Introduction
With booming eCommerce and customers demanding faster deliveries, overnight shipping is the stand-out shipping option for time-sensitive requirements. In this blog, we will learn about some of the cheapest overnight shipping options, couriers with overnight shipping options, and factors to consider when choosing cheap overnight shipping.
What Exactly Is Overnight Shipping?
Overnight shipping is a shipping option that delivers your package the next business day or overnight, as the name suggests. This is the fastest overnight mailing option offered by all major couriers, such as FedEx and UPS. The fast delivery guarantee comes at a premium price, but that’s the price you pay for the speedy service. It also goes by the names 1-Day Delivery or Next-Day Delivery.
Overnight Shipping Process
Do you have a package that you want to get to your customer or loved one immediately? If so, overnight shipping is the right option for you. Here is a brief description of the overnight shipping process in a few easy steps.
Customer places the booking
At SFL Worldwide, we have an instant rate calculator that gets you the lowest overnight shipping rates for your destination, speed, and level of service required. We provide this information with price comparisons that make it easy for you to take a decision. Once a decision has been made, the customer books a shipping option.
Shipping company processes the package
In some cases, we help the customer with packing the item. Once the package is picked up or delivered to our warehouse, we process the package details and get it ready for shipping by forwarding it to the courier of your choice.
Package is delivered to the nearest hub or office for delivery
The receiving hub or office processes the package one last time to get it ready for final delivery.
Package is delivered
Customer receives the package the next day or as per the shipping schedule.
Determine Courier That Offers The Cheapest Overnight Shipping
Before you choose your overnight shipping package, it is important to do some competitor research to understand the costs of how much to overnight a package and which courier offers the cheapest packages for overnight shipping. Your courier must be able to –
- Have a wide network of connections to allow your package to be delivered quickly.
- Offer some of the lowest rates in the industry
- Be transparent about costs and offer real-time tracking information
- Deliver before the stipulated time
- Deliver your package in an impeccable condition
Cheapest Overnight Shipping Options
The cheapest overnight shipping rates depend on a number of factors ranging from price, speed, level of service, network, and more. As much as we want to find the cheapest package, we want to keep an eye out for high-quality shipping services. Let’s take a look at some of the options available with a few leading carriers.
UPS Overnight Shipping
UPS has been the preferred choice for cheap overnight shipping with Americans for several decades and is a great choice for overnight shipping. They have a few options depending on your time and budget. Some of the top options for overnight shipping with UPS are –
- UPS Next Day Air guarantees delivery by 10:30 am, 12 pm, or by end of the day
- UPS Next Day Air Saver guarantees delivery by end of the next business day and is available to all states.
- UPS Next Day Early guarantees delivery by 8 am for most major cities and by 9 am for most locations in the United States.
USPS Overnight Shipping
USPS has one of the trusted shipping company names in homes across America. They have an overnight shipping service that guarantees to ship your package in one or two days. USPS also has a full refund guarantee if your package doesn’t get delivered as promised. USPS is also the only shipping company that is allowed to overnight packages to a P.O.Box address.
FedEx Overnight Shipping
FedEx is one of the largest shipping companies in the world, with an extensive network of connections that allow them to cater to customer’s specific requirements, especially with overnight shipping. FedEx guarantees delivery by the next business day with its overnight shipping service. The delivery is usually at its destination by morning, noon, or evening depending on the location.
Overnight Shipping Rates By Different Carriers
The overnight shipping rates can vary with your budget, speed, and level of service chosen with each carrier. Let’s take a 3lb package shipping from San Jose to Austin for overnight shipping and compare the prices with different carriers.
Factors To Consider In Overnight shipping cost
You can influence the cost of your overnight shipping with how you process your shipment. Simple factors such as the dimension of your package influence the overnight shipping cost. Here are some factors to consider in the overnight shipping costs.
Package dimensions
It is well known that the shipping industry calculates its rates by the amount of space your package occupies in the mode of transport used to ship your package. This is known as dimensional weight, and this method is used to calculate the final overnight shipping cost for your package. Keep this in mind when selecting the right box for your package.
Package weight
It is not just the package that is taken into consideration when calculating the package weight. It is also the packaging material such as tape, packing peanuts, paper, and any other packaging material that is used to keep your package secure for transportation. Therefore, it is important to keep inside cushioning and packaging materials to the bare, effective minimum for lowered shipping costs.
Shipping Destination
The origin and end destination for your package matter when calculating the costs for overnight shipping. This is done as not all states or locations have the same transportation network as some key states in the mainland United States do. It only makes sense to charge a shipping rate according to the origin and final destination of your package.
Shipping Agreements
At SFL Worldwide, we offer exclusive member discount pricing and volume-based discounts for our customers. Having a shipping agreement lays out who does what in the shipping process and is a must for gaining clarity on the logistics. Consult with our shipping advisor to gain access to some of our exclusive discounts.
How SFL Worldwide Offers Overnight Shipping
At SFL Worldwide, we pride ourselves on going the extra mile to satisfy our customers. We are widely knit and have an extensive network of shipping companies that we work with to get your order shipped at any time or speed to your destination. This means we offer our exclusive discounted pricing on overnight shipping as well. Here is a simple process of how overnight shipping works with SFL Worldwide.
Visit SFL Worldwide and click on “Get Quote” to make an instant booking for your overnight shipment.
Simply enter your origin and final destination details along with information on your package.
We offer an entire list of overnight shipping packages from all major carriers. Compare and select the right package for you.
Follow the next steps to complete your booking with a dedicated account on SFL Worldwide.
You can contact our support team to understand our process further. Call us on our dedicated phone line using this number – 1-800-691-2335 with your questions.
Overnight Shipping Frequently Asked Questions
The USPS has always been a tough competitor as far as pricing goes. They offer consistently low prices on all of their packages. That said, there are packages from FedEx and UPS that are faster.
One of the first questions we get regarding overnight shipping is, “how much does overnight shipping cost?.” The cost to overnight a package varies from one carrier to another. Factors such as speed, level of service, destinations, etc., affect your overnight package’s final pricing. You can check out this page’s overnight shipping rates section to get an idea of how much it costs to ship your package.
No. The cost remains the same to ship liquids as the weight determines your final pricing.
The fastest shipping packages are typically from FedEx. FedEx First Overnight is the fastest overnight package option in the shipping industry. It ships your package as early as 8 am the next business day.
Yes. FedEx has options that allow you to pick up packages and deliver them on Saturdays in most areas. UPS and FedEx function seven days a week and can process your shipments on weekends.
Conclusion
Overnight shipping is a convenience that can help you in the direst of moments. In the world of business, urgent requirements pop up by the second, and having access to this quick shipping option certainly helps. That said, this convenience is available to you at an added cost. If your need is urgent and requires meeting deadlines, overnight shipping is the right package for you. Visit our support page to learn more about overnight packages that are right for you.
I’m Tammy Waller, a supply chain and logistics specialist with over 10 years of expertise. I’ve been an author and SFL employee for over 10 years.
As an author, I’ve been able to teach others. I love guiding users through supply chain and logistics operations.
I have substantial experience managing logistics operations, supply chain management, transportation, inventory management, and warehousing in shipping-moving and logistic services. I’ve worked on many worldwide logistics and supply chain projects, honing my abilities in negotiating rates, scheduling shipments, and managing vendors.
