, and the regional rate table will differ. The basic premise remains the same, it's just going to be a nightmare to figure out how to offer Regional Box with accurate pricing in eBay listings.

Currently if you plan on using a Regional box in listing you have to fake it because eBay does not offer Reg boxes as an option in the listings. For use of a Reg A box in a listing you use a 2lb weight in the listing (which is a problem if offering other zoned USPS or FedEx or UPS options where the higher real weight of the item needs to be the weight in the listing). Same idea for Reg B boxes, you use 5lb as the weight in the listing. When printing labels, the Reg boxes are an option and it's all good.

Starting next Jan, sellers who want "to the penny accuracy" will be out of luck and since the USPS rates will be a separate rate table, and the 2lb and 5lb thing won't be accurate any longer. eBay seems to have no intention of adding Reg Boxes to the listing flow or estimating calculator, so sellers will have to wing it by using the 2lb rate (and losing a bit money on each Regional shipment.).

In 2019 the 2 lb PM rates will be $7.42 to $10.86 but the Reg A range will be $7.65 to $11.20 So seller loses 23¢ to Zone 1, 34¢ to zone 8, and intermediate amounts for Z3-7. Not fatal, but bothersome. For simple shipping setups (without other options offered) a 28¢ handling charge splits the difference.


If that widget you shipped today would have fit in a Regional A, it would have shipped at the 2lb zoned rate to California instead of the 3lb regular zoned rate you used. Actually a perfect poster child example of what is good about Regional Rate Boxes.


A few years ago I was able to ship a 14lb box of pneumatic nail gun strip nails in a Reg A box at the 2lb rate. Woohoo!
(I of course had to reinforce the flimsy sides with corrugated slabs and use lots of tape to be safe, but that is what those boxes are for. Like stuffing 70lbs in a Medium Flat Rate box and really leveraging that MFRB $12.85 rate to ship lead weights from CA to NY 🙂

[mountainmommie]

I hate these boxes. They are evil and must be destroyed. One of my local post offices has thousands of these they told me someone ordered and never came to pick up. 

I offer regular Priority, run a check prior to shipping and stick the extra in the box the 1 out of the 59 times they may be beneficial. I think a buyer in Nashville may have had 3/4 cup of 7-11 coffee one morning as the upside to these boxes.

[dblkj-0]

I call them Priority A and B.

As was said nothing regional about it.

I think of Priority A as a Medium FRB with a weight limit.

By the way...

Has anyone EVER managed to fit SEVENTY pounds of ANYTHING inside a Flat Rate of ANY size?

I was just thinking the other day, I don't think even lead shaped to fit perfect inside a Large FRB would weigh 70...

[berserkerplanet]

Volume of Medium FRB Top Loader:  522 in³

          Lead density ≈ 0.409 lb/in³   -->  W = 0.409 lb/in³ * 522 in³   = 213.5 lb
         Steel density ≈ 0.283 lb/in³    -->  W = 0.283 lb/in³ * 522 in³   = 147.7 lb
Aluminum density ≈ 0.0975 lb/in³  -->  W = 0.0975 lb/in³ * 522 in³ = 50.9 lb

Volume of Large FRB: 811 in³  - approx 1.5 times the volume of MFRB.

[disneyshopper]

I love the regional A boxes!

I have items weighing 2-1/4 pounds, and ship to region 8 all the time.  Instead of paying the 3# rate, I can pay for 2# using the regional A boxes, and the shipping cost won't look so bad to folks living on the east coast.

I see that with the 2019 rates, it won't be as easy to just specify 2 lbs when creating the listing, but adding a 50 cent handling fee should work.

[nobody*s_perfect]

USPS Priority Mail has 3 types of pricing: Flat rate, Regional rate, and regular rates based on package weight and distance.

The 4 Regional-rate boxes are known as A (2 shapes) and B (2 shapes). Each of these boxes has a maximum weight capacity and has a postage cost based on the destination Zone: The "A" boxes ship at the 2-pound rate and have a maximum weight of 15 pounds; the "B" boxes ship at the 5-pound rate and may weigh up to 20 pounds.  So if your item weighs over 2 pounds and will fit into one of the Regional A boxes, you'll save money every time.   The price "regions" are actually just the regular USPS postage zones.

As mentioned in one of the other posts, new rates  have been announced for January 27, 2019 and the new Regional rates will no longer conveniently match the 2-pound and 5-pound rates. Fancier fudging will be needed such as adding a handling fee to the 2-pound rate.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Everyone else has explained RRB fairly well.

I LOVE the RRA sideloaders. You can put A LOT of booklets and magazines in one.  Ten pounds for  under $11 from MS to CA. Works for me

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I use the RRA boxes probably 75% of the time. Any order that does not fit in a flat rate envelope but will still fit in an RRA.

Any of my smaller orders that weigh over a pound go in the RRA.

Living on the coast, shipping a larger order, whether the RRB makes more sense or the Medium Flat Rate is better depends on how far the package is going.

[18704d]

Thank you everyone for posting!

Hopefully this advice will help others sellers who wish to learn about this too.

I've personally been using free shipping, so I won't need to focus on this while creating my listings.

Yes, I have already received my first couple cases of A and B boxes that I ordered from the USPS.  It sounds like I will need to order a few more cases of A again.

Thanks again!

Lynn