# If I ordered inflated helium balloons, should I get paid for shipping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539 "2013-07-03T13:36:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/21 "2013-07-04T11:51:43Z")
Shipping companies also refuse to discount birds being shipped in a box even if you have a little electrical stimulus on the perch that keeps the bird flying the whole time. As a matter of fact, yes. I did read Cecil’s column on that…but my box was vented. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/22 "2013-07-04T12:34:55Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > When I read the price list for freight it is . > > 1. price is the price by weight, or price by volume, which ever is GREATER > 2. Weight prices - (insert chart or formula) > 3. Volume prices -(insert chart or formula) > But I do get that Post Office services generally charge only by weight, up to a certain size. (not many balloons in that size.) You’re right. I also didn’t see that the OP specifically mentioned that the box would contain enough balloons to generate lift. I’m willing to bet you couldn’t get enough balloons _inside_ any sized cardboard box to generate any kind of lift. Considering that as the box gets bigger, it gets a lot heavier. Not only is there cardboard on all 6 sides, but it’ll have to be made out of heavier/sturdier materials to support not only it’s on weight but the (negative) weight of what’s inside it. So there’s that. But regarding what you said, I don’t know much about USPS, but with UPS, once a box is bigger then something like 20 some inches on a side the actual weight doesn’t matter. It could be an empty box at that point and you still get charged a ton for it. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/23 "2013-07-04T12:47:35Z")
No, but you can ask a taxi to drive backwards to your destination and collect money! ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/24 "2013-07-04T12:56:32Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > The OP never said anything about a box. He just said he ordered the balloons. > So I suggest: tie the balloons onto the wings and tail of the plane. That way, the plane is lighter, which saves fuel. Therefore, the OP deserves to both get free shipping, and even to get paid an AL Gore carbon credit for saving fuel. I know it wasn’t a serious suggestion, but I’d guess that balloons would more than make up for their lift in drag. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/25 "2013-07-04T13:21:30Z")
The OP’s idea was described in a Tippi Turtle cartoon (the character had a few animated segments on _Saturday Night Live_ in the mid-eighties). Tippi was basically a troll, looking for practical jokes that would cause mayhem. In addition to [packing a helium balloon in a balsawood box and trying to mail it](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/84/84btippiturtle.phtml) (and demanding payment when it floated off the scale), he also wrote “THIS IS A STICKUP” on the back of a bank deposit slip and sneaked it back into the pile, waiting for some unsuspecting schmoe to hand it to a teller. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/26 "2013-07-04T15:28:29Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > The OP never said anything about a box. He just said he ordered the balloons. Good luck getting any freight company interested in shipping unpackaged merchandise. > [@](#): > > So I suggest: tie the balloons onto the wings and tail of the plane. That way, the plane is lighter, which saves fuel. More weight will be saved if the balloons are inside the airplane: the inside is pressurized, so balloons are displacing a greater mass of air. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/27 "2013-07-04T16:12:29Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > More weight will be saved if the balloons are inside the airplane: the inside is pressurized, so balloons are displacing a greater mass of air. Would the smaller volume of the helium in the balloon in a higher pressure environment not negate this effect, apart from that caused by the rubber itself? ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/28 "2013-07-04T17:15:18Z")
They’ll charge you by volume. When I owned my own business I sold racing accessories. One of those items was racing seats. They were made our of carbon fiber and very lightweight, but cost a fortune to ship because of their size. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539/29 "2013-07-04T17:51:22Z")
The thing is, your destination is not directly above your point of origin: it still takes some amount of energy to move the mass of the balloons horizontally, because they still do have mass. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-ordered-inflated-helium-balloons-should-i-get-paid-for-shipping/662539.md?page=1)