Getting stuff from A to B is part and parcel of life in America. When it comes to sending packages...especially overnight...there are several services that compete for your business.
The three most popular are the Post Office, UPS and FedEx. Think they're all about the same price? Not even close.
We asked the big three about shipping a one pound letter-sized envelope from New York to L.A. overnight. The Post Office quoted us a flat fee of 18.30 to anywhere in the Lower 48. FedEx came in at 22 dollars and UPS at 33 bucks.
We also asked about shipping a five-pound package cross-country. Again, when it came to overnight, the Post Office was cheapest. Costing us 42 dollars. FedEx came in second at nearly 52 bucks and UPS, a whopping 70 dollars.
There are ways to save on these rates. For example, FedEx offers discounts to those with accounts - and it doesn't cost anything to create one.
And if you ship early enough to use ground instead of overnight, both FedEx and UPS can be competitive with the post office.
So who you use depends on your needs. But the bottom line here is don't assume everyone's the same price. Get online and do some homework before you send anything: then maybe you won't be sending money down the drain. Want more ways to save? They're waiting for right here at Money Talks News.
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