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There are a number of ways to ship a package by UPS. We are not just going to tell you to box up your shipment with lots of packing and take it to the local UPS store. We are going to address the most convenient method that enables someone to ship UPS right from the office or home. It is really easy to do.
The first step you need to take is to set up a UPS account by going to UPS.com and instantly open an account. Within a few minutes you will have an email with your password and UPS account number allowing you to sign in and begin shipping. When you log into UPS.com select your location. United States – English is the first choice for this selection, so chose the correct region, hit the blue arrow and you are taken to a page with tabs across the top and quick links down the side.
Select the tab across the top called “Shipping” and then click on “Create a Shipment”. If you have not signed in yet, you will be prompted to sign in at this time with your user name and password.
By signing in, you will then be taken to a screen where you will need to enter the shipping details such as company or name, address, number of packages, if you used your packaging or UPS official packaging, the weight, and delivery service you prefer. The nice thing about using this online UPS shipping service is that once you enter this address or customer, you can save it so you will not have to enter the location information for future shipments to that same location.
Once all of your package information is entered, and you are at the bottom of the page, click next. This will take you either to a page where you may have missed required information so you can populate those remaining fields, or it will take you to a confirmation field showing you the cost of the shipment and the address information for confirmation.
After you confirm that the charge is acceptable and that the location is correct, confirm the shipment and a popup window will appear with your label ready to print. Now, this label is an 8.5 inch by 11 inch sheet and can be printed on your inkjet or laser printer. The format has the label on the top and instructions on the bottom. Some people call this a Click-n-Ship label because of the concept of clicking and shipping. This term was created by the USPS. But the same format applies here for shipping UPS packages.
So at this point you will either load Click-n-Ship shipping labels into your printer or just print the barcode label out on your printer paper. If you print on printer paper, just cut off the instructions and tape the label portion onto your package. If you use the Click-n-Ship labels then you will just peal off the top portion and stick it to your package.
The nice part about learning how to ship UPS online is that you have an option of either dropping the package off with any UPS driver you see or at a drop off center, or you can have the driver come to your door to pick it up from your location. There is an extra charge if the driver comes to pick it up. The charge is around $4.50 per package, but it is a nice convenience.
Another nice advantage of learning how to ship UPS online is that UPS can supply free supplies. Yes, that is right, free labels and free boxes for your shipments. Well, I am sure it is built into the shipping charges, but you should take advantage of it because the rates stay the same if you do or don’t use their shipping supplies.
When you learn how to ship UPS online, you also gain the advantage of being able to track your history. After shipping your product, just go to the shipping tab again and click on the View History tab. This will show all the shipments you have made and allow you to see who signed for the package when it is delivered.
This is the simplest method of understanding how to ship UPS packages. There are other methods for higher volume shipping that include adding thermal printers and having a scheduled delivery set up, but for a low to medium volume, this method is very acceptable.
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