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What is dimensional weight?

If you're shipping an item that takes up a lot of space but isn't very heavy, a shipping company might charge you for the item's dimensional weight instead of its actual weight. Light packages that take up a lot of room in a shipper's trucks or airplanes actually cost the company money to ship if you're charged based only on their actual weight.

Shipping companies won't ship items that exceed a certain dimensional weight.

To calculate this weight, UPS and the US Postal Service (USPS) use different formulas.

Find out how to calculate dimensional weight for UPS packages.

Find out how to calculate dimensional weight for USPS packages.

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