What is USPS Cubic Pricing?

USPS Cubic Pricing is a discounted shipping rate based on the outer dimensions of a package instead of its weight. You’ll see it applied only to the mail class Priority Mail Cubic.

How Does Cubic Pricing Work?

Cubic pricing is the perfect solution for shipping small, heavy parcels up to 20 pounds. A great example of this kind of package is a subscription box. If you’re an E-commerce business owner, you should ALWAYS be taking advantage of cubic pricing rates. It’s that simple.

However, there are some guidelines your package must meet in order to qualify for cubic pricing. We’ve listed those below:

• All dimensions must be under 18 inches each
• Total weight cannot exceed 20 pounds
• Total volume cannot exceed 0.5 cubic feet

Here’s a quick heads up: the total volume of your package in cubic feet determines the price of your postage. You can take advantage of Pirate Ship’s Smart Cubic Calculator to figure that out.

How Can I Start?

Cubic pricing is generally only provided to high volume shipping customers. However, there are ways for small businesses to access this pricing structure. The most common way to do so is to go through a third-party postage provider. On that note, there’s free USPS shipping software out there that lets you ship Priority Mail Cubic at the true Commercial Pricing rate. That means you get hooked up with the deepest USPS discounts on postage for packages that fit within the Priority Mail Cubic guidelines! Pretty cool, right?

Pro Tip: Starting on January 27th, 2019, USPS will change the term Commercial Plus Pricing to “Commercial Pricing.” Don’t let the name change confuse you. It still signifies the deepest level of USPS discounts!