# About how long does a package (1 pound so not mail) take to ship from the UK to the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491 "2011-08-29T13:49:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/1 "2011-08-29T13:49:44Z")
I am looking to ship a package from the London to Chicago. The package weighs one pound (it is an external hard drive). I checked FedEx and their cheapest option was $80. Cost is not so much an issue but $80 is steep (the hard drive costs $80). My question is how long it’d take via normal snail mail? Also, not sure what issues there are with Customs (as in what I’d have to do in regards to that). Any other ideas for shipping are welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/2 "2011-08-29T14:31:17Z")
If you’re sending a hard drive with data on it, the data will be wiped. Pretty much everything in the mail goes through some kind of X-ray machine. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/3 "2011-08-29T14:32:27Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > If you’re sending a hard drive with data on it, the data will be wiped. Pretty much everything in the mail goes through some kind of X-ray machine. X-ray machines at the airport do not wipe data. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/4 "2011-08-29T14:33:01Z")
If the cost to ship it is roughly the same as the cost to buy it at the destination location then I can only assume there is data on it you want to send to someone. Perhaps there’s an easier/more cost effective way to transfer the data than via a hard drive. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/5 "2011-08-29T14:36:33Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > If the cost to ship it is roughly the same as the cost to buy it at the destination location then I can only assume there is data on it you want to send to someone. Perhaps there’s an easier/more cost effective way to transfer the data than via a hard drive. Sure. I suggested setting up a FTP connection but apparently the people in London find that method problematical (I was told, dunno if it is true but can’t see why’d they lie, they have caps on the amount of data they can send/receive in a month and the amount of data we’d have to send would kill that limit in a day). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/6 "2011-08-29T14:57:00Z")
if they contacted the postal service they could likely get costs and time estimates. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/7 "2011-08-29T15:01:04Z")
Packages sent between Nottingham UK and Columbus OH via standard mail/post have taken around 1-2 weeks in my experience. For what that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/8 "2011-08-29T15:02:49Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I checked FedEx and their cheapest option was $80. > > Cost is not so much an issue but $80 is steep (the hard drive costs $80). US to UK it’d be 6-10 business days for $14 by USPS ([cite](http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.aspx?country=10150&m=13&p=0&o=1&mt=13)) UK to US, looks like it’s be a week for $12 by Royal Mail ([cite](http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400036&mediaId=53800712)) ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/9 "2011-08-29T15:55:18Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > X-ray machines at the airport do not wipe data. I don’t know what they use for scanning international post and shipping, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t the same sort of machine they use to scan luggage at the airport. I wouldn’t trust the USPS or the Royal Mail to deliver an HDD with all the data intact. There are _lots_ of magnetic fields in all sorts of things; trucks, aircraft, sorting and processing areas. Sending an HDD through the mail _might_ work, but there is good reason to expect that it probably wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/10 "2011-08-29T16:08:46Z")
Can’t they write the data to DVD/Blu Ray and send those discs? Less of a disaster if they go missing, immune to magnetic fields and lighter/cheaper to send. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/11 "2011-08-29T16:23:39Z")
> [@Myglaren](#): > > Can’t they write the data to DVD/Blu Ray and send those discs? They have single-layer DVD burners which is 4GB. I need to move ~300GB (video data). That would be a lot of DVDs. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/12 "2011-08-29T16:47:20Z")
IME the UK Post is pretty good. I get letters within a couple of days (sent from near Dover to Chicago). An airmail package might take a bit longer, but I bet not much. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/13 "2011-08-29T16:50:05Z")
A flat rate box to the UK is $13.95 for delivery in 6-10 days. [http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.aspx?country=10150&m=13&p=0&o=1&mt=13](http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.aspx?country=10150&m=13&p=0&o=1&mt=13) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-how-long-does-a-package-1-pound-so-not-mail-take-to-ship-from-the-uk-to-the-us/594491/14 "2011-08-29T20:18:46Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > A flat rate box to the UK is $13.95 for delivery in 6-10 days. > > [http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.aspx?country=10150&m=13&p=0&o=1&mt=13](http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.aspx?country=10150&m=13&p=0&o=1&mt=13) Yeah - sending it via “normal” parcel post would take 3+ weeks (I’ve done so in the past and regretted it). Might you be able to put the data on CDs or DVDs and ship those? Those are a lot cheaper than an 80 dollar hard drive, and shouldn’t be affected even if the packages are X-rayed heavily. On reread, never mind, I see you’ve already considered the DVD option.