"Same Day" meaning you drop it off at a UPS location by 8:00 am, and they have it at the destination by that evening is insanely expensive, since at worst, they schedule a same-day airline ticket JUST FOR YOUR PACKAGE. This means often in the multiple hundreds of dollars. (A quick quote saying you'll have the package at the Atlanta airport UPS station at 8:00 AM tomorrow, and that delivery by 10:00 PM in San Francisco is fine has it at $274.40. But the quotes change based on the time you get the quote. if you tried getting the same quote at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning, it might be a few hundred dollars more.)
For comparison, guaranteed next-day-by-9:00AM-Saturday (their most expensive that they will give you an 'always-valid' quote for,) is $77.82.
And regular UPS service is available up to Christmas Eve, so you can do standard "two day air" on Saturday December 22rd, and it will get there on the 24th. (Barring weather problems, of course, which UPS has no control over.) UPS is closed on Sunday the 23rd, so you can't put it in for next-day-air that day. The cheapest "next day" option they have (which is really becomes a "two-day",) is dropping your letter off at UPS on Saturday the 22nd, delivery by 3:00 PM Monday the 24th, $24.58. If you bring it in on the 24th, it will get there on the 26th. (They're closed Christmas Day.)
Oh, and these are all based on a UPS-standard "letter" envelope of up to 1 pound. Obviously, if it's a package, it will cost more. |
