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How do I schedule a USPS pickup?
How do I schedule a USPS pickup?

There are two ways to schedule a USPS package pickup

Updated over 5 months ago

Scheduling a pickup with USPS tells the Postal Service letter carrier who services your address you’ll have packages ready, and that they should attempt to pick them up when they drop off your mail on the next business day. You can expect them around the time of day they usually drop your mail off.

Scheduling a free pickup from USPS

  • Schedule a USPS Pickup: To schedule a free pickup from USPS, navigate to the Ship page and look for the blue "Schedule a Pickup" button.

    • Here's where to find that button on your Ship page:

  • Click "Request Pickup" and Select USPS: From there, simply click Request Pickup > USPS to be routed to this page:

  • Choosing Your Pickup Location: Here, you can choose between your saved Ship From Addresses to select the Pickup Location you'd like USPS to use.

    • You can also inform your letter carrier where the packages will be left with the next drop-down bar, underneath "Where will you leave your packages?"

  • Enter the Amount and Weight of Packages: Lastly, you'll want to enter the total number of packages along with the combined estimated total weight (lbs) of all packages included in the pickup.

    • Our software pre-fills this information for you with today's Ship Date, so you can leave it as-is unless you need to make any edits yourself (like if you're only having 4 out of 5 packages picked up) 😉

Live in a multi-story building?

  • Place Packages on Ground Level: For residents of multi-story buildings, please bring your packages to a ground-level, secured location for pickup.

Free pickups are scheduled for the next day

  • Pickups Set to the Next Day by Default: The cutoff time to schedule a free next-day pickup is 3 AM ET... so technically it's a same-day pickup if you're staying up that late 😜

    • USPS will pick up packages every day of the week except Sunday, so if you request a pickup on a Saturday or Sunday it will be scheduled for Monday.

Need USPS to pick up at a specific time?

  • Schedule a Time-Specific Pickup: If you need to schedule a pickup for a specific date & time instead of a free next-business-day pickup, you can do this directly with USPS for a $25 fee: https://www.usps.com/pickup

Media Mail doesn't qualify for pickups

  • No Pickups for Media Mail: If you're only shipping with Media Mail, USPS won't come to pick up your packages.

    • Services that Qualify for Pickups: The domestic USPS services that qualify for pickups are Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express. All international USPS services also qualify for pickups.

      • You need to have at least one package of the other qualifying services for USPS to pick up your shipments. For example, if you have 9 packages of Priority Mail and one of Media Mail, you can schedule a pickup for all 10 packages.

  • Pickups for Simple Export Rate: When scheduling a pickup for our international service Simple Export Rate, you'll need to enter your package as a domestic Ground Advantage if it's under a pound, and as a Priority Mail shipment if it's over a pound 👍

What to do if USPS doesn't show up

All pickups are scheduled through USPS and fulfilled by your local Post Office.

  • The Process for Pickups: Basically, your local Post Office gets a list of pickup requests every morning, and the letter carrier who delivers mail on your route is supposed to look at that list and remember to knock on your door (or wherever you requested) when they drop off your mail... so your packages should be picked up around the same time they usually drop off your mail.

  • If USPS Misses Your Pickup: Unfortunately, sometimes the letter carrier simply forgets or is so overworked that they can't make it happen. Letter carriers may also use their discretion when picking up packages. Hazards such as snow, ice, obstructed pathways, and dogs may prevent USPS from collecting packages.

  • Talk to Your Post Office if Problems Persist: If you're having repeat problems with pickup requests, we recommend walking into your local Post Office and asking to speak with the Postmaster. Since pickups are handled locally, that's the only way to find out why they're not showing up.

Reach out to ARRrrr crew if you need a helping hook

Any other questions about pickups for USPS packages, Matey? Ye should always feel free to reach out to y'er helpful pirates ⚓️ We ARrr here for you! 

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