Does anyone know where to find the map for USPS Region boxes A & B

[videomark1]

Can anyone provide information regarding USPS Region boxes? I went to our local Post Office and the clerks had no idea; said they don't even know what region we're in! I keep seeing the cheaper prices for Region boxes when we ship, but I absolutely can not find info. Can you use either box to ship within the USA? I found that Region A  boxes ship up to 15 lbs and Region B boxes ship to 20 lbs. That lead me to believe you can use either box depending on weight but I don't want to assume and have packages not delivered or returned. Then apparently the price is further calculated depending on 'zone.' It's insane that the USPS keeps it such a secret and makes it so complicated. Although you can order the Region boxes from them for free. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

The name "Regional" is very confusing. You can ship the Regional boxes to any ZIP Code.  It's the prices that are "regional"; the pricing chart uses regular USPS Zones just the same as any other zoned service such as First Class or regular Priority Mail. 

Here are the current regular online zoned Priority Mail rates; as you can see a heavier item will often be cheaper to ship in a Regional box.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

It's very surprising that your local PO staff don't understand this; the Regional boxes were introduced about ten years ago.  You can purchase postage for these boxes through the regular eBay shipping label process, so you don't have to deal with the confusion of your local PO staff.

[muttlymob · Accepted solution]

Your location is Zone 1.  Zones 2-8 are effectively concentric rings furthering in distance from your location.

there is a zone-finder page on the USPS website:

https://postcalc.usps.com/domesticzonechart

plug in the first 3 digits of your zip code to find the corresponding zone designations for other zips across the country.

[videomark1]

Thank you for your response. I always see the postage when shipping but never understood about the region boxes. I guess since they don't carry them at the Post Office the clerks never learned about them. Although you'd have thought they'd have seen them ship & learned about them at some point! Perhaps I should've checked other USPS locations. SMH. 

[muttlymob]

training within the USPS is not the best - especially now with the extreme shortage in employees.  with the overwhelming amount of rules and info required, and not enough people to just do the job much less fill in to allow for training, it is not surprising that some clerks don't know all the details.

Not an excuse, just reality.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Yes, the Regional boxes are among the many shapes and sizes of Priority Mail boxes that have to be acquired directly through usps.com.  It's possible that your local PO  have been receiving them without even noticing. Next time you have a postage question, just come to the boards; there are many experienced sellers here who might have answers that your local staff do not.

[videomark1]

Thank you! It shouldn't be so difficult to find a solution. I kept coming upon article after article that were ridiculously outdated that they weren't relevant. I kept seeing Region C box references but on USPS I didn't see a Region C box to order.

[nobody*s_perfect]

The Regional C box was discontinued a couple of years ago.  It had a weight limit of 25 pounds, and the postage cost was about the same as shipping a 17-pound package, so that left a rather narrow weight range where it saved money and thus it wasn't used much.

[1786davycrockett]

@muttlymob 

Thanks for pointing all of us to the correct USPS Zone information!

I've been using Region A boxes for years, but never understood how the postal zones were set up, so I could never provide an accurate estimate for my buyers when I informed them that I was shipping via USPS Priority Region A box.

Now I can provide them an accurate price.

At least until the next postal increase.

(Sigh.)

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@1786davycrockett wrote: .... never understood how the postal zones were set up, so I could never provide an accurate estimate for my buyers ...

At least until the next postal increase.

(Sigh.)

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You can figure the cost between any two ZIP Codes by using eBay's shipping calculator, which gives options for all 3 major carriers, and also you can choose whether to see the retail ("in store") rates or the online ("eBay") rates.

http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

In my post where I provided charts with current prices, I also entered a link to the official USPS rates document, Notice 123. This is updated automatically when rates change, so it's a good resource to bookmark.

One final resource, and a complement to the handy Zone chart that muttly linked to, is the Pirateship Zone map linked below.  It's not as precise, but it's very handy for the visually oriented. Enter your own ZIP Code in the box below the map.

 https://www.pirateship.com/usps/zone-map

[jahood1984]

I used to use region shipping all the time, not so much since the price increases on it.  Easiest thing to do is when you make a sell, check the region a and b shipping prices in your shipping options list.   Honestly it's rarely cheaper anymore unless it's a heavier item, I check prices on every sell and usually buy time I package it and weigh/size it, it's cheaper than either region.  Occasionally it's a win but region b is usually a bit more than medium box priority if I recall correctly, I use primarily UPS ground these days, it's cheaper by several dollars minimum on anything that can't go first class almost all the time, if ten lbs plus it's usually ten dollars plus cheaper, not even parcel select has been cheaper but once or twice this year and that was by pennies but since it takes at least a week longer I still don't use it.

  Basically if it don't fit first class I choose economy shipping, I always price region shipping then move onto packing/weighing sizing.  After I enter info I compare them all, priority is usually far higher and not even competitive.  I do note in my listings shipping will likely be ups ground followed by fed ex home/ground, possibly USPS but not likely as I will use the cheapest but fastest method possible.  

[kds99]

"Easiest thing to do is when you make a sell, check the region a and b shipping prices in your shipping options list."

Yes that's what I do. Since I use free shipping, I simply grab an appropriate regional box upon completion of the sale if appropriate. No advance planning/pricing needed!