What is the fastest, cheapest way to ship a package?

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's the busiest mailing day of the year for people trying to send holiday letters and packages to their loved ones.

The Postal Service estimates they'll process nearly 640 million pieces of mail on Monday at service stations across the United States.

We wanted to find out how long it would take to get a simple mug across the country. And so did our ABC affiliate WSIL in southern Illinois. So over the past week we exchanged packages through FedEx, USPS and UPS to see who did it the fastest and the cheapest. While this isn't a scientific way to get an answer, it's a quick way for us to test three different mailing systems.

There's no shortage of people mailing gifts all across Fresno. It's only going to get busier, says the local postmaster, the closer we get to Christmas.

"We expect something like 640 million pieces of mail coming in nationwide which is up I think about 19 percent over last year," said Fresno postmaster Eve Forrest.

So we put holiday shipping to the test. Our ABC affiliate in Illinois sent us three mugs last Monday three different ways. The only requirement was that they arrive to Fresno on Friday in one piece.

First up is UPS. Regular UPS ground shipping cost a little more than $14. The expected delivery date was Friday but we received the package on Monday.

FedEx was a little cheaper at just under $12 with four-day standard ground shipping. And we got the package on Friday.

But USPS was the least expensive and the fastest in this instance. It cost less than $9 for priority mail three-day delivery and arrived on Thursday.

Beverly Baker manages a local packaging store and says there's only one true way to know your package will make it on time.

"Ship early. I mean you never know with the weather. I've sat here on Christmas Eve for hours answering phone calls 'where's my package,'" said Baker.

So now it's our turn to put the three shipping giants to the test. We sent three mugs back to Illinois on the busiest shipping day of the year but we used all the same shipping options.

Monday from Fresno it cost us just under $16 through regular UPS ground shipping. We spent $16.31 using FedEx four-day standard ground shipping. And finally $10.55 through USPS.

The earliest the mugs are expected is Friday through USPS, but we'll be tracking the packages throughout the week to let you know the results.