[noelherrick]

Where do you get the $100/lb? Just extending it to passenger flights, a cross country trip costs $250 (LA to NYC) and most passengers are > 100 lbs, so it’s $2.50/lb for even the most expensive passenger. Last/first mile from the airport to the pickup and delivery site will add to the package cost, but I’m just wondering where you get the $100 figure.

[nrb]

They didn’t say $100/lb, they said a package as small as a pound would cost $100+, that cost would’t scale linearly with weight but it might with box dimensions, similarly to how a single heavier person doesn’t cost more in passenger airlines but multiple people(seats) do.

Also, for an apples-to-apples comparison, try buying that cross-country plane ticket 2 hours before takeoff.

You don’t even have to take their word for it, you can get an instant quote right now from the freight companies (most places that aren’t amazon-scale probably pay about 30-40% of that retail rate)

[CydeWeys]

I didn't say per pound, I said for a single pound package (in shipping, the first pound is by far the most expensive). I got that figure by getting an actual quote for sending a package over night from NYC to SF. Feel free to play around on the UPS and FedEx websites; you'll see similar figures.

Also, the passenger thing isn't remotely comparable because last-minute plane tickets aren't that cheap, and you're forgetting to account for the 12+ hours of labor involved in sending a mule along with your package. If you already had someone going there and back that day anyway, sure, sending the package along with them would be cheaper than sending it through UPS Next-Day. But if not, just sending the package will be way cheaper.