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   posted: Feb. 16, 2008 @ 2:20p

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I have been trying to find the best way to see if an address is a commercial or a residential. As most people know, when using FedEx, UPS, or DHL, it is cheaper to ship to a commercial address.

There are ways that I can use to check. I can use UPS and FedEx to determine if an address is commercial or residential. The other method is to use Google satellite map to see if the address looks commercial or residential. However, this may not be accurate.

Is there a more effective way to check if an address is commercial or not? Often I compare USPS with DHL to get the cheapest shipping cost.

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   posted: Feb. 16, 2008 @ 2:46p

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The method most people utilize is to actually never check residential and assume the address is a commercial one. If the carrier has address check and it comes up as commercial, problem solved. Otherwise, they will probably tack on the charge afterward. Experience says that more than half the time they never end up billing you commercial or not.

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   posted: Feb. 16, 2008 @ 9:40p

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fishie74 said:Maybe what madcow said is true for UPS, but FedEx Ground and FedEx Home are two separate entities and I don't think you would get away with mislabeling with them? Could be wrong there as I've never tried it. I've found signing up for Endicia with the free 1 month trial works. You then get to download Dazzle, which does the address check for you. Even after you cancel your trial, the program will still do this, but not allow you to print any labels or postage.

What's the point of rolling into a thread like this and "guessing?"

Anyway... Madcow is 100% correct here. I can't remember the thread, but I went round and round with someone about how to properly game the Fedex Ground system. The executive summary of that thread is verbatium madcow's post.

The ONLY time I can envision an exception to always declaring your ship-to address as commercial as if you have reason to believe your package could be delivered two days sooner by taking advantage of the fact Fedex Home operates on Saturday. For example, if you shipped a package on Wednesday to a zone that received 3-day service... If you shipped Ground the package would arrive Monday. If you shipped Home the package would arrive Saturday. That assume you care whether it arrives early, want to pay the extra fees, and willing to risk some foul up pushing back your delivery date which would then make it Tuesday.

Basically, for the n00bs: Always pick commerical and let the shipping companies figure it out. If you are asking because you're trying to come up with a rate quote, best practice is to make your rate with the assumption you will always be billed for residential but fill out your shipping labels assuming that you won't.

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   posted: Feb. 16, 2008 @ 9:58p

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I have been using the PayPal shipping to print my UPS labels and I keep checking to see what the difference is between the commercial and residential and it always turns out to be the same price for me. I don't know about anyone else. It is just too bad that they require you to have the funds in the account for payment. I do have my UPS account linked to PayPal.

Commercial is cheaper.

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   posted: Feb. 16, 2008 @ 11:02p

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MadAnthony said:JassieB said:Which costs less to ship to--commercial or residential?

I never knew there was a difference!

The logic for commercial being cheaper is that places of business tend to get a lot of packages, so they don't have to make a separate trip like they usually do for a residential address.

FWIW, on at least one occasion I've had UPS credit my account for the difference when I marked an address residential and it turned out to be a business.

Actually, I think the logic is that it's a bigger hassle for a driver to do residential than it is commercial.

Commerical locations are more likely to be "open," have multiple people who can sign for the package, don't involve a lot of hassle getting to, are usually concentrated near other commerical areas, etc. Residential locations are usually done in the evening since that is when people are home. But that also means less time to make the deliveres, thus they command a bit of a premium. You also are more likely to have a residential area out in the boonies requiring more gas/time.

Basically, I would say a residential package requires more resources to deliver than a commercial packge. Thus the higher price.

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   posted: Feb. 17, 2008 @ 12:10a

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colebert said:
What's the point of rolling into a thread like this and "guessing?"

Colebert, I have been around long enough to know you give good advice, but you don't need to be a dillhole about my reply. If you LOOK at the topic, it asks for a way to check residential or commercial addresses, to which I gave a valid solution. What you are suggesting is defrauding FedEx/UPS on the grounds that it is their problem to check. You're probably one of those ebayers who sell blank FedEx labels for a profit. Loser. As for the neg....OOOOOhhhh...I'm bothered. NOT.

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   posted: Feb. 17, 2008 @ 1:02a

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When shipping with Paypal, it looks like the price stays the same whether you mark the address commercial or residential. Does that mean they're automatically checking it for us and charging the appropriate amount? I usually just leave it as residential unless it's an obvious business address. Sometimes the shipping label would show up as an "unconfirmed residential address" even though the address is confirmed, and the CSR told me it was because it was actually a business address.

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   posted: Feb. 17, 2008 @ 10:52a

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Usually, when people asks a question, there is a question mark in the sentence.

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   posted: Feb. 17, 2008 @ 1:13p

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Here are my eBay shipping experiences using paypal.
1. paypal only offers USPS and UPS.
2. USPS, needless to say. no difference in commercial or residential addresses. But one thing is better using eBay payapl system:e-confirmation. it costs 0.18 only. not like normal post office: 0.50 per mail.
3. UPS. actual discount using paypal is about 1/3. i.e. $9 at UPS office will drop to $6 at UPS using paypal. more details:
3.1 90% cases, UPS charge in paypal account is the same for commercial or residential addresses. You can confirm this point yourself. Just click box "commercial", then click box "residential" to see the charge respectively. But in my eBay shipping, I met one case, the surcharge had about $5 difference Jan. 2008. That's why I said "90% case".
3.2 After discount in paypal, the UPS is ALWAY equal to the FedEx charge. I did compare in various cases, I have to admit the UPS must do this in purpose. So, presently, I give up FedEx choice. no need.

Therefore, I would suggest using UPS in your paypal. it's my best way at this time.
With increases of gas and surcharge, shipping is a pain to either buyers or sellers. possibly both.

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   posted: Feb. 17, 2008 @ 10:32p

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ArgoNavis said:But I get 7% back on FedEx shipments with my AMEX Business, so FedEx is still a winner.

But r u also getting the 15% across-the-board discount????//slashslash

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