USPS Priority Mail cautionary note
browneyedsusan_gw
8 years ago
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Phylis
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAtomicJay007
8 years agoRelated Discussions
USPS Shipping Assistant, free software
Comments (0)I recommend all traders download this program from the post office. Here is the link to the page: USPS Shipping Assistant Page Here are the reasons: It has a built in address book and as soon as you get the address of your trading partner you can enter it in the address book by using copy and paste. Then save it and when you are ready to send your end of the trade all you need to enter is the weight of the package and by trying the different options you can see which method will be the cheapest and fastest. This software calculates the postage for you, but there is no option to pay for the postage online. You will have to pay the postage the old fashioned way unless you send everything Priority and use the USPS's Click n'Ship online. When you are ready to ship your end you can print the label on your computer's printer and it will have a barcode on it which EXPEDITES your package. The software will calculate your costs and delivery confirmation is included at the .14 cent online rate instead of the .45 you pay at the post office. To make your life even more simple, by being online you can easily schedule a pick-up of your packages from your postal carrier if at least ONE of them is Priority Mail. It is a good idea to stock up on all denominations of stamps by either ordering them online from the USPS or by buying them at the post office. If none of your packages is going by Priority you can still hand them to your carrier or put them in your mailbox to be picked up just like a letter. Warning: I would not take my packages again into the post office to mail as they will weight them and charge you for them WITHOUT the delivery confirmation or CHARGE you extra for the delivery confirmation. It can cause the postal clerks to get all flustered because they may not be used to this. This is caused by a glitch in the USPS. They developed the software without an option to remove DC. The USPS representive I talked to about it said to just pay for it as if it didn't have DC. HOWEVER, it is tracked by the PO as if it HAS the delivery confirmation, so I prefer to pay for what I get even if the PO can't understand or require it which is why I recommend putting your own stamps on or just giving a check to your postal carrier with the packages. NOTE: If you have many packages coming and going it is a good idea to have a good relationship with your mailman/woman. In my case, I live way out in the boonies and do not get into town often so our mail carrier is an important link in life. Back to the software, there is even an option that lets you know exactly the day and minute your package was delivered to your trader. One more thing: Every trader should make a modest investment in a postal scale. If you sign up at stamps.com they will send you one as a free gift for trying them out. You can also get a good deal on an inexpensive digital scale at eBay. Here is a link that might be useful: USPS Shipping Assistant...See MoreMailing Costs for Bubble Envelopes (BE)
Comments (46)1.) i had taped it all down to water-proof it, and she said that i cant tape over stamps and that the postage couldnt be used now... Well that is the one thing she said that was correct...sheesh. 2.) all bubble mailers, even with nothing in them, will go as Parcel Post, because they do not have an absolutley uniform thickness (the pressed edges and whatnot). Egads...another postal employee that doesn't know what she is talking about. I imagine she meant to say that they go as First Class Parcels, which is different than Parcel Post...but that is still wrong. Taken from this link...Physical Standards for Flats 1.4 Uniform Thickness Flat-size mailpieces must be uniformly thick so that any bumps, protrusions, or other irregularities do not cause more than 1/4-inch variance in thickness. When determining variance in thickness, exclude the outside edges of a mailpiece (1 inch from each edge) when the contents do not extend into those edges. Also, exclude the selvage of any polywrap covering (see 301.1.5) from this determination. Mailers must secure nonpaper contents to prevent shifting of more than 2 inches within the mailpiece if shifting would cause the piece to be nonuniform in thickness or would result in the contents bursting out of the mailpiece (see 601.2.3). I suggest you go to that link and print it out and take it with you the next time, so the clerks can be trained. I would ask to speak to the post master, or post mistress, so they can be informed that their clerks don't know what they are talking about and that they need to be properly trained and then supervised to see that they are doing their job correctly. So my 1.8 oz mailer had to go for $1.39 (1.22 + 17 cents for each additional oz) That's so sad...overcharged by 34 cents since it should have been $1.05...and so the stealing by the USPS continues. They have been stealing from unsuspecting customers since May 2007 when the USPS initially went to Shape Based Pricing. She said it can be a large envelope if its a flat paper thing only. Aka no padding. Padded mailers used to go for a first class stamp postage and then so much additional for a non-machineable charge. So long as padded mailers meet the criteria at the link below, they can and should go at the lesser rate of First Class Flats. That worker needs to get familiar with the Shape Based Pricing Template. I wonder if she even has one. Anyone who is interested in A Shape Based Pricing Template should be able to get one from the PO, for their person use. She was really friendly about it- Yes, but she still ripped you off. but i dont see anywhere where the USPS website makes a comment about pricing or rules about bubble mailers. Ok, but do you see anywhere that is says that padded mailers (aka Bubble envelopes) must go as Parcel rate? NO, that is a fallacy believed to be true by so many USPS workers across the country. Here ya go...Postal Bulletin 22218 Clearly states down under the First Class Mail Quick Tips: "For padded bags (e.g., ReadyPost® “cushion mailer”), when the thickness is 3/4" or less and the item is flat-size and somewhat flexible, the item should be classified and priced as a large envelope. I'd print that out for your PO too. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: 1.0 Physical Standards for Flats...See MoreOrange tree in the mail... and it's COLD!
