Not exactly a 'bargain' per se - but a nice source for free boxes and reduced shipping rates at the postal store http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stor...category=11820
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Back when I was ebaying a lot, priority mail was my main source of shipping, mostly because the USPS would give me almost all my shipping supplies for free. Boxes, envelopes, labels, stickers, tape. THe only thing I ever puchased was a small box of bubble wrap which I used sparingly.Dennis K Howard
www.geocities.com/dennishoward
"An elephant is nothing more than a mouse built to government specifications." Robert A Heinlein -
Those flat rate boxes can be picked up a the post office but you might have to ask for them as people were grabbing them not knowing what they were actually for so some PO's keep them hidden. Current fee is $8.10 regardless of weight. A good deal.Bob TuttleComment
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Priority mail is the best shipping deal going, always has been in my opinion. I choose it whenever I have the option.Comment
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I don't know that this is a great deal, unless you are shipping really heavy things. You can send similar sized boxes through priority mail for under $5. I go online, print it out, leave the box in the mailbox to on the front porch with a note. Cheaper than $8.10.Joe SacherComment
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Every once in a while I will carry something into the post office without any packing at all and ask to ship it Priority Mail. Every time, the clerk has taken more care than I would have. The service alone is worth the price of shipping.Originally posted by dkhoward
I can't remember how I learned I could get away with this. Those Mail Boxes Etc. places don't stand a chance compared to my local post office.Comment
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I was shipping a lot of stuff for the last few months. Seemed that when the postage rate went up UPS ground got a good bit cheaper than Priority. Depends upon weight and zip code of course. If you are shipping via payPal it is really easy to switch back and forth between UPS and USPS to determine best deal.
Flat rate is a good deal if you have a heavy package or are going East Coast to West Coast, etc.Comment
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Not regardless
Actually.... I believe that the weight limit is 70lbs. and the flat rate boxes ARE limited to the continental U.S. Still a phenomenal deal if you are wanting to ship... say.... a compressor motor. Also, in case you were say, looking for a way to utilize THEIR FREE boxes to ship with a different carrier, it is pretty easy to accomplish. Simply assemble one of their boxes INSIDE OUT, and whala........... a free brown box!!!!Originally posted by tuttlejrLast edited by scottjbs; 04-18-2006, 02:20 AM.Comment
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Contrary to driver preferences, UPS limit is 150lbs. Over 70 they are allowed to call another employee to help them unload, if they can not get the business to which they are delivering to help them out. In practice drivers will ask for no help as it is an insult to their manliness.Originally posted by scottjbs
UPS will actually deliver larger packages on a occasional business for a large shipper.
UPS purchase of Overnight will result in UPS driver handling all size packages during the next contract negotiation.Comment
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Be careful using inside-out Priority Mail boxes. I think I read somewhere that using their supplies for anything other than shipping via USPS is a federal offense!Originally posted by scottjbs
Don't tell anyone, but I used a couple of priority mail boxes as a drop-cloth for a recent project. I'm pretty sure that was illegal too.Comment
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We know a couple of USPS employees and were told that it is harder for post offices to get Prioirty Mail boxes then it is for Joe Q. Public.
Order them on line and a few days later, you've got them for free! Plus you can pick the size you need. The downsize is that you can't order just 1 or 2. Cases only. The #4 we use is 25 to a case.
BobOh what a tangled web we weave, when we are all hopped up on caffine.Comment
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It is illegal to use the priority mail boxes for other then there intended purpose. The hashest punishment I have ever gotten was a don't do it again. I do want too state, with out going over the political line, is that if this is a big problem, maybe it's time to dump some tea in the harbor.Originally posted by jgscott987Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we are all hopped up on caffine.Comment
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this is why stamps are $.39 now.Originally posted by rbfunkMike
Lakota's Dad
If at first you don't succeed, deny you were trying in the first place.Comment
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You gave me ideas. What is the size of the largest flat rate boxes? All I'm seeing on that site is two sizes and they are not very big. Not likely to get 70lbs worth of stuff in one of those unless you are shipping lead or dumbell weights and you'd have to reinforce the heck out of it.
What I was thinking. I've sold about 300 lbs of shorts to a few members a while back for a little more than shipping. But the shipping was way too high and I hated it even though no one complained. If USPS has bigger flat rate boxes they could be a good solution. Last time I used UPS, because of the 70+ packages and they were cheaper on the smaller ones too. My only other option is DHL, but the closest service center for them is 40 miles away.
As a side note we finally got an order for the mahogany jambs again, so just maybe I can deliver this time. Not sure when we'll actually run them."Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." by Albert EinsteinComment
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No one complained because you practically gave the wood away. The mahogany shorts are awesome with a little resawing and planing off the ridges in the back.Originally posted by MoldnMaker
There are probably 7 flat rate boxes in all. You can order 3 different varieties through ebay for free. They are ebay branded USPS boxes. They come maybe 15 to a box. Sizes will in no way accomodate wood.
In the USPS locations you can find a flat rate tube that is about 2.5 ft long but it is only about 6" in diameter. I don't know of a flat rate box that would help you here. They are too smart for that !!!!!Comment
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