Cheapest Way To Ship Large Packages In 2025 Quality Guide

Do you want your shipment to arrive safely in cheap freight shipping and in one piece? Are you searching for the cheapest way to ship large packages for your ecommerce business? 

Want in on a little SECRET? 

Wouldn’t it be nice to ship your large packages at Affordable Rates?

As a TRUSTED SOURCING Company in China and having decades of experience, we help business owners run their ecommerce businesses successfully. No more Higher Shipping Costs Now because we are here to assist you with how not to allow the carrier services to eat your PROFITS. 

In the next ten minutes, we will tell you the secret of how to ship large packages AFFORDABLY, SAFELY, and in TIME. 

What are considered heavy items?

Before finding the cheapest way to ship heavy packages, it is essential to know what Heavy items are.

Different courier companies have their standards for large packages. A quick overview of the standards of come shipping services is:

USPS: If your parcel has more weight than the standard OVERSIZED packages rates, then USPS will charge extra. The weight limit of USPS is 70lbs. 

If your box exceeds the limit of 108 inches in length, then it is considered a heavy-weight item.

UPS: The standard package size of UPS is 90 pounds. If your package weighs more, it will be considered heavy-weight, and you must pay for it.

FedEx: If your package is more than 96 inches or 130 inches combined, it is a HEAVY-WEIGHT ITEM. 

The cost per oversized package is $90, and the surcharge of $37.50 per parcel during annual shipping times.

What is the cheapest way to ship large packages?

Have you calculated the shipping cost for a large package? Are you worried about how much it costs?

Don’t worry. We are here to GUIDE.

Here are some cheapest ways to ship large packages at affordable prices. 

Compare the prices with freight brokers.

A FREIGHT BROKER is an excellent option to compare the prices because they have HANDS-ON service. 

Freight brokers help ecommerce businesses to find the reliable and cheapest way to ship heavy-weight packages. They offer online sellers competitive rates because of their STRONG RELATIONS with carriers. It will benefit you in saving some cost of shipping.

Some examples of freight brokers are FreightPros, Echo Global Logistics, and Redhawk Logistics.

FedEx, USPS, and DHL – Cheap Shipping Rates

Do you know that the cheapest way to send large packages is via FREIGHT SHIPPING SERVICES? 

Let’s compare the prices of some famous shipping carriers. 

• USPS (United States Postal Service)

USPS offers overnight shipping to ecommerce businesses. 

There are two options to choose whether you can use FLAT RATE shipping or ground shipping. 

If the package is less than 70 pounds, then go for Flat rate shipping. In this, your package will be shipped via Priority Mail Express. It will be delivered to its destination within 1 to 3 days. 

If not all the parcels fit in the flat rate boxes, then it is recommended to use a Retail ground shipping service. The price starts from $8.20, and it delivers the parcel in 2-8 days.

• FedEx

The ground shipping service of FedEx offers a weight limit of 150 pounds. And it delivers the package in 1-7 days to its destination. 

Use the FedEx rates tool to calculate the shipping costs. 

• DHL

For international shipping, we recommend using DHL. Air Freight shipments of DHL offer same-day delivery with different options such as Air Economy Service (delivery in 5-7 days), or Urgent Air Freight (delivery in 1-2 days)

How to Ship Large Packages from China?

How to IMPORT SMOOTHLY?

The BEST ways to ship from China are:

1. Express shipping

It is the fastest shipping option. But it is the most EXPENSIVE one. The shipping companies are DHL, FedEx, UPS, and TNT.

We recommend using this

• During high-demand periods such as holiday seasons

• If you are a professional online seller or ecommerce business, having more sales and good-priced products will not affect your profit margin.

2. Air Freight

Air freight is the most economical shipping option to ship large packages (400lbs to 1200lbs) from China.

It is 30-40% cheaper than express shipping. Air freight offers you BOTH lower pricing and fast shipping.

