UPS sells 'luggage boxes' so customers can avoid airline baggage fees

The UPS Store has launched a new product, which it calls "luggage boxes," marketed as a product to enable customers to get out of paying airline baggage fees by shipping their possessions ahead of time.

The boxes themselves, which look like cardboard suitcases with a handle, cost $12.95 for a small size and $17.95 for the larger size -- the comparatively high price for a box is said to be justified by the their touted durability -- but that doesn't including shipping.

But mathematically, they don't work in the consumer's favor if they are used to transport a standard load of personal possessions. The smaller of the two boxes holds a maximum of 55 pounds, which, if fully loaded and sent at the cheapest rate from San Francisco to Atlanta, would cost $66 and take five business days. Packed with just 25 pounds of weight, it would still cost $35 and take five days. (AAA members get 15% off the boxes and 5% off domestic shipping costs, which makes them just really expensive instead of crazy expensive.)