Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds USPS flat rate box rate hike

Maybe they are trying to say you need a much larger mailbox.

The only way its a deal if say your shipping bullets or small but heavy things, I shiped a hat yesterday, and was hit with it!

For someone like me, the USPS is really convenient. We live out in the country, and due to health issues, I can't always make the drive to town if I need to mail something. But they will deliver shipping boxes for free. I can print postage online. And they'll pick up the packages. And our local mail carriers are super.

It's too bad their scanning/tracking system is no better -- or more accurate. A package I was expecting was shown to have left San Antonio yesterday evening, which meant it would be here and be out for delivery today. But that "departed San Antonio" scan was then deleted and replaced with one showing a departure this morning instead. And items going through the North Houston hub can sit for several days before moving again -- with original scans then disappearing and updated "arrival/departure" scan information soon to follow. But they do get the packages delivered, and for that I can't complain.

When it comes to receiving anything, FedEx has been super, and their current driver is about as predictable as the best in Swiss clockwork. She always arrives during a certain time period and never just throws our packages out in the ditch or near the gate 1/4th mile from the house (at night, no less!) as some UPS drivers have done. And if no one is home, FedEx places the package in a secure area and basically weather-proofs it before leaving it, too.

I'm thinking I'll vacuum seal my items and then use SAND to fill the extra space in the box.....make them earn their money.

Good idea. Let's all do that.

I shipped a few small flat rate boxes last year with 22# of lead ingots in them. One from Michigan to rural Oregon. Post office said it would have been like $25 without flat rate.

If you buy the postage on Paypal, the small boxes are $6.10

I've made two orders with Roto-Metal who will ship the max weight in a priority mail medium box, something like 70 pounds IIRC.

Second time around the mail carrier said she knew it was me when she loaded the box into her truck prior to going out on her route.

For pricing, one really needs to compare. USPS flat rate is obviously a great deal if your item will fit. Once you get up into a large box then it's kind of 50-50 whether FedEx would be cheaper or not. I just packed some stuff to mail and USPS flat rate was $13.85 while FedEx was $14.05 to the same place. If the item wouldn't have fit into the flat rate box then FedEx would have beat the next larger flat rate box by a good bit.

If it's a small, light item, standard parcel post will often be the best bet and beat even small flat rate box.

Is it just on the flat rate boxes or does it also apply to the boxes you use yourself?

The news stated that all carriers went up on price but USPS was the lowest percentage increase.

I'd rather USPS would go with a 500+% on that @#&m bulk mail. It appears that's what most of their mail deliveries are.

I get a kitchen wastebasket full of that crap every week! With this being an election year, it will only get worse.

Actually, the fiscal problems got worse when it QUIT being strictly "Gub'ment run"...........

REALLY? Which Postmaster are You?

[quote=knivesforme]REALLY? Which Postmaster are You?

Not a Postmaster, simply an informed taxpayer.

Yep, me too.

Went in the other day to mail a medium flat rate package and the postal guy behind the counter got all serious and said, "I need to let you know about the price increase." Here I'm thinking it's gonna be several dollars or something like that. When he told me I laughed and said "I think I can handle it." Especially when there was about 15 lbs in the package and it was going 2500 miles... He said some people were down-right pissed though.

knivesforme,

Brazos is right. The USPS hasn't been a Cabinet-level government agency since 1971. Instead it's supposedly an independently-run company, but still can be jerked around by Congress, which may be the worst of both worlds. Every time the USPS tries to fix problems, somebody gets upset and contacts their senator and congressman.

If you order on-line REGIONAL RATE BOXES... you can save a few bucks if shipping in the same time zone +/-.

REGIONAL RATE BOXES cannot be picked up at your local USPS... THEY MUST BE ORDERED FREE from the USPS.

If shipping East Coast to West Coast there is no savings, but Virginia to NC or OH... it will save you $2 or $10 dollars.

AGAIN... REGIONAL RATE BOXES MUST BE ORDERED FREE from the USPS... on-line only under "Shipping Materials" or something like that.

Believe there's only been one other increase with the flat rate system since they started it in 2007, and it's still a lot better deal than UPS or FED-Ex... not to mention that most times flat-rate goes by air and is delivered with in 2 or 3 day's.

The additional hike is probably going to be used for new scanning machines so that they can catch all of you that are shipping restricted items such as ...... ammo!


Phil

The cost to ship a box is tolerable, but their insurance is a fuggin ripoff.

Thanks, I wondered where they went. I've used the regional rate boxes several times in the past and saved some bucks over regular priority mail flat rate, but the last couple of times when I went to the Post Office they didn't have them.

Will have to order a few to keep around.

Is this the free classified section?