Do They Deliver? Chained to your overnight delivery service? Maybe you should play the field.

When it comes to overnight deliveries, big companies tend to putaside thriftiness and restraint. Spending $15 to send anot-so-urgent document is simply considered a cost of doingbusiness. Small firms, however, can't blindly use this luxury,especially since overnight prices have gone up over the past fewyears. In fact, UPS and FedEx instituted another set of priceincreases in February (with Airborne Express following suit a monthlater), boosting prices an average of 3 percent to 4 percent.

The good news is, you can do more than just fork over anotherchunk of your hard-earned money. There are several simple,practical steps you can take to hold down delivery costs:

• Don't settle on next-morning delivery by default. Inthis industry, time is truly money, so take the time to ask whenthe package needs to arrive. Often, you'll find the recipientis satisfied to receive a package in two days, as long as itarrives at the agreed-upon time.