Hey Crow, Can you send a package letter post? Or are packages strictly parcel post? Also, what if you go to your local post office to get an estimate and they tell you one price and the usps website tells you another?
You can send a parcel letter post. The limit is 4 pounds I believe and it can't be all that big either but I forget the dimension limits. And as for totals always go with the office estimate since they have the computer and scale right there.
I just got a pick up letter in my mailbox for a pacage. I was home. no one knocked at my door or anything. now I have to goto the inconvenance of going to the po to get my stuff. I live on the second floor. I talked to the teller and they said all the postman has to do is honk there horn. I live in the back of the appartment and can't hear it. what can i do help this from happing agian?
I have never heard about the horn honking thing. In my office the carriers are required to ring the bell, not that they always do. The best thing you can do is send a letter to the postmaster of your town complaining or even show up and ask to talk to the postmaster or a delivery supervisor. They will yell at the carrier most likely. The carrier will be mock upset about it, and may or may not listen.
Just a heads up, when shipping to Canada stick with USPS. UPS is a total rip off with their handling fees and such. Honestly alot of Canadians that buy TF's from the US are aware of customs charges and are fine with it. Also I had a package sent out 2 weeks a go via UPS it was supposed to arrive on Oct 2nd. I thought customs was holding it to figure out the customs charge. But when I called on Tuesday morning they needed me to clear the package and ensure it was a toy in the package. So the operator cleared it and I paid the customs charge (which there wasn't supposed to be because the value was under $20) and their stupid handling fees (isn't that why we pay them to ship a package in the first place?) and said it would be delivered on Wednesday.... No delivery yesterday. So I just called them 10 minutes ago asking where my package is and the operator said that it's still in the wharehouse waiting to be cleared by customs. I don't know why UPS is so difficult to deal with. It's obvious that "brown" can't even deliver a package. Peace, Love, & Chicken Feet
Totally agreed. UPS sucks and really expensive (For what? I will never know). USPS is the best and most affordable. US guys please us this for us Canuks. Thanks.
For US Sellers shipping internationally, when you ship out items the customs form has a barcode with a number starting with LC that can be used as a soucre of tracking. You can track this once the item has reached the destination country. Every little bit helps
question/confusion: i ship via USPS. using the online USPS calculator is great when estimating shipping fees and options in the US. but outside of the US, even to Canada is a bit different. since shipping outside of US, i have to fill out the customs form so i tend to get postage and insurance from the post office (as i have to wait in line and all). the options and fees are quite different at the post office than what is available online through their website. can anyone shed some light on this?
First off there are 4 major ways to ship a package internationaly using USPS. ***This covers airmail only. I would never recommend sending anything economy mail (surface/by ship), as it takes forever and there is good chance the package will get really beat up since it sits in a ships hold for 4 to 8 weeks. ****Contrary to other posts, the rates quoted on the USPS website are dead accurate. Make sure your home/office scales are calibrated accurately. 1. LETTER POST- This used to be called small package and they changed the name a few years back and it seems to confuse people. This is usually the cheapest way to send a package international. Letter post covers small packages as well, and here are the rules. a. Package must weight 4lbs or less. b. Package can not exceed 36 inches when you add together length, width, and height. c. You can NOT insure letter post packages unless you send them REGISTERED which will include insurance up to about $44. You can NOT buy additional insurance, but registered mail has to be signed for every time it changes hands, and is kept under lock and key the whole time the USPS has it (and theoreticly under lock and key at the receiving country as well). Registered usually costs between $7.50 and $7.90 and that cost is IN ADDITION to regular shipping cost. d. You have to use the small green and white customs form. It is a single sheet with no copies. e. Unless you get registered there is NO way to ever track down this package. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. 2.PARCEL POST a.Just about any size and weight is covered. Each receiving country has different limits, but unless you are sending something absolutey huge, it won't be a problem. b.They don't advertise it, but there is some insurance included to most countries. The amount of insurance coverage seems to be determined by weight and country it is going to. Just ask your clerk how much coverage there would be if you didn't buy any additional insurance. You will be surprised that most of the time, the included insurance will cover whatever you are sending. Once again, you have to ask, because they want you buy insurance if they can get you to. You can also purchase additional insurance to cover whatever is not included if your item is high value. c. you have to use the large white customs form that contains about 4 copies, so press hard when you write so it goes all the way through. d. Once again, they do not advertise it, but they CAN track down this package should it get lost. e. The main problem with parcel post air is that for small packages it is quite a bit more expensive then letter post. For example a 2lb. package to Canada costs $6.70 for letter post, or $14.30 for parcel post. Yes, you get insurance, but that is over double the cost. 3.GLOBAL PRIORITY a. Basicly same rules as letter post , except you can not send it registered, and it CAN be tracked down if it goes missing (in theory). b. Cost is usually between letter post and parcel post rates. a 2lb. package to Canada costs $11.50 c. they say it is faster then letter post or parcel post, but in my experience it is at most 1 to 2 days faster then letter post. 4. INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS (EMS) a. covers just about any size package (see parcel post above for package size limits) b. Includes a tracking number that you can look at online anytime. c. Includes insurance up to $100.00. Additional insurance can be purchased. d.Must use the large customs form e. By far the most expensive way to ship, but and usually much faster (but not always) then any of the others. f. For many countries there are guaranteed delivery dates, and if it doesn't get there by that date, you get your shipping fees back (not including any additional insurance). I have been able to get my money back on this deal several times. ****There is a guaranteed interantional shipping service called GXM that will get the packages delivered in 1 to 3 days to most countries, but the costs are astronomical, so I have never used it. Hope this helps some of you who are new to international shipping.
