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Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter—whichever your particular choice is, different kinds of nut butter are staples of the American diet. There will always be demand for them, so food shippers will often find themselves sending jars of nut butter to consumers all around the country for the foreseeable future. If you’re in this group, you’ve come to the right place! This article is all about the cheapest way to ship nut butter, which “secret” services to take advantage of, and how to save the most money on postage through online shipping software. Let’s open up the jar, shall we?
Table of Contents
- USPS Offers the Most Affordable Services for Shipping Nut Butters
- Use Online Shipping Software for the Deepest USPS Discounts Possible
- Nut Butter in Glass Jars Will Require More Protective Packing Material
- Carriers and Insurance Companies Consider These Items Perishable and Won’t Cover Them
- What About Shipping Nut Butter Internationally?
USPS Offers the Most Affordable Services for Shipping Nut Butter
Out of the three major carriers in the United States, USPS is the one to choose when you want to ship jars of nut butter. Simply put, USPS specializes in handling smaller packages and therefore offers the best rates for these types of shipments. Most shipments of nut butter come in handheld boxes, after all, unless you’re sending hundreds of them at once.
When shipping with USPS, there’s also a specially discounted service that’s perfect for sending smaller, heavier shipments like boxes of nut butter…and it’s called Priority Mail Cubic.
Priority Mail Cubic is the Cheapest USPS Service for Sending Small & Heavy Packages
Unlike all the other USPS services, Priority Mail Cubic rates are based on the outer dimensions of your package and not its total weight. That makes it the perfect service for sending out heavier items like nut butter jars, since the weight of your package doesn’t determine the price. You can load up your box with as many jars as you can fit, and it won’t affect your shipping cost at all.
To use Priority Mail Cubic, make sure your box meets the following guidelines:
- The total weight of your package doesn’t exceed 20 pounds
- No single dimension on the box exceeds 18 inches
- The total volume is less than 0.5 cubic feet
If you meet all of these criteria, you’ll qualify for some serious shipping discounts with Priority Mail Cubic!
Use Online Shipping Software for the Deepest USPS Discounts Possible
If you’ve never heard of Priority Mail Cubic, you’re not alone. USPS doesn’t offer this service at your local Post Office. Instead, Priority Mail Cubic is only available when you use shipping software to buy discounted postage online.
Shipping software companies partner with carriers like USPS to sell labels at deep discounts that are typically only available for huge commercial shippers who send more than 50,000 packages per year. However, the best shipping software companies pass these discounts down to you when you sign up! For USPS, this tier of discounts is referred to as Commercial Pricing. In some cases, buying a Priority Mail Cubic label at Commercial Pricing can save you up to 89% off what you’d pay to ship the same package via regular Priority Mail service at the local Post Office!
On top of the discounts, shipping software also saves you time by allowing you to buy and print your labels from your own home or office. You can buy and print the labels right from your computer, and you can even schedule pickups for your packages that don’t cost you a thing (USPS only; other carriers like UPS charge for package pickup service).
Nut Butter in Glass Jars Will Require More Protective Packing Material
If your nut butter comes in plastic jars (like some of the kinds you find at your local), then you won’t need to add much packing material inside your box to protect them. All you’ll need to worry about is finding the smallest box possible; that is, use a box that allows you to, but leaves very little room for your nut butter containers to move around.
Glass jars, on the other hand, are a different story. You need to take special precautions when shipping glass and fragile items, such as using the proper packing material that provides ample cushioning and will prevent any glass from breaking while the package is in transit. We’ve listed a good process to follow below:
- Start with the smallest box possible (make sure it’s a brand-new, sturdy corrugated cardboard box)
- Line the bottom with cushioning material like packing peanuts, crinkle paper, or air pillows
- Wrap each jar of nut butter with at least two layers of bubble wrap, then place them inside the box
- Fill in any empty spaces in the box with more packing peanuts or crinkle paper
- Shake the box lightly before you seal it with packing tape; if you feel the jars moving around too much, you need to add more bubble wrap and/or material to fill the empty spaces
Carriers and Insurance Companies Consider These Items Perishable and Won’t Cover Them
Even though some nut butter like peanut butter can last for months at room temperature, these are still perishable items. Therefore, most shipping insurance won’t provide coverage for packages containing jars of nut butter, since insurance companies specifically exclude perishables from their coverage policies. Moreover, while USPS services like Priority Mail Cubic automatically come with built-in insurance (USPS insurance is typically $100 when you use shipping software and $50 at the Post Office), this coverage doesn’t apply to perishable items, either. So, if you want to protect your shipment with third-party insurance or built-in USPS insurance, you won’t be able to.
What About Shipping Nut Butter Internationally?
Major carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx won’t restrict you from sending nut butter to overseas destinations from the United States. However, the country you plan on shipping to might!
Some foreign countries restrict any food items from being imported, while others are more lenient. Before you purchase any labels, we suggest looking up your destination country’s restrictions on the USPS Individual Country Listings. This database on the USPS website lists every country’s limitations and restrictions, which vary from nation to nation.
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