USPS, as an incentive to use its Priority Mail services, offers free Priority Mail branded boxes. There are three kinds of Priority boxes with different associated pricing schemes:

Regular - priced by weight and distance (Measured by “Zone” with Zone 1 being local, Zone 8 cross-country, and Zone 9 a very distant location like certain US territories)

- priced by weight and distance (Measured by “Zone” with Zone 1 being local, Zone 8 cross-country, and Zone 9 a very distant location like certain US territories) Flat - same price no matter the weight or distance

- same price no matter the weight or distance Regional - priced by distance and as if a fixed weight

- priced by distance and as if a fixed weight You can also provide your own, “brown” boxes to ship Priority mail, but only at the regular Priority rate. In order to get Flat or Regional rates, you must use the branded boxes provided by USPS for the specific special rate.

Regional Rate Pricing - priced at a fixed weight, variable by distance

Price varies by distance - closer is cheaper

However, always priced as if a fixed weight even if the actual weight is more (or less!)

There are two different Regional box rates: A & B

Regional A boxes allow you to ship up to 15 lbs. at the price of a 2 lb. package.

boxes allow you to ship up to 15 lbs. at the price of a 2 lb. package. Remember: For USPS Priority, weights are rounded up to the next pound.

14.9 lbs. = 15 lbs, 15.0 lbs. = 15 lbs, but 15.1 lbs. is 16 lbs.

14.9 lbs. = 15 lbs, 15.0 lbs. = 15 lbs, but 15.1 lbs. is 16 lbs. This means for an up to 1 lb. package, shipping via regular Priority rate by weight, i.e. using a Regular rate box or your own “brown” box, would be cheaper than using a Regional A box

A 2 lb. package would be the same cost and a 3 - 15 lb. package would ship cheaper with Regional A rate.

If your package is over 15 lbs, you can’t use a Regional A box. Package weight Regional Rate A Regular Priority Rate 1 lb X Cheaper 2 lb Same Same 3-15 lb Cheaper X >15lb Can’t use Can use

Regional B boxes allow you to ship a 1 - 20 lb. package at the price of a 5 lb. one

boxes allow you to ship a 1 - 20 lb. package at the price of a 5 lb. one Again, this means Regular rate is cheaper for 1 - 4 lb. packages, the same price for 5 lb. packages, and more expensive for 6 - 20 lb. packages.

Packages over 20 lbs. can’t be shipped in a Regional B box. Package weight Regional Rate B Regular Priority Rate 1-4 lb X Cheaper 5 lb Same Same 6-20 lb Cheaper X > 20 lb Can’t use Can use

Regional C boxes. There used to be a third regional rate box, Regional C, but it was discontinued by the USPS in January 2016.

Regional Rate Price Table Zone 1&2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Reg. A $7.10 $7.25 $7.40 $8.15 $9.47 $10.29 $10.80 $15.33 Reg. B $7.41 $8.42 $9.37 $10.65 $16.15 $18.47 $21.03 $29.15

Multiple Regional Box Sizes

To make things slightly more interesting, there are actually two different sizes of both A and B boxes.



Top Load Style

Side Load Style

Regional A boxes come in two sizes, A1 and A2

boxes come in two sizes, A1 and A2 A1 is a top-loading box, 10" x 7" x 4-3/4"

A2 is a side-loading box, 10-15/16" x 2-3/8" x 12-13/16"

Both sizes ship at the same rate, and have the same weight limit of 15 lbs

Regional B boxes also come in two sizes, B1 and B2

boxes also come in two sizes, B1 and B2 B1 is a top-loading box, 12" x 10-1/4" x 5"

B2 is a side-loading box, 14-3/8" x 2-7/8" x 15-7/8"

Again, both sizes ship at the same rate, with the 20 lb. upper weight limit

How to get Regional Boxes

You have to order Regional boxes directly from USPS.com. The boxes, including shipping, are free. Links to the boxes on USPS.com: Regional A1

Regional A2

Regional B1

Regional B2

How to use Regional Boxes with eBay

When you list on eBay the regional boxes aren’t shown as options for calculated shipping. However, you could just choose calculated Priority and enter 2 lbs. or 5 lbs. as the weight for box A or B, respectively.

But, if you offer international shipping outside of eBay's Global Shipping Program (GSP), doing this would cause your international buyers to underpay shipping so don't use this trick if you do your own international shipping .

. You can print Regional rate shipping labels using eBay labels, USPS.com, or a shipping label service like FitShipper.com.

Paypal shipping can’t do regional rate postage.

eBay Top Rated Sellers and all FitShipper Labels users get Commercial Plus discounted rates

Regional rate boxes are not further discounted under Commercial Plus pricing.

The discount on Commercial Plus Regular and Flat Rate pricing cause the "rules" for when Regional Rate is the cheaper option to stop working in a few cases:

For a 3 lb. package going to Zone 1 or 2, Regular rate is cheaper than Regional A, but to Zones 3 - 8 Regional A is cheaper. (And, if you want to get really into it, a Medium Flat Rate Box to Zone 9 is cheaper than Regional A).

For 5 lb. packages, Regular rate is cheaper than Regional B to all zones. At 6 lbs, Regular rate is cheaper for Zones 1 - 2 and Regional B is cheaper to zones 3 - 9. Large Flat Rate box is actually cheaper than Regional B for zones 7 - 9.

Are there any better discounts than regional?

Yes. There's a fourth Priority rate type that most people have never heard of, cubic rate , which can be several dollars cheaper than Regional A to ship the same item. In fact, you can ship most items that would fit in a Regional A box, up to 20 lbs. anywhere in the country for less than $8.50 via cubic rate Priority.

This is too complicated. Is there an easier way to figure out when I should use a Regional Rate box?

Our shipping calculator will figure out the cheapest way to ship your item. It knows about Regional vs Flat vs Regular rate, Top Rated Seller discounts, and even compares Fedex and UPS prices. Punch in your item dimensions and some zip codes, and it will crunch all the numbers for you.



(It's still good to have a basic understanding of how the different options work, but we don't think you should need to be a walking shipping encyclopedia to sell stuff online.) Yes!It knows about Regional vs Flat vs Regular rate, Top Rated Seller discounts, and even compares Fedex and UPS prices. Punch in your item dimensions and some zip codes, and it will crunch all the numbers for you.(It's still good to have a basic understanding of how the different options work, but we don't think you should need to be a walking shipping encyclopedia to sell stuff online.)