Cool tools to save on shipping

We've all been there: You find the perfect present, wrap it up, and take it to the post office--only to discover that the shipping costs as much as the gift itself. As the price of gas has climbed, package carriers have more than doubled their fuel surcharges since last year, and we're left to foot the bill.

Sending your holiday cheer doesn't have to break the bank, though. Surfing to the right sites can save you time and money, and spare you needless frustration, so don't buy a single stamp before reading on.

Comparing the Carriers

Deciding on a carrier means navigating an alphabet soup of options: Even if you know the team colors for DHL, FedEx, UPS, and USPS, you may not have time to figure out which service delivers the best value.

Enter Shipping Sidekick, a service that simplifies the task: You tell it what you're mailing, where it's coming from, and where it's going; in response, Shipping Sidekick presents you with a list of all of the available options from the U.S. Postal Service and from three commercial outfits--DHL, Federal Express, and United Parcel Service. Some results might surprise you: The cheapest choice is "often the one you least expected," says CEO Jacob Lakhany.

Unlike other comparison sites, Shipping Sidekick takes its rates straight from the carriers and in real-time. It was the only service I tested that delivered reliable, accurate results, down to the penny. And speaking of pennies, Shipping Sidekick recently dropped its subscription fee and now offers its service for free. A quick tip: Select the 'oversize packaging' option, which lets you input the specific dimensions of your box and thereby obtain more-accurate rates. But be prepared to scroll through a rather large ad before any results appear.

Deep Discounts

Now that you know how the carriers stack up, you might want to visit a site that can knock off up to 70 percent of the cost. A little-known service called eShipper offers discounted shipping that can save you serious dough. The trick? The company ships enough packages with each major carrier to get some of the best corporate rates. (FedEx, for example, says that most company discounts don't exceed 10 percent.)

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