Don't know if this is the right place, but just to remind everybody: As of 5/14/07, postal rates increased considerably. BBTS has stopped offering Priority Mail shipping as it has doubled and in some cases tripled shipping costs. I've checked some of the rates and they are noticeably more expensive. So be sure to check your shipping quote before you ship anything out Priority.
I figure I should ask here before bitching to any and all postmaters that will listen (and are local)... Simply put: Why the hell does it take 4+(usually 5-6) business days to get something sent parcel post from a town that is ~45 minutes away? (Specifically HasbroToyShop.com)
Because before covering 20 miles by truck, you parcel will first cover 40 miles within their offices and warehouses.
I'm finding that a bit hard to believe... It still shouldn't take 5-6 business days to go 20 or so miles...
new usps rates blow , on larger packages rates have dubbled or 3x checked rates and for larger packegs fed-ex is cheapest at this point and the new usps intrenational is wacked
I do everything in house these days .. The only time i go to the postoffice is to mail the stuff... I bought a Digital package scale on ebay for about 17$ total (95cents for the scale and $15 and change shipping ) .. It can weigh up to a 76 pound package, the scales the post office sell can only weigh up to a 10 pound package and they cost 40$ so if you are looking for a scale , go on ebay and get one.. Mine works great and is dead on with the post office scale ( i took it to the post office and compared them ) .. I use the online shipping and lable printer on the USPS site, that works great and saves tons of time.. and I also ordered all my boxes from the USPS site.. I got everything from small VHS size to the large priorty mail boxes.. All my forms like for insurance and customs forms for international shipping i also got.. My local postal clerk told me all about this stuff and it saves tons of time .. And they are not lying about it being all free , i didnt pay a dime for anything i ordered, you dont even pay shipping .. I probably ordered at least 25 of each box for a total of about 175 boxes, they come folded and boxed.. I stuff them in my closet and they are there when i need them.. SO for me everything is pretty much all done inhouse .. Only time i need to buy a box is when i ship international.. I NEVER EVER ship anything international in a brown box .. i ALWAYS use the white "READY POST" .. I have friends that have sent overseas in brown boxes and they either got lost or took forever to reach there destination.. But all my white boxes have gotten there in about 8 to 9 days no matter were i mail too.. For the past 5 years I have sent packages to Romania on a regular basis to a friend there and never had one lost or show up late and i think its because i send everything in the white readt post boxes... Anyways Sellers and Traders check out the USPS Store and order all your stuff online , it saves a ton of time for those of us that work all the time and dont get a chance to get to the postoffice all the time Thats my two cents on it all
yeap, new rates suck, depending where your sending and how much the package weighs the prices went up drastically. Before the new rates this past may 14th, a pack weighing about 2 pounds from Cal to new york would be $6.05, with new rates its now $7.50. cool, do you mind me asking what seller bought yours from or what brand? cause I been wanting to get one off Ebay for a long while but was kinda iffy if they worked well since they cost really cheap.
There name was " haddaways2 " .. this is a link to the same one i bought http://cgi.ebay.com/76-LB-POSTAGE-SCALES-DIGITAL-SHIPPING-POSTAL-SCALE-GRY_W0QQitemZ160131721693QQihZ006QQcategoryZ109753QQcmdZViewItem after i won the auction for mine, i was looking around there website and noticed that they sold the same scale on there site for 30$, so i guess they buy so many in bulk that they can afford to sell them so cheap... But yeah it works great, and you can run it off a 9volt battery or plug it in to the outlet with the power pack that comes with it .. You cant beat the price compared to what the post office wants for there 10 pound scales, and these ones will weigh up to a 76 pound package lol .. and they are small too about the same size as the ones the post office sells if you ever seen them .. thats about it good luck with it . -Curt
I think I might of forgot to put the mailing address on a letter I just dropped in the mailbox. Its a mail in payment for Amazon.com and I know I wrote Amazon.com Billing Department on the envelope but I think I forgot to write the rest. I was doing 3 things at once at the time and I don't remember if I wrote the address down or not. How soon will the post office return to sender or will they be able to mail it because I did write the name down? I mean I'm sure they send mail to Amazon all the time. Will the post office know where to mail it or will they not even fool with it and just send it back to me?
