One request covers the pile
The charge does not scale with the stack. USPS says the service is free regardless of how many packages you are sending, so a seller clearing ten orders books exactly the same request as someone posting one.
Door handoff
Schedule a free USPS package pickup
USPS will collect prepaid packages from your doorstep at no extra charge, on the same round your letter carrier already walks past the house. Buy the label, print it, leave the postage-paid parcels where you said they would be, and they go out with the day's mail.
Free on the regular round70 lb ceilingRules cited from usps.com
The label comes before the pickup
Nothing gets collected until postage is on the box. Price it here, print it, then book the carrier.
What USPS agrees to collect
Free Package Pickup is not a courtesy your carrier grants on the day. It is a published product with a short list of conditions, and every one of them is checkable.
- It rides the round that already passes your door. USPS words it this way: your letter carrier will pick up the packages during their normal delivery time, and the service is free of charge, regardless of the number of packages you are sending (per pe.usps.com, Postal Explorer tips for frequent mailers, checked 2026-07-28).
- One qualifying piece anchors the whole request. USPS requires that a Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, International or Returns item be part of the pickup request before other Postal Service products can ride along with it (per facts.usps.com, checked 2026-07-28).
- Postage goes on before you book. USPS states that postage must be affixed to the package before scheduling your free pickup (per usps.com, checked 2026-07-28).
- There is a hard ceiling on bulk. The scheduling tool refuses items over 70 lbs or 130 inches of length and girth combined (per usps.com, checked 2026-07-28).
- Stamps hit a wall that printed labels do not. Mailpieces weighing more than 10 oz bearing only stamps as postage are not eligible for pickup (per usps.com, checked 2026-07-28). A label you print at home carries printed postage rather than stamps, so that clause never bites.
- Backing out has a deadline. Cancelation requests must occur before 5am local time on the day of the scheduled pickup, and USPS lets you plan the request up to three months into the future (per usps.com, checked 2026-07-28).
What the labels cost before the carrier turns up
Pickup only saves you a trip if the postage is already paid, so the number that decides anything is the label price. Five ordinary parcels went through the SMKlog calculator on the same lane, same day.
| What we typed | Packed box | Label price | Pickup charge | Window returned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback book | 8 x 5 x 1.5 in, 1 lb | $9.91 | $0.00 | 8-9 business days |
| T-shirt in a poly mailer | 12 x 9 x 1 in, 0.7 lb | $8.86 | $0.00 | 8-9 business days |
| Coffee mug in a box | 6 x 5 x 5 in, 2 lb | $8.48 | $0.00 | 8-9 business days |
| Phone in a padded envelope | 9 x 6 x 1.5 in, 0.6 lb | $8.86 | $0.00 | 8-9 business days |
| Filled carton | 12 x 12 x 12 in, 15 lb | $17.01 | $0.00 | 8-9 business days |
The mug in its small box priced below the near-weightless mailer, which is the sort of result that stops people guessing and makes them quote. Every figure is the full amount collected at checkout with SMKlog included, not postage on its own. Rates move week to week, so treat the column as a shape rather than a promise.
The order that actually works
Most failed pickups fail in the same place: someone books the carrier before the parcel has postage on it. Run it in this order and that cannot happen.
- 1. Price the boxType what you are sending into the calculator, or enter your own dimensions if you have them. You get live USPS, UPS and FedEx rows back and pick the one you want.
- 2. Pay as a guestNo account, no subscription, no minimum volume. Card details go in once and the label comes back straight away.
- 3. Print it and tape it flatFull size, no scaling, taped across its whole face on the largest flat side so the barcode stays readable under a scanner.
- 4. Book the pickup on usps.comGo to the pickup request page, give the address, say how many parcels and roughly what they weigh, and choose the date.
- 5. Say exactly where the parcels will beFront porch, side door, mailbox, reception desk. The request has a location field and the carrier reads it. A vague answer is how parcels get missed.
- 6. Leave them out before the round reaches youYour carrier arrives when the route says so, not when you would like. Put the parcels out early in the morning and get on with your day. Anything past 70 lbs or 130 inches needs a different route entirely, and our freight review form takes those.
Write the spot down properly
The request asks where the parcels will be waiting and the carrier works from that line. Porch, side gate, under the bench by the door: whatever is true. Guesswork here is the single commonest reason a pickup shows as attempted.
Past the ceiling it stops being mail
Over 70 lbs, or over 130 inches once you add length and girth, and no pickup request will take it. That parcel needs a pallet quote rather than a stamp, which is a different conversation and a different form.
USPS package pickup, answered
Does USPS charge to pick up packages from my house?
Not for the everyday option. USPS states that the letter carrier collects your packages during their normal delivery time and that the service is free of charge, regardless of the number of packages you are sending. A separate paid product, Pickup on Demand, buys a scheduled two-hour window instead, and USPS publishes that fee on its own pickup page rather than in the price notice.
What has to be in the request for the free pickup?
USPS requires that a Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, International or Returns item be part of the request before other Postal Service products can be added to it. Postage has to be on every piece before you schedule anything.
How heavy can a picked-up package be?
The scheduling tool will not take items over 70 lbs or 130 inches of length and girth combined, per usps.com checked 2026-07-28. A parcel past either ceiling needs a freight quote rather than a mail label.
Can I cancel a scheduled USPS pickup?
Yes, provided you do it early enough. USPS requires cancelation requests before 5am local time on the day of the pickup. Requests themselves can be placed up to three months ahead.