USPS carried this box on 2026-08-19. It just charged more than everything else that did.
One ski bag, five carriers, quoted 2026-08-19
We described “pair of alpine skis in a padded ski bag, no boots” and asked for Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 to Bozeman, MT 59715. The box came back as 72 × 10 × 8 in at 16 lb — 108 inches of length plus girth, comfortably inside USPS's 130-inch Ground Advantage line.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground | $85.85 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $134.45 | 5-6 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $167.07 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | 2nd Day Air | $182.13 | 4-5 business days |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $186.23 | 5-6 business days |
USPS did not decline the box. It priced it, and landed at the top of the list rather than the bottom. A ski bag's length drives the charge on every carrier here, and on this run USPS charged the most for that length, not the least — more than double UPS Ground's $85.85 for the identical box on the identical day.
Add boots and USPS stops pricing it
We ran a second box the same day: skis and boots packed together in one 74 × 16 × 13 in carton, 32 lb. Length plus girth on that box comes to 74 + 2 × (16 + 13) = 132 inches, two inches over USPS Ground Advantage's 130-inch ceiling.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground | $210.63 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $325.73 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | 2nd Day Air | $429.44 | 4-5 business days |
| UPS | Next Day Air | $585.57 | 1 business day |
| FedEx | Ground | $597.12 | 6-7 business days |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | No rate returned | — |
Two inches decided it. The 108-inch ski-only box priced on every carrier we tried; the 132-inch combined box dropped USPS from the list entirely while UPS and FedEx kept pricing it, at well over double the cost of shipping the skis alone. Splitting the two boxes is the cheaper move on any carrier, but it is the only move at all if USPS is the one you want to use.
Packing a ski box for USPS
Measure length plus girth, not just length
Girth is the longest side plus twice each of the other two dimensions. A 72-inch ski bag with a wide, padded cross-section can cross 130 inches faster than the length alone suggests.
Weigh the packed box
70 lb is the Ground Advantage ceiling. A bag with two pairs of skis, or skis plus poles, boots, and hard-shell padding, can climb toward that line faster than one pair alone.
Run the exact box before taping it shut
USPS Ground Advantage charges a nonstandard-package fee on top of the base rate once a box passes its oversize thresholds, per usps.com, read 2026-08-19. A live quote on your own measurements catches that before the label is bought, not after.
Where these numbers come from
- USPS, Ground Advantage — the 70 lb weight ceiling, the 130-inch length-plus-girth ceiling, and the existence of a separate nonstandard-package fee for oversize boxes. Read 2026-08-19.
- Prices: our own capture of two ski boxes against production on 2026-08-19, from Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 to Bozeman, MT 59715.
USPS revises Ground Advantage pricing and limits without notice. Run your own box and route through the calculator before buying a label, since a different lane or a slightly different box can move every price on this page.
Common questions
Does USPS ship skis?
Yes, through USPS Ground Advantage, as long as the box stays inside the 130-inch length-plus-girth limit. Our 72 x 10 x 8 in ski bag box, quoted 2026-08-19, came back at $186.23 on Ground Advantage, the most expensive of the five options that priced the same box, not the cheapest.
What is USPS Ground Advantage's size limit for a package?
70 lb and 130 inches of length plus girth combined, per USPS's own Ground Advantage page, read 2026-08-19. Length plus girth is the longest side plus twice each of the other two.
Does a ski box with boots inside still qualify for USPS Ground Advantage?
Often not. Our combined skis-and-boots box measured 74 x 16 x 13 in, 132 inches of length plus girth, two inches over USPS's line, and Ground Advantage returned no rate at all for it on the same request that UPS and FedEx both priced.
Is USPS the cheapest way to ship skis?
Not on the lane we quoted. UPS Ground came back at $85.85 for the identical 72 x 10 x 8 in box on 2026-08-19, less than half of USPS Ground Advantage's $186.23 for the same box on the same day.
Should skis and boots ship in the same USPS box?
Keep them apart if the combined carton would clear 130 inches of length plus girth. Boots add width and height fast, and once the combined box passes that line, USPS Ground Advantage stops pricing it at all, leaving UPS or FedEx as the only options, and our combined box cost well over double what the ski-only box did on the same day.