posted on January 4, 2001 08:38:32 PM
Sorry, no toasters or shoes.
Books, CDs(1st class usually cheaper), video & audio tapes, computer software, video game cartridges, LPs/records (i think), sheet music (i think... 1st class usually cheaper), etc.
Usual delivery times vary greatly and are affected by distance and USPS workload. Usually anywhere from 4 to 14 days.
Some don't agree with me, but I think Book Rate a.k.a. Special Standard Mail (Media Mail effective 1/7) is very reliable, although occasionally slow. I have never had a book rate package lost, and I ship 10 to 20 per average day. I've had one Priority package missing and I only ship about 6 per month.
As long as you ensure your customer is aware of the ship time, it's a great USPS bargain.
posted on January 4, 2001 08:54:56 PM
I always forget the difference between bookrate, bound printed matter and parcel post.
One thing I do not like is at you cannot calculate exact shipping costs because it is based on zipcodes. Even though you can always put an iship.com link in your auctions, I would prefer to state what the exact shipping cost is without having to go to another site.
I would assume that the highest shipping cost would be when I ship from my zipcode to the one furthest away from me (is this correct??).
Anyway to find out which city is the furthest away from my city? My geography bites!!
Am I using the word "furthest" the right way? It doesn't sound right. Maybe I am over tired.
posted on January 4, 2001 08:58:47 PMOne thing I do not like is at you cannot calculate exact shipping costs because it is based on zipcodes.
Not true for Book Rate (Special Standard Mail... next week re-named Media Mail).
It's the same rate to/from anywhere in the U.S., including APO/FPO addresses.
posted on January 5, 2001 02:49:42 AM
"Can anything be sent bookrate, like shoes or a toaster?"
DUH! It's called BOOK RATE or MEDIA MAIL, not toaster mail! Books, computer readable media (mag tapes, punch cards, CDROMS, punched tapes), audio recordings (any media) AND movies (if on 16mm film or smaller) are acceptible.
Magazines (anything with ads) goes "bound printed matter" rates.
If you decide to sneak your stuf through anyway, at the other end your recipient will probably be charged the POSTAGE DUE for the difference between medial mail rates and the proper rate for whatever you sent. And that will really annoy them.
If the clerks suspect you are misusing the rate, they have the right to ask you to open it, or hand it to the inspectors to open, and in cases of chronic abusers, you can be fined severely.
"Also, what is the delivery time usually?"
5 days to three months. Usually (99.9% of the time) within two weeks.
posted on January 5, 2001 05:47:59 AM
I find that bookrate is almost as fast as first-class or priority depending on where you send it. I find that many of my bidders get their books within three or four days.
For best results use Zip+4 and barcode; I almost always drop my stuff off at 7AM when the PO opens and that also seems to help.
posted on January 5, 2001 06:47:02 AM
For every 50 or so books I mail, one appears to take the scenic route. Although I've had none go missing, and most are delivered within a week, it's not unusual for the 50th book to take a month.
posted on January 5, 2001 11:17:49 AM
{b]abacaxi[/b]
DUH! It's called BOOK RATE or MEDIA MAIL, not toaster mail
Thank you so much for your condescending answer, little man. I would not have asked the question if I knew the answer to it DUH!! Must be pretty satisfying to sit around enjoying your superior intellect.
[i]If you decide to sneak your stuf through anyway, at the other end your recipient will probably be charged the POSTAGE DUE for the difference between medial mail rates and the proper rate for whatever you sent. And that will really annoy them.
If the clerks suspect you are misusing the rate, they have the right to ask you to open it, or hand it to the inspectors to open, and in cases of chronic abusers, you can be fined severely.
[/i]
Einstein, I am not planning to annoy the postal clerks or defraud the USPS by{i]sneaking[/i] anything through, but thank you for your warning anyhow.
posted on January 6, 2001 02:22:22 AM
I don't advocate anything illegal, and don't do this myself, but this is true:
Let's be honest here. What are the chances that a postal clerk would inspect your package? Here in Phoenix, with the growing population, ANYTIME you go to the post office is at least a 20 minute wait in line. Between old men who don't trust the stamp machines and buy stamps by hand to the guy trying to ship all his life's collection, the post office employees are always busy, and if I say so myself, underpaid. To be honest, they don't really CARE that much about FOLLOWING RULES! They are working stiffs just like the rest of us, and don't represent the beuracracy. Case in point:
I went to a post office the first time I was shipping a package internationally. I hadn't sealed a package, but put the contents in a priority box. I asked the clerk about international priority mail and asked whether or not that gave out free shipping supplies, and how much it would cost. She said "What? Priority Mail is in the states. Unless you want to pay like $70 bucks for overnight shipping, just turn that box inside out and ship it airmail" I, not being familiar with this practice, looked at her confusingly. She said "give me that box", and right before my eyes a postal employee turned that box inside out, taped it up, and sent it off for me!
Another example was when I was shipping contents of my attic. In hindsight, I should have used UPS Ground, but I was new back then. I gave it to the clerk, and asked what shipping would be. She gave me a lower ammount then I had thought it would be. I asked her why, she said: It looks like books.
posted on January 6, 2001 04:30:10 AM
AZGamer ...
Whether that clerk said it was OK is irrelevant to what happens on the other end.
I live in Phoenix, and have had to pay postage due on books when the sellers used inside out priority rate boxes. (a Central PHX station). I just take the book out and hand the box to the clerk and they give it to the inspectors to follow up.
I was in line behind a woman in Ahwatukee who went into meltdown when she had to pay postage due parcel post rates (about $10 due) for a 30-lb box full of toys and games that had been shipped "book rate". Her options were paying or having the box returned to sender with postage due for reshipment.
If the clerks think you are misusing the rates, they might not challenge you (in this state, you might be armed). They dump the box in the rolling bin that goes to the inspectors in the back of the building for sorting. If the inspectors find a misused rate, they slap on the postage due for the correct rate and ship it out. A major misuser of the rate system will be watched for a while, perhaps even letting the stuff through with no indication it's been spotted, then hit with the penalties for misuse.
posted on January 6, 2001 04:35:22 AM
I should take offens to that gun remark.. lol
Should I fax you a copy of my concealed carry weapons permit?? lol
Ok, now back to business. It may be different in the part of Phoenix I live in, East Mesa, but most the postal workers are the elederly who are genuinely nice people.
Just to reply to your last comment:
I don't "try" to cheat the system, but the system cheats itself... If I was challenged, I would give them the name of the clerk who suggested it... Thats on the top of your receipt.
[ edited by AZGamer on Jan 6, 2001 04:36 AM ]
