Just returned from a fishing trip in Alaska several days ago. In the past, we would ship stuff home via USPS so we could bring fish/meat on the plane as checked baggage. With the ridiculous fees for extra bags ($150-200) on most airlines aside from Alaska Air ($75) it used to be quite affordable to send stuff home on the slow boat and we'd get stink gear in a week or two. So the last day of the trip, we roll into the post office with 4 boxes, rod case and our 8-man Alaskan Guide dome tent in its bag ready to ship. I go first with a 20lb box of fairly standard dimensions and the cheapest rate is $55 Yikes!!!
From now on, it will be cheaper to fly Alaska Air home, even with their typically higher fares when we can get everything home at a decent price.
Anyway, did I completely miss when this change happened? I guess it's been a few years since we've shipped a bunch of gear but it used to be close to $1-1.5/lb. $55 for a 20lb box is silly when we could have consolidated and paid for extra bags cheaper than USPS stuck it to us. But, at that time, everything was packed and ready so we paid the piper...lesson learned.
From now on, it will be cheaper to fly Alaska Air home, even with their typically higher fares when we can get everything home at a decent price.
Anyway, did I completely miss when this change happened? I guess it's been a few years since we've shipped a bunch of gear but it used to be close to $1-1.5/lb. $55 for a 20lb box is silly when we could have consolidated and paid for extra bags cheaper than USPS stuck it to us. But, at that time, everything was packed and ready so we paid the piper...lesson learned.
