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The global network of carriers is constantly moving, from trucks to planes to conveyor belts to homes. Despite this hectic pace, deliveries aren’t made around the clock. Most carriers offer Saturday delivery, however, it can be at a high-cost surcharge. Sunday delivery, on the other hand, is a lot less definite.
USPS delivers parcels on Saturday. There is not an added surcharge for Saturday delivery. Weekend delivery is included in the USPS’s commitment to delivering to any and all residential addresses.
The USPS offers Saturday delivery at no additional cost. This is included with the label fee.
The USPS delivers Priority Mail Express and certain Amazon orders on Sunday. These fees are included in the initial label fee.
UPS can deliver on Saturday if you choose it as a delivery option. Even if you use services like UPS Next Day Air®, you must select Saturday Delivery. Otherwise, the parcel will be delivered on the next business day.
Currently, the retail rate for the UPS Saturday Delivery Surcharge is $16.00 per parcel. This charge is applied to the final cost of the shipment regardless of if the delivery ends up being made on Saturday or not. This $16 surcharge applies to:
UPS Weekend Home® delivery will deliver to residential addresses on the weekend for no additional charge. However, this is not yet a standard option for all areas.
Currently, UPS does not offer support for Sunday delivery directly. However, they do partner with the USPS to deliver economy parcels on Sunday. This is a limited service.
FedEx offers Saturday delivery if you select it as an option. If you do not select this option, the parcel will be delivered on the next business day. This is true for any service, regardless of if it is a premium delivery option like FedEx 1Day®.
FedEx’s Saturday Delivery surcharge is roughly $17 per parcel. The surcharge will be added to your shipping costs regardless of if the package makes the final delivery on Saturday or not. This is only a surcharge applied to FedEx Overnight® and 2day® services. FedEx Home does not apply this charge.
FedEx Home delivery can deliver on Sunday. However, this is a limited service that is largely being rolled out on the east coast. It is possible but not always likely that the final delivery will be made on Sunday.
Amazon delivers parcels on Saturday. If you are a non-Prime member, there is a $5 surcharge that is added to the final cost. If you are a Prime customer, you will be able to see whether or not an order is available to be delivered on a Saturday.
Most express services are day-definite. This means that if they don’t meet their specific delivery timeframe, the delivery fees can be reimbursed. Furthermore, the fleet of vehicles working weekends may not be as prepared for early Saturday deliveries as they would on a business day. So weekend surcharges allow carriers to better afford these time-sensitive deliveries. For UPS and FedEx Home services, the residential surcharge is two-fold. During the week, recipients may not be home to accept parcels—thus making theft more likely. Additionally, Home services are able to deliver on Saturday, making a residential surcharge a value-added feature.
ShipStation allows you to select Saturday Delivery as a shipping option. Simply select the checkbox and it will apply the appropriate surcharge to your shipment.
This option will only appear for carriers that offer weekend delivery as a value-added surcharge. It will not appear for USPS orders. If you try selecting it for FedEx or UPS home or ground services, an error message will appear since it is included for these options. It will ONLY apply to express shipments. For a further breakdown of all shipping options for each carrier, please check out our help center article.
Want to make weekend delivery more affordable and simpler? Sign up for a free 30-day ShipStation trial account today to start saving time and money!
James Messer is a copywriter specializing in shipping, logistics, and ecommerce.