The shipping address

Question

The shipping address on the envelope was blurred by the rain.I have problem understanding "the shipping address" in the above, and I could find it nowhere in my dictionary. Does it mean " an address where goods will be transported by ship? Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Not by ship necessarily-- it means the address to be used when sending goods. Companies often have one shipping address (to their warehouse or factory) and a different billing address (to their office or headqaurters), where the invoice should be sent.

NewPhilologist · Answer

In this context, I think it makes a bit more sense to think of the "shipping address" as "the address of the recipient of the letter". Most envelopes have two addresses on them: the addressee's and the sender's. The postal services will of course try to deliver the letter to the addressee's mailbox, but if for some reason they can't (for example because the address is incorrect or illegible), they will usually return it to the sender.

Philip · Answer

NewPhilologistIn this context, I think it makes a bit more sense to think of the "shipping address" as "the address of the recipient of the letter". Most envelopes have two addresses on them: the addressee's and the sender's. The postal services will of course try to deliver the letter to the addressee's mailbox, but if for some reason they can't (for example because the address is incorrect or illegible), they will usually return it to the sender.

Order forms [on paper on online] usually ask for the billing address and the shipping address, both referring to the person ordering the product. There is usually a box to "check if same as above".

What you are thinking of, NewPhil, is what we call the "return address".

Philip · Answer

AngliholicThe shipping address on the envelope was blurred by the rain.

I have problem understanding "the shipping address" in the above, and I could find it nowhere in my dictionary. Does it mean " an address where goods will be transported by ship? Thanks.

As an aside. There is often an extra charge for s/h [shipping and handling]. 'Shipping' in these cases simply means 'sending'; it may be by ship or by any mail service.

NewPhilologist · Answer

Philip
NewPhilologistIn this context, I think it makes a bit more sense to think of the "shipping address" as "the address of the recipient of the letter". Most envelopes have two addresses on them: the addressee's and the sender's. The postal services will of course try to deliver the letter to the addressee's mailbox, but if for some reason they can't (for example because the address is incorrect or illegible), they will usually return it to the sender.
Order forms [on paper on online] usually ask for the billing address and the shipping address, both referring to the person ordering the product. There is usually a box to "check if same as above".
What you are thinking of, NewPhil, is what we call the "return address".

Yes, of course the return address is the sender's address, but the address of the recipient is the same as the shipping address, right? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to say "shipping address" when we're talking about envelopes instead of packages

Anonymous · Answer

Philip 'Shipping' in these cases simply means 'sending'; it may be by ship or by any mail service.

That seems to be another difference in American English. It's not the case in the UK, where shipping just means sending by ship. To refer to delivering something in general, without specifying a particular means, people in the UK use the words deliver or send.

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousThat seems to be another difference in American English. It's not the case in the UK, where shipping just means sending by ship.

No, It doesn't:

[INTRANSITIVE/TRANSITIVE]to send goods to customers, or to be sent to customers, usually by air or land
Your order was shipped on July 10 th by firs tclass mail.
Version 4.0 should ship in a week or two.

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/ship_10

There are dozens of citations in the British National Corpus to support this.

Anonymous · Answer

Freight transport

The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea, but is extended in American English to refer to transport by land or air (International English: "carriage") as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freight_transport

Shipping and transportation

I work in the shipping industry. Being British, that means I'm involved with maritime transport (not transportation: that's the carriage of convicts to the colonies). It's an annoyance, because a web search for my industry turns up all sorts of American retailers, because for them 'shipping' simply means what the British usually call 'delivery'. This seems odd, since ships are highly unlikely to be used for delivering anything in the US, given the geography of the place and the dead hand of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Marine_Act_of_1920, but Americans don't have a monopoly on illogical terms, as anyone who has been to a British public (i.e. private) school will attest.

http://angrysubeditor.blogspot.com/2013/05/america-versus-britain.html

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousI work in the shipping industry.

To me, an American, the term shipping industry is a maritime business. They deliver to and from terminals and ports, not to individuals.
http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/the-biggest/the-biggest-shipping-companies-in-the-world/

Companies like UPS and FedEx are global courier delivery companies. They deliver to individuals.
"Shipping address" is the physical address of a recipient, so UPS, FedEx and the postal service deliver parcels to a shipping address.
When you order something on line, they ask for a shipping and billing address.

The department of a company that handles incoming and outgoing freight and parcels is "Shipping and Receiving."

The shipping address

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Freight transport

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