Using the preposition 'by' instead of 'via'

Question

I would be really thankful if somebody tells me if using 'by' instead of 'via' in the sentence below sounds idiomatic and natural:

• Hey Jim, did you send me that package?
• Yea, I sent the package to you via a courier service a several minutes ago.

Answer 1

Even if a speaker were to use "via" instead of "by," the doubled "a" phonemes in the phrase "via a" would sound unnatural, and would probably be shortened to "via courier service." The most common, natural and idiomatic usage would be "Yeah, I sent the package to you by courier." (Note the omission of the indefinite article.)