USPS

[Laurie Spray]

Shipping boxes is going up as of today again!! USPS told us this morning that they have increased their shipping prices again but now will be giving tracking numbers at no charge......

Anyone having problems with the online site yesterday and this morning....that is why.

I think we are just going to swith to Fed Ex totally although I hate their website for making quick and easy labels.

[AndyT]

I always check rates between USPS, UPS and Fed Ex.

[Brad Walker]

Anyone having problems with the online site yesterday and this morning

Anytime rates go up USPS has trouble with their site. It's as predictable as the price increases. (By the way, both FedEx and UPS prices increased this January also.)

Flat rate priority boxes and envelopes at USPS are still a better deal than UPS or FedEx. If you get labels online, tracking is free (always has been, didn't just change).

And you can get a 5% discount on all USPS payments if you use a Mastercard and the Easy Savings program -- http://www.mastercard.com/easysavings/c ... index.html (That program has saved me 100's of dollars in postage fees -- get a no fee MC that's eligible for the program. You can also save 5% at Dunkin Doughnuts and a bunch of other places.)

[jim burchett]

I generally use USPS and figure that if the cost should happen to be higher..I'm subsidizing the first class mail system...they need all the help they can get. Brad..being in NC you should be supporting KrispyKreme.

[Bert Weiss]

I just skated through a USPS potential nightmare. I bought a kiln controller from a company in Korea, on Ebay. It arrived broken and not fixable. So, I sent it back. Figuring out how to do that was no small feat. I had to ship with tracking and signature verification. USPS was the low price by a lot. They were the only viable service, really. The package was sent to another city for testing. I bought the postage online, and sent the label off to the guy who had it. It took him a few days to find a post office with the right International shipping documents. So, I get a tracking message from USPS. It had 6 entries from 3 locations in California, before the package was mailed in PA. Then it had the package in Chicago, China, Chicago and told me it was delivered in the People's Republic of China. I was beside myself after reading this nonsense. Nothing followed the least bit of logic or reality. This morning, I finally got the message that it had indeed arrived in Korea, and my money was refunded including my shipping costs. Whew!!!

[Brad Walker]

Brad..being in NC you should be supporting KrispyKreme.

My problem, as anyone who has seen my waistline knows, is that I support KrispyKreme AND Dunkin Donuts way too much.

[Laurie Spray]

Let's not start talking waistlines but I would sure love a Krispy Kreme with this cup of coffee I just made.

Bert ....that does sound like a nightmare.......

We have found that most international shipping is best cost thru USPS which I am always surprised by.

[Brad Walker]

We have found that most international shipping is best cost thru USPS which I am always surprised by.

There's another hidden cost to shipping international with a carrier other than the USPS. Both UPS and FedEx sometimes charge the receiver an extra fee for getting the package through customs. This is transparent to the sender, but complaints about it (especially in Canada) have caused us to almost always use the USPS for international shipments. They don't have great tracking once it leaves the US, but the savings can be significant, especially if you use a flat rate package.

[marg]

Hi Folks
Speaking as a Canadian and purchasing 99.9% of supplies in the US I will only order if shipped through USPS. The brokerage fees charged by other companies have actually at times cost me more than the actual item purchased. The post office charges a flat $8.00 no matter what the cost and quite often like today there were no charges on the package at all. With the other companies all items are tendered to customs and if inspected or not the company charges the fee.

Marg

[S.TImmerman]

I shipped though USPS last week to Israel who happened to be a repeat customer. In the span on 11 months they tacked on 18.45 worth of fees. It doesn't make any sense that it would go up that much plus it made the customer question if I was padding the shipping ..which I never do!! I should when crates weigh 55 pounds and I can't carry them very well.

[seachange]

Hi Folks
Speaking as a Canadian and purchasing 99.9% of supplies in the US I will only order if shipped through USPS. The brokerage fees charged by other companies have actually at times cost me more than the actual item purchased. The post office charges a flat $8.00 no matter what the cost and quite often like today there were no charges on the package at all. With the other companies all items are tendered to customs and if inspected or not the company charges the fee.

Marg

My experience exactly for Australia. I always specify USPS and won't order if this is not accepted. Got caught by the brokerage fees with UPS.

Cheers, seachange