Comments (16)Thanks for the heads up, Mike. Next year they will both go into either the 511 or Gritty mix. This year this is what I could do with what I had on short notice. I fully intend to fertilize when they go outside, probably every other watering. They will indeed be in full sun (gradually) - they'll sit on the south side of the house near my front door. Last year I put my Meyer in direct sun that it got most of the day and it loved every second of it, even the days over 100 degrees. Nearly doubled in size. Maybe by the end of the summer it'll be as big and healthy as it was when I bought it at least. I've got my store bought lemons until then, I suppose. I've got a Miracle Berry plant and a Tea plant (Camellia Sinensis) on wait for me. They ship May 1st. I can barely wait - I've got the pots already (The same as my citrus pots) and this weekend I'll be picking up soil. My plan was to get the citrus soil this weekend too, or at least start getting supplies for one of the recommended mixes, but it was shipped much sooner than I expected and there is literally nothing in the way of garden centers nearby my school save for home depot (MiracleGro only...) I drove to five places before finding the Black Diamond soil! The Miracle Berry is easy enough, goes into an acid mix of sphagnum and perlite, 50/50. The tea plant is a bit harder, it needs a well draining slightly acidic soil mix of sorts. Still working that one out. Good deal on your container garden surviving! This winter was especially harsh. I don't know that I have the polluted ground problem but I can't plant anything in the ground out here, nothing would survive outside long term. I'd plant some berries, but this is not permanent housing for me, so I'm out of luck till I have some property I can call my own....See MoreMail Delivery Problems
Comments (64)The postal service is playing catch up. They are so far behind it isn't funny. They get a credit line from the feds which they have to pay back. Like I said, they aren't costing you money but all that money is allocated and congress has to vote them a bigger credit line when they refuse to let them raise rates. When I was a kid in the early sixties I had lots of friends elsewhere( we moved ALOT) an airmail stamp was $.10. Today when you figure for inflation that would be $.84. Does that put your $.55 in perspective? I am not a fan of postal management. It is toxic, but so are most major companies. Not a fun job. FYI you don't have to get mail through the PO. Take down your box if you don't want to participate. No law requires you to have a mail box. You wont get notices from the IRS or SS or other federal entities at the moment but you also wont be irritated by the failures of your mail carrier and no junk mail. You wont be able to get any sort of welfare but you probably don't get that anyway. There are other package delivery companies although UPS and FEDEX use the postal service to deliver packages to a lot of their customers instead of delivering themselves, cheaper for them. Your decision. Oh I meant to address before the tired carrier who didn't finish the route. Christmas is the biggest mail volume of the year by far and in the past they brought on extra people and paid over time which they no longer do. Christmas also has bad weather and is the darkest time of the year. Carriers for safety reasons can be required to finish their routes by a certain time to get back to their PO by a certain time, and being slowed down by a bazillion packages and bad roads they hit the magic hour and have to turn around and even though the same people get stiffed every day? You carrier might protest but in vain. Relief carriers who fill in for your regular can service multiple routes. So your regular who delivers to you five days a week has to know everything about several hundred customers. The relief person usually has to fill in for several regulars and therefor has to know everything about-well multiply it out. They make mistakes like delivering to an address that is on hold. Some carriers are just jerks or lazy like ordinary mortals....See Moremom2zandt
8 years agoPhylis
8 years agoourhighlandhome
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agomom2zandt
8 years agofrankielynnsie
8 years agowoodthrush
8 years agobrowneyedsusan_gw
8 years agowoodsidetrader
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years ago
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