I ship a moderate amount of widely-varying sized packages:? UPS store is usually a rip-off.? They're privately owned, and as @Andrei mentioned a UPS account is no good there.? Also, if you have them package anything for you, they charge a lot for the process, in addition to charging for the materials.? They also frequently do a crappy job.? I suspect that if you're a giant corporate client, UPS shipping rates might be a bit lower, but that's not the case in their stores.
?
FedEx, on the other hand, has been very good in my experience.? Their rates started out being competitive with those available in the UPS store, but I have a FedEx account, and they keep calling me about every six months to offer me new rate structures, which of course I always accept.? Now they're down to just about 2/3 of UPS rates.? Note that I am *not* some giant corporate customer - I send a stack of boxes every two or three months, and overnight packages every few weeks.? Also an occasional ground freight package two or three times a year.
?
I also frequently have them package things in the store for me.? They charge (slightly inflated prices) for the materials, but none for the service, and have always done an exemplary job.? They actually have a training program on how to do it right, and it shows.? Having an account also makes it easy for people to ship things to me - I can give them my account number, and tell them to take it to the FedEx store, and have the store do the packaging and shipping.? I recently received an old (1950s!) computer system this way - 400 pounds in three large boxes, which all arrived perfectly.
?
Just my experience...
~~
Mark
South Bend 9" Model C, Walker Turner drill press, Rong Fu table-top mill, "Mini" lathe, a whole bunch of Shopsmith gear