The Cheapest Way to Ship Holiday Gifts: FedEx, UPS, or the Post Office?

Returntosender

Well-Known Member
FedEx and UPS mirror each others' prices and services, quoting precisely the same rates, down to the cent, almost across the board. The sole exception is ground delivery, where FedEx Home Delivery maintains a slight lead over UPS Ground. In Cheapism's comparison, the price differences amounted to no more than a couple of dollars and change. It's worth looking at the transit times for these services before springing for an express option. UPS and FedEx quoted the same guaranteed delivery date for ground shipping to Chicago as they did for two-day services that cost more than twice as much.
There are many shipping options for the Holidays. Cheapism saw substantial savings with flat-rate boxes from the Postal Service, which ship for the same price regardless of weight or destination, as long as the contents fit in one of several sizes the Postal Service provides. For instance, shipping a 10-pound package overnight to San Francisco costs $39.95 vs. $76.95 for regular Express Mail at the Post Office or $116.17 at FedEx or UPS. The heavier the package (up to 70 pounds), the greater the savings. Flat-rate shipping is often the cheapest method for expedited delivery, but not always. Be sure to price out both regular and flat-rate shipping at the Postal Service for Priority Mail, a two-to-three-day service, or overnight Express Mail, the only option with point-by-point tracking and a money-back-guaranteed delivery time.
All the FedEx and UPS services Cheapism researched include tracking and a money-back guarantee, although consumers may not be able to claim a refund if a late delivery can be blamed on a fine-print problem such as inclement weather or an incomplete shipping label -- or if a package is mailed too close to Christmas. FedEx is suspending its guarantee for Home Delivery beginning Dec. 11. The company will still guarantee pricier FedEx Express deliveries, which entitle the shipper to a refund if they arrive even one minute late. However, beginning Dec. 18, the guarantee will apply only if a package is delayed more than 90 minutes.

Got to love the EC codes, with them 2-4 billion dollar profits would be in 1 billion or less.
The Cheapest Way to Ship Holiday Gifts: FedEx, UPS, or the Post Office? | Financially Fit - Yahoo! Shine
 
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