I am looking at it from a purely transportation cost perspective. I am not going to fly if only because it's a PITA to get to/from my airport with a bike and can be a PITA at the destination. And don't get me started on the troubles I have seen TSA agents have closing up a bike box. (We don't have the large scanners in Philly.) As such, I ship. BF is cheaper than if I purchase the shipping through FedEx directly.

With that said, it just so happens that having an LBS box my bike, shipping it with BF and having it reassembled at the destination and ready to ride when I arrive can be not that much more than me boxing myself, flying with it and reassembling it myself. For example, I have done three tours out of Missoula, MT in recent years. Boxing in Philly was $75 (labor rates are higher in the big city, and this price includes plenty of packing material), shipping with insurance was about $75 and reassembly (Missoula REI, which happens to be right next to the Missoula KOA) was $40. Airlines wanted either $150 or $175 for the bike. The Philly LBS that boxes my bike is around the corner from a FedEx/Kinko's location. They drop the bike off their for me as a courtesy. That saves me the BF pick up surcharge of $5. All I have to do is drive the box to the shop a short distance from my home before work, drive back home, ride to work and then drop off the bike during my ride home from work. (The shop is so close I can see the roof of the building where it's located as I type this.) REI olds my box and duffel bag that I flew my gear in. If they are not busy they will even let me use a repair stand to attach my racks, which I prefer to do myself. When I am done with the tour, I drop off the bike, give REI the shipping label and go have a beer. The extra $40 or so is worth the work it saves me.

One thing I don't like about BF is that they won't send you a shipping label until 10 days before your scheduled ship date. That can be a PITA if you are out on the road for something like two weeks. You need to get computer access to either purchase return shipping or to print out the label if you purchased return shipping before you started the tour. Not always the easiest thing to do. Last year I had a relatively short day from Whitefish, MT to Glacier N.P. so I hung around in town until the library opened, but I have had to scramble in the past. If you are not going to be in larger towns that can create a problem. I have come across plenty of small town libraries that are only open a few days/week and/or have limited hours.