How to Ship 3D Prints: Packing and What Postage Really Costs
Live rate quotes for real parcels from California to three cities, USPS against UPS, and how to pack a print so it arrives whole.
Most 3D prints are light, solid and hard to break, which makes them some of the cheapest products there are to post. A typical one weighs a few ounces, fits a padded envelope and goes anywhere in the US by ground for between about $5 and $9. The price moves with how far it travels and, once it is going far, with every extra ounce. Here is what real parcels cost when we quoted them.
What is in the parcel?
How many in one parcel
Going to
Parcel weight
3.0 oz
1 × 72 g of print, plus our half-ounce packaging allowance.
To Dallas, up to 7 oz
$5.96 cheapest, UPS Ground Saver, about 4 days in transit.
USPS $6.07 · UPS $5.96
| Up to | LALos Angeles | DallasDallas | NYCNew York |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 oz | $5.27 | $5.72 | $6.07 |
| 7 oz | $5.68 | $5.96 | $6.34 |
| 11 oz | $6.09 | $6.57 | $7.05 |
| 15 oz | $6.19 | $7.59 | $8.23 |
| 1.5 lb | $5.78 | $8.06 | $10.15 |
| 2.5 lb | $5.98 | $9.41 | $11.30 |
Live Shippo quotes from Orange, California on October 2, 2026, the cheaper of USPS Ground Advantage and UPS Ground Saver. Up to 15 oz in a 10 × 7 × 2 in parcel, heavier in an 8 × 8 × 6 in box. Rates change; your own account may differ.
What the quotes show
Every parcel under a pound we quoted went coast to coast for less than $8.25.
Where weight starts to biteAcross the country, extra ounces cost more: 3 oz to New York was $6.07 and 15 oz was $8.23. Across town the same jump was under a dollar.
Packing a 3D print
- A padded envelope
- Right for most solid parts: stands, holders, clips, knobs, tags. It weighs about a third of an ounce and needs no filler. This is what we ship nearly everything in.
- A small box
- For anything with thin walls or a delicate edge: vases, planters, tall thin pieces, lattice shapes. Fill the space so the part cannot move.
- Wrap what sticks out
- A hook, an arm or a thin tab is where a print breaks in transit. A turn of kraft paper around it is enough.
- Multi-part products
- Assemble them before they ship, or pack the parts so they cannot rub against each other. Ask us to assemble it and we fit the parts and hardware before packing, for $1 a part.
- Skip loose fill
- Packing peanuts and shredded paper are messy for the buyer, and TikTok Shop bans them outright.
USPS or UPS?
For a light parcel it is usually USPS Ground Advantage. In our quotes, it was the cheaper option to New York at every weight, by more than $3 on a light parcel. Closer to home the two carriers were within pennies, and UPS Ground Saver came out ahead on several mid-weight parcels to Los Angeles and Dallas. Shippo shows both, so pick the cheaper one per parcel rather than committing to a carrier.
TikTok Shop is the exception. Since January 2026 it only accepts USPS labels bought through its own shipping tool, so every TikTok order we ship goes UPS. The full set of TikTok rules is in TikTok Shop’s shipping rules for 3D prints.
Charging the buyer for it
Charge what the label costs, or fold it into the price and call it free shipping. Both work, and both should come from the same number: the real rate for your product’s weight to an average buyer. A shop that guesses shipping either overcharges and loses the sale, or undercharges and pays the difference on every order. Put your make cost, the postage and your marketplace’s fees into the Etsy profit calculator and price from the answer.
Abroad is a different sum. International labels cost roughly $15 to $50 depending on country and weight, the buyer pays any import duty, delivery takes one to three weeks, and products with magnets in them cannot ship internationally at all.
FAQ
In the US, a typical print under a pound shipped by ground for about $5.27 to $8.23 in our quotes from California, depending mostly on distance. Heavier parcels up to 2.5 lb ran from $5.78 to $11.30.
A padded envelope for solid parts, and a small box with the space filled for anything with thin walls or delicate edges. Wrap anything that sticks out, and skip loose fill.
For light parcels going far, USPS Ground Advantage was usually cheaper in our quotes. Over short distances the two were within pennies, and UPS Ground Saver sometimes won. TikTok Shop orders have to go UPS or through TikTok’s own USPS labels.
Yes, with a customs declaration. Labels cost roughly $15 to $50, the buyer pays import duties, and parts containing magnets cannot be shipped abroad.
Packed, labelled and posted for you.
Every order printed, checked by hand and sent in a padded envelope from Orange, California, at the cheapest ground rate on your own Shippo account.
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