shipping problems

[willis7]

I've been shipping bubble mailers through usps and getting tracking numbers put on them no problem, today I go to ship something and ask to put a tracking number on and was told that I. have to ship it priority mail, that cost 5 bucks instead of a buck. is this a new policy or is this mail person of their rocker and not know what they are talking about?

 

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[mugsisme]

Do you ship through Ebay?

 

[willis7]

no I don't have a printer yet so I've been doing it all at the post office

 

[mjlalt]

Sounds like that person doesn't know what they are talking about.

From the USPS website:
https://www.usps.com/ship/first-class.htm

"You can add the following options to all First-Class Mail® to…

Get tracking information.
USPS Tracking™ (packages only) to see tracking updates, including date and time of delivery or attempted delivery."

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

"What chu talking about Willis"...sorry I had to do that..lol

really thou. I know from past expericances of mine, that sometimes it depends on the person working there. I too have shipped items to the same region, in the same weight/size....and it seems like the prices seem to vary a few bucks....Maybe one day they can hire people that speak English at my USPS...that always seems to be a big issue as well

 

[willis7]

i think I'll just bite the bullet and buy a printer to avoid all of this

 

[Oregon Viking]

When you print your own labels, you get a discount....funds are deducted from your PayPal account.....the buyer is sent an instant tracking number....and using flat rate boxes, insurance is included. Walk into the post office, hand them the package...done!

 

[willis7]

yeah that sound a whole lot easier!

 

[NJcigarman]

Was it over 13 ounces? Has to go priority

 

[willis7]

it was a pendant the size of a penny so no not even a quater of an ounce

 

[NJcigarman]

Then you got a clerk who is mis informed. I use tons of priority mail regional A and B boxes. I dropped one at another PO out of my area. Clerk had never seen an A box before. Before she would accept the box she broke out a postal regulations book and made me stand there for 5 minutes.

 

[willis7]

lol nice well at least she was willing to check on things

 

[cyberdan]

When I ship something real thin my PO does not put on a tracking number. So I "pad" my envelope so it can not be machine sorted. then they add their own internal tracking number. It adds a little extra on postage but not a tracking number upcharge.

 

[willis7]

I'll have to keep that in mind! that's a great idea

 

[diggummup]

I've been shipping bubble mailers through usps and getting tracking numbers put on them no problem, today I go to ship something and ask to put a tracking number on and was told that I. have to ship it priority mail, that cost 5 bucks instead of a buck. is this a new policy or is this mail person of their rocker and not know what they are talking about?

She does not know what she was talking about or she did not understand what you meant by tracking number or the package weoghed over 13 ounces and could not be mailed 1st class at which priority would be the next cheapest route more than likely. You want what's called "delivery confirmation" that will give you a number that can be tracked, it costs .88 I believe or it's free via ebay labels.

My printer paid for itself years ago just in the discounts from printing labels via ebay. I have a cheap Lexmark $49.99 printer copier scanner fax. Bought at Big Lots years ago and still going strong.

 

[gino22]

Check out the HP LaserJet P1102w. It is a miracle worker. Bought mine about 4 years ago and changed the ink drum once. About 500 Priority labels put through it, conservative savings of $750 compared to PO prices. You can get one new for $100. The toner drums are pricey but last so long you won't notice. I have dropped it from desk height at least twice with no issues. The only downside is it doesn't do color, but you will end up many hundreds of dollars ahead vs ink jet if you use the laser machine as a dedicated document printer.

 

[topdogintampa]

All great tips and info peeps! I learned quite a few things in this short thread. Thanks everyone!

T

 

[deserdog]

First class cannot have delivery confirmation, a first class parcel can though. You cannot just get tracking on first class. For it to be a first class parcel, it has to meet certain criteria.

 

[diggummup]

First class cannot have delivery confirmation, a first class parcel can though. You cannot just get tracking on first class. For it to be a first class parcel, it has to meet certain criteria.

Yeah and it doesn't take much to deem it a "parcel". I send 1st class all the time with delivery confirmation. The criteria is the thickness of the envelope. That is why "padding" the envelope was mentioned by cyberdan.
These are the specifics as to what you cannot have delivery confirmation on-
Letters-
Must be rectangular.Minimum size is 5" long x 3 1/2" high x 0.007” thick.
Maximum size of 11 1/2" long x 6 1/8" high x 1/4” thick.
Maximum weight is 3.5 oz.
A letter will be charged a nonmachinable surcharge if it’s a square letter 5" x 5" or larger, it doesn’t bend easily, has clasps or similar closure devices, has an address parallel to the shorter dimension of the letter, is lumpy, or the length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5.
Large Envelopes-
Must be rectangular.
Minimum size is either more than 11 1/2″ long x 6 1/8″ high OR 1/4″ thick.
Maximum size is 15″ long x 12" high x 3/4” thick.
Maximum weight of 13 oz.
Large envelopes that exceed these dimensions will be charged package rates.

All you ever wanted to know (and then some) about USPS 1st class mail- https://www.usps.com/ship/first-class.htm

 

[willis7]

that would make sense the first several bubble mailers I sent had ring boxes in them so they were thicker, the one that they wouldn't track was very thin as it only had a pendant between cardboard