Not sure what the top answers on Zhihu are talking about—have they ever shipped a package themselves?

The methods mentioned so far generally only apply to domestic couriers in China. I haven't found a suitable option for international shipping yet (specifying a particular country is manageable, but it's a hassle for worldwide delivery).

Anyway, back to the topic:

There are three main ways to ship packages cheaply these days.

The first is to sign up for membership programs offered by various courier companies, use the discount coupons you get as a member, and place orders that way to lower your shipping costs. For example, ZTO and Cainiao both have memberships, though even with discounts the prices are still pretty steep. This method usually saves you only a few yuan compared to going straight to the courier drop-off point, or maybe just the first order when you first become a member. If you value service quality and already have JD Plus, you can claim member shipping coupons directly—they're more expensive than other couriers, but cheaper than SF Express for comparable service.

If you're on good terms with the local courier drop-off point, that personal connection can bring the price down pretty low too. A friend of mine, after getting familiar with the staff at his local drop-off point, can ship anywhere in China for just 5 yuan (that rate applies to packages up to 5 jin; remote areas aren't eligible).

So the first method boils down to either leveraging personal connections with a courier drop-off point or opening a courier membership and using the member coupons. (It's usually still pricey, though.)

The second method: affiliate with a merchant service

If you have a stable shipping address, you can get a business license and open a monthly account with a digital courier service like XX. You can typically get rates around 3.5 yuan per order (additional weight incurs extra fees, calculated separately).

If you don't have a business license yourself, find a friend's company or a local e-commerce firm. Usually, a few companies in the area pool together to use a single courier monthly account, which helps them meet the volume threshold for discounted rates and cut shipping costs. For example, I once knew a company dealing in agricultural products that made no profit on its own goods—it earned money from the markup on other partner bases shipping through it. (Courier pricing is typically tiered: you get a base cost, and once you hit certain thresholds in the backend, the rates drop.) You can also find a merchant like that and ship through them to reduce costs.

The third method:

How to Ship Packages Most Cheaply? Super Practical Money-Saving Tips

The third method: third-party shipping platforms

This is essentially an extension of the second method—you're still shipping under a merchant's name. But since these companies handle such large courier service volumes, they can open up APIs for partnership, allowing you to build your own shipping platform and send packages through their API.

Generally, you can easily ship standard couriers nationwide for around 6 yuan, and JD, SF, or Deppon for around 8 yuan nationwide (and they still make a profit of 2 to 3 yuan per order). These platforms often run first-order promotions that can bring the price down to about 4 yuan for nationwide shipping.

So from a practical standpoint, whether you're a micro-business owner or an individual, it depends on your shipping volume. If you ship in large quantities, go with the personal connection route, affiliate with someone else, or open your own merchant monthly account—getting the price down to around 3.5 yuan is decent.

If you're just shipping occasionally as a regular person, it's not worth paying for a membership. Just use a third-party courier platform and ship a couple of times at around 6 yuan per order.

I really don't know what other answers are on about—do they actually ship packages themselves?

Finally, here are some relatively stable platform channels. Unstable ones aren't much use since they tend to get banned, but the stable ones are very convenient. I've organized them all here～This Might Be the Most Popular and Cheapest Channel for Personal Package Shipping (Including Discounts on JD, Deppon, and Others) - Li Xuehan

The one above includes the JD channel, which is relatively more expensive.

The one below covers other channels and is cheaper.A Time-Honored Money-Saving Shipping Service—The Key Advantage Is That This Discount Shipping Channel Has Been Operating for Several Years, Making It Quite Reliable - Li Xuehan