FedEx is often better than checking a bag

UPDATE (Autumn 2021): A new site calle LugLess will help you price out all of your options for shipping versus checking.  

That's a picture my shiny roll-aboard Hideo Wakamatsu bag being unboxed after the FedEx delivery person dropped it off at my apartment. We just finished an awesome bucket-list trip with my parents to see the fall foliage in Vermont, so the bag is heavy with maple syrup, local spirits, souvenirs, and lots of dirty clothes.

Our trip involved a one-way car rental and a flight back home to JFK from Burlington on a Delta commuter plane, so we had a few decisions to make about how to get all of this delicious and heavy stuff home that's not allowed in a carry-on. None of us is a Delta elite or Delta credit card holder, so checking a bag meant ponying up $30 and then waiting around for the bag to show up on the carousel, which at JFK can mean anything from 5 to 45 minutes. In addition to the waiting, it also means more bags to schlep onto the AirTrain and then over to the J-train to get home.

I remembered the general rules from my 2014 article about shipping and decided to pop into the local FedEx shop in Waterbury and see what my options looked like. To recap the conclusions from that post:

• It's always cheaper to check the bag if you're flying internationally
• If your bag HAS to be there the next day, it's ALWAYS cheaper to check it
• …but maybe you can re-pack so your big bag can show up 2 days after you and your carry-on?
• Increasing the size and weight of the shipped box only minimally affects the price, so one big heavy box could potentially replace two checked bags.
• For short flights (e.g., LAX – SFO), FedEx Ground is the same price as a checked bag and it shows up in 2 days
• For long distances (e.g., SFO – JFK), FedEx Ground is a bit more than a checked bag and takes 5 days. 
• Factor in external costs (how will you get the box to FedEx? can you take the train rather than a taxi to the airport now that you have no big bags to carry?)

I loaded my bag full, put it on a scale, and my shipping charge was right at $30. They charged me another $5 for the box and we were unburdened from our maple-y goods. The airport was a breeze, no need to fuss with the gate-checked bags on the tiny plane, no subway faregate hurdles to jump over... and two days later my bag showed up right to my front door.

Once you account for the size of Japan relative to the USA, the pricing and delivery times are almost comparable with Japan's amazing Takkyubin service. (Burlington and New York City are slightly further apart than Tokyo and Osaka). Keep FedEx in your travel toolbox!