What we typed
Small square end table, flat-packed
Two extra words, “square” and “flat-packed”, are why this box fits. A plain “table” would price at the category's average.
Small furniture
How much does it cost to ship an end table?
An end table packs into about 26 × 26 × 26 inches at 15–40 lb. It's a mid parcel tier where both size and weight count; solid-wood tops are heavy, and any glass insert or thin legs are the vulnerable parts. To price it, work from your route, speed, and the box you actually build, not from a hunch.
Live parcel ratesFreight review pathTracking included
An honest worked example
The rate this page leans on is real: 24 × 24 × 4 in at 22 lb, UPS Ground $27.36 on the route below.
A real quote: Small square end table, flat-packed
On 2026-07-24 we described “Small square end table, flat-packed” to the SMKlog calculator and pointed it at New York, NY 10001 to Chicago, IL 60601. The section below reprints its answer whole: nothing was weighed or measured by hand, and nothing got edited.
Packed box it returned
24 × 24 × 4 in
60 × 60 × 10 cm
Packed weight 22 lb (10 kg).
Route
New York, NY 10001
to Chicago, IL 60601
New York to Chicago rated live across two genuine ZIPs; that stretch of map is the dominant term in the price.
Flat-packing keeps the scale in charge: 22 lb actual beats the roughly 16.6 lb dimensional (24 × 24 × 4 ÷ 139), so the quotes below bill honest pounds. A puffier box would hand billing over to volume.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground | $27.36 | 3-4 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $27.68 | 5 business days |
| FedEx | Smart Post | $37.32 | 4-5 business days |
| UPS | 3Day Select | $39.81 | 3-4 business days |
Checkout is one all-in figure, the label together with SMKlog's charge, final on payment. This run bottomed out at UPS Ground, $27.36. Since rate tables churn weekly and routes never match, treat the table as a worked example and fetch a live number with your own ZIP codes.
Typical packed size
Assembled it needs roughly a 26 × 26 × 26 in box. Unscrew the legs where possible, pad the top's corners and edges, and give any glass its own flat, board-faced package. Smaller box, safer legs, lower bill.
Packed weight
15–40 lb boxed. The bill lands on the higher of actual and dimensional weight, so measure what you taped; a light table in a big carton is billed like a heavy one.
What moves the price
How far, how soon, how big. New York, NY to Chicago, IL spans several zones; a neighboring-state run with this box would be cheaper, a fast air service dearer. Four services in this one run quoted $27.36 through $39.81. There is no one true number in that, only your route's number, which the calculator finds.
Shipping an end table: common questions
What box size do I need to ship an end table?
Plan around 26 × 26 × 26 in packed. Screw-on legs come off, which shrinks the box and saves the legs; the tabletop's edges and corners get cushioning. Any glass top or shelf travels flat, on its own, faced with rigid board on both sides.
How much does an end table weigh packed for shipping?
Typically 15–40 lb packed. Whichever of actual weight and dimensional weight (length × width × height divided by the divisor) is bigger becomes the billed figure, so the taped box needs weighing and measuring first. Lowball it and the carrier's adjustment arrives after delivery.
How do I ship an end table with a glass top?
The glass comes out and travels flat between rigid boards, cushioned on both faces and marked fragile. Glass left installed in the frame flexes under handling loads and shatters, so never ship it that way.
Do the legs need to come off?
When they unbolt, yes: off means a smaller, cheaper box and thin legs that can't snap in transit. Wrap each leg on its own, bag the hardware, and tape the bag inside the box.
How much does it cost to ship an end table?
Volume is the quote. A 26x26x26 cube computes to 126 lb of dimensional weight (L x W x H / 139), and 126 is what carriers charge even though a packed end table weighs about 25; light furniture always quotes high for exactly this reason. Distance and speed fill out the rest. Live USPS, UPS, and FedEx rates for your exact route and packed size are one SMKlog calculator run away, no scale involved.
What is the cheapest way to ship an end table?
Make the box smaller before comparing anything else. With billing tied to the 126 lb dimensional weight, a few trimmed inches per side beats any service switch. Note that a 26x26x26 box sits right at the USPS length-plus-girth ceiling, so UPS and FedEx ground handle this size better in practice. Online commercial labels typically price 20-40% under the counter for the same service.