Create Package -Date/Carrier/Service Section

The fields that make up the Create Package screen's Date/Carrier/Service section are dependent on the selected Provider Account. A description of each field is available below. Also, there is additional information about the Hold and Rate Shopping options.

Below is an example of this section for the three providers.

EasyPost

International Bridge

Pitney Bowes

  • Shipping Date: The package shipping date must be populated. If you are unsure how far in advance a package can be created, see Provider's Payment-Related Detail table. To hold a package, select the Hold checkbox (refer to International Bridge - Held Packages for more information about holding International Bridge packages).

    For International Bridge, you can create a package without printing a ship date on the label when the ship date is unknown. FYI, it will still show a ship date in ES based on your Company's settings in Required Settings > General > Hold (International Bridge Only) > Number days in advance. Refer to Release Hold When Labels Already Purchased or Release Hold After Purchasing Labels for steps on releasing the hold.

    For Pitney Bowes and EasyPost, once you set a shipping date and purchase the labels, the shipping date cannot be changed.

  • Rate Shopping: If the selected provider is EasyPost, Rate Shopping will display. Select a rate shopping profile, when applicable.

    See if you have no profiles.

  • Carrier or Sub-Carrier: For International Bridge, USPS is already selected as the Carrier. If EasyPost, when rate shopping is left as NONE, select the Sub-Carrier from the list provided. If Pitney Bowes, select from the Carrier list provided.

    For both EasyPost and Pitney Bowes, what carriers are available is determined by how your Company registered with each provider.

  • Drop Off Type: If FedEx is the Sub-Carrier, this field appears, select from the list of options available which are Regular Pickup, Scheduled Pickup, Retail Location, Station, and Drop Box.

  • Service Level: All carriers require a Service Level; see below for the service levels by carrier:

    • USPS Service Levels: First Class Mail; Priority Mail; Priority Express Mail; Parcel Select Ground; Bound Printed Matter; Library Rate; and Media Mail.

    • UPS Service Levels: 2nd Day Air AM; 2nd Day Air; Next Day Air Saver; Next Day Air Early AM; Next Day Air; Ground; Standard; Express; Express Plus; and 3-Day Select.

    • FedEx Service Levels: First Overnight; Fedex 2 Day AM; Priority Overnight; Standard Overnight; Fedex 2 Day; Fedex Express Saver; and Ground (Home Delivery).

    • DHL Service Levels: Economy Select; Express 9:00; Express 10:30; Express 12:00; Express Easy; Express Envelope; Express Worldwide; Economy Select Non Doc; Express 9:00 Non Doc; Express 10:30 Non Doc; Express 12:00 Non Doc; Express Easy Non Doc; and Express Worldwide Non Doc.

  • Shape: All carriers require a Shape. The available shapes to choose from are dependent on the Service Level. Shapes will not be listed due to the conditional nature of the values.

  • Additional Options: And if applicable, select any Additional Options to apply. The options are dependent on the Service Level and possibly Shape. Here is a sampling of additional options (services): Signature Confirmation, Certified, Fragile indicator, and Insurance. 1

If not putting packages on hold or rate shopping, you can skip to Create Package - Dimensions Section

Hold

In some instances, users may not know the exact date when a package will be shipped. In these situations, instead of providing a specific ship date, you can give packages a Hold status. Selecting the hold option is setting a future ship date based on the number of days in advance entered in Settings > General > Hold.

If the USPS does not scan the package within 14 days of the ship date created by a Hold, the ePostage funds, if labels purchased, will be automatically credited.

Some items to note about putting shipments on Hold:

  • Putting packages on hold is only available for Clients using International Bridge.

  • Labels purchased for held packages will not contain a postmark date.

  • Printed labels for held packages will not contain a postmark date.

  • There is a 30-day window from when labels are purchased to when you can use them. Holding a package circumvents the 30-day limit.

  • If not using e-VS, International Bridge charges you immediately even when packages are on hold.

  • Postmark dates on labels are only required for PC Postage. Postmark dates on labels are not necessary for e-VS or ePostage.

Rate Shopping

Clients using EasyPost, as the provider can select a rate shopping profile to apply when creating a new package. It speeds up the process of pricing carriers. The package’s shipping cost for each carrier and the number of days to deliver will be listed.

Rate shopping profiles are in Settings > Optional Settings > Rate Shopping Profiles. These profiles allow users to specify carriers to compare and minimum and maximum transit days. An option to automatically select a carrier is available.

To use this feature, select the Rate Shopping Profile from the drop-down list.

Once the Rate Shopping Profile is selected, the Sub-Carrier, Service Level, and Shape fields disappear. And the user can move on to the Dimensions section.

Continue Create Package - Dimensions Section