Shipping paintball-related items to (and from) Hawaii

This article is meant as an informational resource for people in Hawaii buying from mainland sellers, as well as sellers shipping things to (and from) Hawaii. This information is geared specifically to paintball, but applies to the shipment of most other goods as well.

There is a lot of confusion and misconception surrounding the shipment of goods between the state of Hawaii and the continental United States. Here is a primer:

General

Hawaii is part of the United States, and shipping to and from Hawaii is DOMESTIC SHIPPING.
Hawaii is roughly 2,400 miles from the continental U.S.'s west coast. For reference, the distance from the east coast to the west coast of the contiguous states ranges from roughly 2,100 to 3,000 miles.
The "lower 48" are really the "middle 48" -- Hawaii is the southernmost state.
Seller protections such as those afforded by Paypal apply when selling to and from Hawaii, the same as any other state.

United States Postal Service

The USPS is almost always the best way to ship to and from Hawaii for most paintball-related items.
Current rate charts for USPS - http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm
Outgoing packages can be handed to your postal carrier as long as they are under 13 ounces if you use stamps for paying postage, or under 70 pounds if you buy postage online or at a post office.
Outgoing packages can be placed in blue USPS public collection boxes following the same rules, bearing in mind that they must also fit into the deposit box's opening. This can be helpful if you missed your mail carrier and want to mail an item out the same day (check pickup times on the collection box).
Information on specific service types is below:

USPS Priority Mail

USPS Priority Mail service is air-mail service to and from Hawaii. It generally takes 3-5 days to deliver a package between Hawaii and the mainland via Priority Mail.
Priority mail rates are based on the zone system. Rates vary by total package weight, and rates increase with each full pound of weight. Fractional weights are charged at the next higher poundage rate, e.g. a 2.5 lb package would be charged at the 3lb rate.
Hawaii is automatically considered zone 8 for all shipments to and from the continent, because it is not closer than 1,800 miles to any other state. Therefore priority mail rates to Hawaii are higher than to many continental destinations BUT are no higher than between any two continental locations more than 1,800 miles apart. (e.g. New York to Los Angeles).
Delivery confirmation for priority mail is FREE if the label is printed online. Signature confirmation is an extra fee, as is insurance. Both normal delivery confirmation and signature confirmation satisfy the requirements of Paypal's seller protection program (signature confirmation required for $250 or more value).
Priority mail is the best way to ship to and from Hawaii for general paintball items over one pound, such as markers, tanks, hoppers, etc.
Priority mail flat-rate envelopes and boxes are available. These containers have a fixed shipping cost regardless of destination or weight of contents. Flat rate can be a good way to go when shipping relatively small, heavy items, such as certain tanks and markers. Make sure you can fit enough packing material to prevent shipping damage into the box as well. Compare the rates with the standard rates to see if it is economical to go this route -- currently the break points are: any weight for flat rate envelopes or small flat rate boxes, over 2 lbs for medium flat rate boxes and over 3 lbs for large flat rate boxes (over 2 lbs for large flat rates to APO/FPO addresses).

USPS First-Class Mail

USPS First-Class Mail is air-mail service to and from Hawaii. It generally takes 3-5 days to deliver a package between Hawaii and the mainland via First-Class.
First-class rates are based on package weight. Maximum weight of a package sent via first-class is 13 ounces. Fractional weights are charged at the next higher ounce rate, e.g. 2.7 oz is charged at the 3 oz rate.
First-class mail costs the same to any U.S. location.
Delivery confirmation for first-class packages is $0.18 when labels are printed online. Signature confirmation and insurance are available for an extra fee.
First-class mail is the best way to ship to and from Hawaii for small paintball items that only weigh a few ounces, such as marker parts, single barrels, marker bodies, light apparel items (e.g. jerseys, headwear, gloves), DVDs, etc.

