what does ground shipping mean
What Does Ground Shipping Mean?
Literally speaking, ground shipping means 'shipped by ground', i.e., cargo that is delivered in trucks (by road) and not in a flight. This Buzzle article will explain what ground shipping means.
- When an item is ordered by the customer, the item is packaged to be sent through the mailing or courier service.
- The ground shipping postage (this is very important) is imprinted on the item. This may be done at any retail outlet or an in-house mailing service area.
- The designated carrier picks up the package for shipping.
- At the shipping center, the packages are transported in trucks to warehouses or similar areas and sorted according to their destinations.
- Post sorting, the packages are transferred to ground shipment trucks and sent to other sorting facilities closer to the destination. This continues until the trucks reach the desired destination.
- Ground shipping time varies according to the company and product that you have chosen.
- It also varies according to the service―courier or postal service.
- The price and time also vary as per the source, destination, and the package weight.
- Heavy packages are transported through freight services. These shipments are transported via trains or trailers.
- If you are provided a tracking number by the company, you can find out where your package is and how long will it take to reach your doorstep.
- While air-shipping takes a maximum of 1 or 2 days, ground shipping may take as long as 8 days.
- Ground shipping costs also vary as per the company. Shipping services are akin to third-party expenses; prices vary among the merchants.
- It is just another term used for ground shipping―it denotes transportation by land.
- Packages delivered by means of standard ground shipping are delivered via trucks, vans, and trains.
- It covers all the 50 states in the country and some other countries as well, depending on the company.
- In certain cities, companies employ messengers in cars and bikes as well, in order to transport goods.
- It involves product delivery via land, but free of cost.
- It is a service offered by many websites as a purchase incentive.
- To avail free ground shipping, your purchase order must exceed a certain limit.
- Free ground shipping options are more like service promotions, chosen by companies to make their website more attractive to buyers and to gain a competitive edge.
- Cost-effectiveness is a major advantage. Ground shipping is a cheaper alternative to air-shipping.
- Companies, like FedEx provide a money-back guarantee if the package does not arrive by the scheduled date.
- Many companies provide multiple delivery attempts and door-to-door delivery as well.
- In case of very large and heavy-weight packages, air-shipping is not a convenient option; ground shipping then comes to the rescue. It uses freight transportation like tractors, rail, trailers, etc.
- It is one of the biggest courier delivery services companies in the world that also provides ground shipping services.
- Since people prefer to use those services that provide them with a definitive delivery date, FedEx offers a special ground delivery service that delivers the package exactly on the designated date.
- The FedEx ground shipping time is between one to five days. If the package does not arrive on the designated date, FedEx offers a money-back guarantee.
- It also offers a home delivery service―this is used when merchants offer free ground shipping services.
- It also takes between one to five days, and delivers from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Home delivery services can transport packages up to 70 pounds.
- The USPS ground shipping time generally varies between one to eight days, which is why it has fewer services exclusively for ground shipping.
- The USPS parcel post is one service used by direct mail companies that offer free ground shipping.
- Products bought online or the ones purchased on a trial basis and with a money-back guarantee use the USPS parcel post.
- This service is a cheaper alternative to priority mail. It is used by many e-commerce websites offering free shipping as a part of their service.
- The company also offers a service called 'USPS media mail'. It is also a parcel service and has a delivery time between 2 to 8 days.
- Media mail is mostly used by publishing companies and websites that ship books.
- Many businesses use UPS after the purchase order crosses a threshold of USD 50.
- The reason being, like FedEx, UPS also uses date-specific delivery, i.e., e-commerce companies and similar businesses will know exactly when the package will reach the customer.