Went to ship a small box through UPS. Lady weighs it , measures it and says $14.71. I said that's rediculous , I'll use the post office. She perkily twittles her computer keys and says Oh , it will cost you $12+ at the PO so you will save $2. Is that worth the extra trip? I'm skeptical so said I'm going there anyway.

Go to the post office and ship the package Priority mail for $5.91. essentially 9 dollars less.

So anyway , just be careful what the UPS counter lady tells you.

Those UPS places are a huge rip off...stay away!!! Use the good ole' PO!!!

Unlike the post office UPS,FedEx and the other NON government run delivery services, very rarely do they screw up your shipping !
I order something that needs to be shipped I absolutely will not use USPS.
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I just sold a 10'6" Mojo rod and had to ship it to Conn. Good ole USPS wanted 64.00 friggin dollars to maybe have it there by Saturday. Went to UPS 20.00 with insurance delivered tomorrow. No brainer there, UPS it is.

Ups stores are private franchises. I avoid them like the plague. You can't beat having your own scale and using ups's website.. Then just drop the box off at the ups store and give them a big F-you smile.
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Almost every shipper has sweet spots when it comes to weight and dimensions so it definitely pays to shop around. Certain things to certain places just come back outrageously priced for unknown reasons. Where you are shipping it to, depending on the carrier, makes a big difference.

Then there's who can get something where, when, and at what price. USPS Priority Mail to the West Coast is MUCH faster then UPS ground for often a very similar price. UPS costs more then USPS to ship a package around the North East US, but it's almost a guaranteed next day delivery.

I saw a Fedex truck down at the big South Postal facility in Boston one day and I commented to the guy at the counter that isn't funny that Fedex drops off their packages to the US Post Office to ship. He said it is actually the other way around, US Postal Service sends their pakages to Fedex to use their planes.

I always try to shop around, I have found sometimes it is cheaper at he post office and sometimes not, depends on what you are shipping. I was trying to ship a rod one time and like TD the USPS wanted $65, I went to UPS main office in South Boston and they wanted $65. You have to get someone behind the counter that is not stupid or not trying to screw you. Finally I went to Willship (has multiple carriers) in Weymouth on 53, the owner Gary was very knowlegable and I shipped my rod for $20 via UPS (I packaged it myself in 5" PVC tube). Didn't pay for next day service but I dropped it off at 2:00 PM and it was delivered next day by 8:00 AM to New Jersey and I could follow the package online the whole way.

FYI - Rod builders will snip an inch or two off a 9 foot rod because it is sometimes cheaper to ship, once you go over 9 feet some places jack up the delivery price. :)

Yep... think about it, have you ever see a Postal Service plane? We use Fed-ex, UPS, Delta, American, Continental, etc.
That's why I laugh when the media mentions the percentage of total operating costs that goes to payroll compared to the other two major players... I'd bet it's pretty costly to maintain your own fleet of planes...:rollem:

USPS also DELIVERS packages for Fed-ex AND UPS to the addresses they do not service...


I would definitely not use USPS for shipping items of length (rods) for cost and (sadly) other reasons.

A box of plugs going further than the mid-atlantic will usually be MUCH faster for the same price using USPS priority vs. UPS ground.