[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.