USPS Parcel Post

USPS Parcel Post is surface-mail service to and from Hawaii. It generally takes 3-4 weeks or more to deliver a package between Hawaii and the mainland via Parcel Post. Because of this is is sometimes called "slow boat" shipping.
Like priority mail, parcel post rates are based on the zone system. Rates vary by total package weight in the same way as priority mail, above.
Hawaii is automatically considered zone 8 for parcel post, as with priority mail, above. Because of this, many discount or local rates are not available when shipping to or from Hawaii.
Rates for parcel post are not significantly less than priority mail for the first few pounds of weight, especially considering the delivery time differences.
Delivery confirmation for parcel post packages is $0.18 when labels are printed online. Signature confirmation and insurance are available for an added fee.
If you are shipping parcel post, please make sure both parties involved know about the long delivery times and the price differences vs. priority mail. Alternate arrangements are often more attractive.
Parcel post is usually NOT the best way to ship to or from Hawaii except for the largest, heaviest items that the recipient is willing to wait several weeks for to save money on shipping.

USPS Express Mail

USPS Express Mail is air-mail service to and from Hawaii. It generally takes 1-2 days (including Sundays and holidays) to deliver a package between Hawaii and the mainland via Express.
Express mail rates are based on package weight, starting at 0.5 lb, and increase at each full pound. Fractional weights are charged at the next higher pound rate, e.g. 2.5 lbs is charged at the 3 lbs rate.
Express mail costs the same to any U.S. location.
Delivery confirmation and optional signature confirmation for express packages is FREE. $100 insurance is FREE. Additional services are available for extra fees.
Express mail is a good way to ship to and from Hawaii for items that are very time-sensitive, for which the recipient is willing to pay significantly more in fees, however the extra expense of express mail is usually unnecessary when shipping paintball-related items.

Other USPS mail services

Other types of USPS shipping that may be considered for paintball-related items include Media Mail (Book rate) and Bound Printed Material mail. These are low-priority surface-mail services to and from Hawaii.
Materials shipped by either of these services are restricted by postal rules; see the links to each service description above for details.
These services are not recommended for most paintball-related items, including magazines and DVDs because of their slow transit times and restrictive policies. Most items likely to be shipped in this manner would be better of shipped via one of the other methods, almost without exception.

UPS and FedEx

The "big two" private carriers are usually NOT the best way to ship to Hawaii for most paintball-related items, but may be competitive when shipping from Hawaii.
Rates for UPS and FedEx shipments are almost always higher than comparable rates via USPS.
Both UPS AND FedEx WILL ship to and from Hawaii with their respective Ground services, despite many shippers' claims to the contrary. However, the leg between Hawaii and the west coast is by air, so costs for ground service to and from Hawaii are higher than intra-continental deliveries.
Although private carriers offer more types of rush-delivery service than USPS, the realities of costs and delivery times cancel out any benefits:
- USPS Express mail (1-day service) is cheaper than both carriers' 1-day services both to and from Hawaii, and cheaper than both carriers' 2-day services to Hawaii. Neither private carrier delivers on Saturday or Sunday, while USPS delivers express packages on both days.
- USPS Priority mail (3-5 day service) is cheaper than both UPS ground (3+ days) and FedEx ground (3-7 days) when shipping to Hawaii, and USPS delivers priority mail packages on Saturday.
- When shipping from Hawaii, both UPS and FedEx offer reduced rates which may be competitive, so compare rates when shipping an item to the mainland.
Because of the often signficant difference in cost between USPS and UPS/FedEx when shipping to Hawaii, Hawaii buyers will often outright avoid sellers that do not offer USPS shipping, and gravitate towards those that do. This bears keeping in mind when making policy decisions -- retailers this means you!

So what does this amount to?

USPS is your best bet for shipping to and from Hawaii. The two best services are First-Class Mail and Priority Mail, in that order.
Via USPS, shipping to Hawaii is often comparable in cost to shipping to other states, and in all cases it is comparable to shipping a package coast-to-coast.
There is rarely any reason to charge a surcharge for Hawaii deliveries beyond what would be charged to ship to the furthest contiguous states. Doing so is exploitive and distasteful.

Please feel free to hand out the link to this thread to anyone you are doing business with.

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