justwannaquilt

Sometimes its cheaper to use other shipping options other than the USPS! And sometimes even when its NOT cheaper its worth a few extra pennies to save yourself the hassel of people who don't fully understand what they are doing!


Maybe I am just impatient because I have NEVER worked some place where I could say well....I dunno but this is how I am gonna do it! You either know what your doing or people die.

QKO

Agree, the clerk was not correctly trained, or was uninformed. The use of the short or long customs forms are spelled out here:

http://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/helppickaform.htm

The 2976 is the short, single-part form, the 2976-A is the long, four-part form with envelope.

Essentially, you only need the long form on the PM flat rate envelope if it weighs over 4 pounds or the value is over 400 USD.

BTW, someone mentioned military shipments. They now have APO/FPO-specific flat rate priority mail boxes that are bigger and cheaper than the regular Priority mail containers. If you're shipping to military addresses you might want to look into those.

jaciqltznok

yes, most people just ASSUME that flat rate means cheaper...it most certainly does NOT....it usually means Rip-off!
Take media and first class...most people will ship Cd's, Dvd's and books media thinking it is the best rate....it is not. Not only will take it longer, but if it less than 13oz it can usually ship first class cheaper and gets there quicker!
Flat rate is good for items over 2 pounds. Usually if it is less than 2 pounds you can get a better rate going reg. priority.
It is all a weight game and you have to use a postal scale and know the measurements that are on the pages I linked to in my earlier post.

ptquilts

this would be true if it was light weight or a short distance. the NON flat rate boxes vary in price by weight and distance.

You should know the weight and price before you go to the PO so they don't give you a snow job.

ptquilts

actually the cutoff is about 7 ounces ($2.24 for FC) - 8 ounces and up is cheaper Media Mail if it qualifies.($2.38 for first pound).

okiepastor

The POs NOT having the flat rate envelopes on hand makes me MAD---they say they CANNOT order them, the customer has to! and just try to get anything done on line! It refuses to let me order OR schedule a pickup--says invalid zip code! GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Rntraveler

http://www.usps.com/prices/first-class-mail-prices.htm

This is the first class prices per the PO and it depends on packaging as well as weight..

koko

I like my PO but the last time I was in I noticed the flat rates had gone up - guy told me they couldn't increase postage from 44 cents so they raised the flat rates by alot. Quarter on the small box - not sure about the others

QKO

Post offices cannot order products meant strictly for commercial shippers. They can only order products meant for private shippers. So this means you won't be able to get FR padded envelopes, regional rate boxes, and several other items that are meant for commercial shippers from the post office.

If you use these items, you can easily order them online, for free, from the USPS website.

If you're having a problem with "invalid zip code" it might be a good idea to get in contact with their web services support people. I've found them to be very helpful and responsive.

QKO

Whether flat rate saves money or not also depends on where you're shipping from and to.

Since shipping rates depend on zone and weight, if you're in the center of the country, like you are, you'll have less occasion to use flat rate since regular priority mail or parcel post rates to most of the country will often be lower than the flat rates.

If you're in one of the coastal mail zones or another, like we are, priority and parcel rates to the opposite ends of the country will be higher, and will often exceed the flat rate charges.

Living in a coastal mail zone, we use a lot more flat rate than we would if we were living in the center of the country. For us it often is a big savings, not a rip-off.

So, it's really a "weight and distance" game.

And it's just like anything else, practice makes perfect so those of us who ship a lot find it easy, people who don't do it a lot find it (rightfully) confusing.