3. Sea Freight

Use this option if you need to ship extremely heavy weights from China. 

China has many world-class seaports, and it offers good pricing to ship items. The disadvantage is that shipping by sea is slower than carrier services. 

Secondly, you must also plan for bad weather; otherwise, shipping packages will be delayed.

Tips to keep in mind when shipping large packages

Our Top Recommendations are:

1. Use Heavy duty packaging 

Do not use packaging that is susceptible to breaking. 

Consider stapled boxes, not glued, because there will be chances of distortion. 

Plan and provide the item with the packaging it deserves, as it is a matter of your brand reputation.  

2. Choosing a carrier 

Selecting the RIGHT carrier is essential as they play a huge role in the satisfaction of customers. 

Make sure that your selected carrier ships the heavy and large packages. Also, compare the prices of different shipping services to not affect your profit margin.

3. Get insurance 

What’s the worst SCENARIO? Lost and damaged items. 

What will you do if you face this issue? Will you pay for that item or do the replacement product and shipping again?

Avail of the option of shipping insurance. When compared to its benefits, it is not that expensive. 

Using the insurance option while shipping large packages is WORTH IT regarding the safe arrival of packages. 

Things to consider when shipping large packages

Here are some points that you need to keep in mind when shipping heavy items:

1. Weight by dimensions

Weighing by dimensions is a NEW CONCEPT introduced by carrier services such as UPS and FedEx. 

How much the package weighs depends on how much volumetric space it occupies, and according to that, you will pay for the package, which is more expensive than the actual weight.

It is HIGHLY ESSENTIAL to keep this factor in mind if the package weighs less than the dimensional weight. Get quotes from different shipping services and then calculate based on actual weight.

2. Fragility items

Fragile items need extra care. Choose the shipping carrier focusing on fragility shipments instead of just focusing on faster transits and shipping. 

3. Destination of package

No matter your package’s weight, if the package’s destination is further away, there will be a higher zone.

The higher the zone, the higher the shipping cost will be.

Calculate the costs in advance, so you get more profit margins. 

4. Type of shipping services 

Always keep in mind the following things.

• Are you planning to do international shipping?
• Do you want fast delivery or two days shipping?
• Do you want an overnight shipping service?

The above factors are essential when shipping large packages and choosing a carrier. It save you time and give you more profit rather than last-minute hustles. 

How to calculate the cost of shipping large or heavy items?

The process of calculating the shipping costs of heavy items is quite SIMPLE.

Measure the weight & dimensions of the package.

Use the calculator of the carrier or reference their pages, such as:

• USPS: Prices reference page
• FedEx: Shipping rate calculator
• DHL: Shipping price estimation page
• UPS: Shipping price estimation page

Visit the pages and calculate the shipping costs. 

Suggested reading: Dimensional Weight: How to Calculate it For Selling Business?

How do ecommerce shops ship large packages?

You can imagine shipping large packages is a bit different for ecommerce shops. 

Managing inventory storage, shipping heavy inventory, and tracking is too much for ecommerce stores. That’s the reason they prefer to use third-party Retail Fulfillment Companies.

Different third-party logistics companies specialize in shipping heavy items. The top Best companies are:

1. ShipBob

2. FedEx Supply Chain

3. UPS Supply chain solutions

The companies help ecommerce shops with scaling and shipping faster at low prices overall. All of these options benefit online stores. 

By taking advantage of fulfillment centers, they pass ADVANTAGES to their customers, such as the affordable pricing of products. 

FAQs about Cheapest Way To Ship Large Packages

What’s Next

Shipping heavy and large packages is always more complicated than shipping light and small ones.

We guided you through all the different variables and weight limits to dimensional weights. Make sure to consider all of the points while choosing the cheapest way to ship large packages.

Do not let shipping costs eat your profits.

If you have any questions or face difficulty shipping large packages locally or internationally, contact Leeline Sourcing. Our shipping experts are here to help no matter where you are.