Small and USPS quotes it clean. Full-size and the network went quiet on our test box.
A mini desktop, quoted 2026-08-18
A Dell OptiPlex Micro-class mini desktop, boxed to 10 x 10 x 4 in at 6 lb, run from Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 to Atlanta, GA 30303. FedEx returned no rate on this particular box; USPS and UPS both did.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground Saver | $11.69 | 4 business days |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $12.05 | 3-4 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $13.23 | 2-3 business days |
| USPS | Priority Mail | $17.66 | 3-4 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $19.99 | 2-3 business days |
USPS priced this box within 36 cents of the cheapest UPS option and beat every other service on the table. For a small computer, it is a genuine contender, not just the fallback.
A mid-tower, same day, no USPS quote
A mid-tower gaming desktop, boxed to 24 x 20 x 14 in at 28 lb, run from Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 to Seattle, WA 98101. Its length plus girth comes to 92 inches and its weight to 28 lb, both comfortably under USPS Ground Advantage's own 70 lb and 130 inch ceiling. USPS still returned nothing on this one.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground | $70.50 | 7-8 business days |
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $83.12 | 8-9 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $93.86 | 7 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $111.96 | 7-8 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $120.15 | 5-6 business days |
Two boxes, two outcomes, same published limit both times. A published ceiling describes what a service is built to carry, not a promise that every box under it gets quoted; a tower this size and weight is well within the number on the page and still went unpriced by USPS on the day we checked. Try your own box in the calculator rather than assuming either way.
USPS's actual size and weight rule
Per usps.com, read 2026-08-18: a USPS Ground Advantage package can weigh up to 70 lb and measure up to 130 inches of combined length and girth, girth being the distance around the package's thickest side. That same page sets out weight and size limits and calls out categories like live animals, perishables and hazardous materials by name. A desktop computer with no battery does not appear on it at all, which matches the mini desktop's clean quote above.
Where these rules come from
- United States Postal Service, USPS Ground Advantage — the 70 lb weight limit and the 130 inch maximum combined length and girth. Read 2026-08-18.
Carrier limits and restricted-item lists change without notice. What is printed here is what that page stated on the date shown.
Common questions
Can I ship a computer with USPS?
Yes, for a compact one. A 10 x 10 x 4 in mini desktop at 6 lb priced at $12.05 on USPS Ground Advantage, quoted live from Berkeley Heights, NJ to Atlanta, GA on 2026-08-18.
What about a full-size desktop tower?
That is where it gets uncertain. A 24 x 20 x 14 in mid-tower at 28 lb fits USPS's own published limit of 70 lb and 130 inches of length plus girth with room to spare, yet our quote on the same day returned no USPS rate at all for that box, only UPS and FedEx.
What is USPS's size and weight limit for a package?
70 lb and 130 inches of combined length and girth for Ground Advantage, per usps.com, read 2026-08-18. Girth is the distance around the package's thickest side.
Is USPS the cheapest way to ship a small computer?
Close to it. On the mini desktop we quoted, UPS Ground Saver beat USPS Ground Advantage by 36 cents, $11.69 against $12.05. Both undercut every other service on that box.
Does USPS restrict shipping computers or electronics?
Not that its own Ground Advantage page states. It sets weight and size limits and lists categories like live animals, perishables and hazardous materials, but a desktop computer with no battery is not called out at all (usps.com, read 2026-08-18).