More parcels land in New York than almost anywhere else, and from anywhere in the Northeast it is one of the cheapest sends in the country — our Newark run below priced a real five-pound box at exactly ten dollars. From the West Coast the same box costs most of twice that. Both tables are live quotes.
One box, quoted live on 2026-07-27; what you see is the carrier output for that route, nothing rounded.
For New York City we ran the standard experiment on 2026-07-27: one 12 × 10 × 6 in box at 5 lb, household goods, priced through the SMKlog calculator from Newark and from Los Angeles. Below is the output, untrimmed. The number you see is the number you pay, with the label and SMKlog's charge already added together.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Quoted transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $10.00 | 4-5 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $11.07 | 3 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $11.74 | 1 business day |
| USPS | Priority Mail | $12.93 | 2-3 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $15.22 | 1 business day |
| Carrier | Service | Price | Quoted transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $17.30 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $19.14 | 6 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $19.30 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $27.17 | 3-4 business days |
| USPS | Priority Mail | $28.19 | 2-3 business days |
From Newark the box quoted at a flat $10.00 on USPS Ground Advantage, and the paid-speed tiers stayed cheap, 1 business day on UPS Ground for $11.74. From Los Angeles the lane reprices as a full transcontinental run at $17.30. Borough versus upstate rarely moves the quote from distant origins. These figures carry a date for a reason; run your ZIPs for the current ones.
Walk-ups, doormen, package rooms: New York delivery quirks affect the handoff, not the price. Include the apartment number and any buzzer note on the label, and use a work address when nobody is home in the daytime, since redelivery burns days.
Short-zone lanes compress the menu. Our Newark table shows UPS Ground quoting 1 business day for $11.74 and 3 Day Select quoting 1 day at $15.22. When ground is already next-day, paying for air is usually wasted money on this route.
Carriers price a $10.00 label the same whether the parcel holds paperbacks or a watch. If losing the contents would sting, shipping protection at checkout is the sensible counterweight to a busy urban delivery chain.
On 2026-07-27 the 12 × 10 × 6 in, 5 lb test box priced from $10.00 out of Newark and from $17.30 out of Los Angeles. Quoted totals are complete, label and SMKlog charge as one. Borough choice barely moves it; box size will, so quote live.
From nearby origins, fast: UPS Ground quoted 1 business day on our run, with the $10.00 cheapest tier at 4-5. The cheapest cross-country tier quoted 6-7 business days. Each table window is the carrier's own figure for this route, quoted 2026-07-27.
USPS Ground Advantage at $10.00 from Newark was the floor of our test, with $17.30 holding that spot from Los Angeles. The order is not sacred. Boxes, ZIPs, and weekly repricing all shuffle it, so compare live before checkout.
Yes. The process asks for a description of the item and the two ZIP codes, then shows live USPS, UPS, and FedEx prices. Pay for your pick and print; tracking is embedded from the start.