Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

northernbadger1 said:I have a question... I sent out a package via COD on March 8th, but as of today, there's still no money and no sign of the package... How long does this whole process usually take?? I did this once before and everything was wrapped up in about five days...

Ugh... That is way too long... Even for shipping out to Hawaii, especially since you sent it right at the end of the work week...
I really hope you declared a high value on it... Just head down to the local Post Office and demand some answers...

Edward Turner56 said:Ugh... that’s way too much. Even for shipping to Hawaii—especially since you sent this right at the end of the work week...
I really hope you declared a high enough value... Just head down to the local Post Office and ask them about it..

Thanks for getting back to me. My package actually got returned to me today with a slip saying the recipient was notified but never picked it up. Honestly? I am officially done with COD shipping.. 🙂

northernbadger1 said:Thanks for the reply. I actually just had an item sent back today because the carrier left a notice saying they tried to notify the recipient, but nobody showed up to pick it up.. Honestly, I'm done with cash on delivery orders once and for all.. 🙂

That’s exactly why I don't do COD either. No matter how much people beg me to ship it that way, I won't touch it. You never really know who you're dealing with, and there's always that nagging worry that someone will just ghost the delivery and leave you holding the bag.

So, here’s the deal:

About twenty days ago, I had something sent to me from Bulgaria and I managed to snag the tracking number.
When I hit the postal service site, it redirected me to the USPS page. I plugged the number in, and this is what popped up:

3/2/2012 7:25:00 PM BULGARIA SOFIA LETTERS Send item abroad (EDI-received)
3/14/2012 7:25:00 PM BULGARIA SOFIA LETTERS Send item abroad (EDI-received)

Does anyone know what's actually going on here?
Has it been shipped out to the States twice? Or did it get bounced back?

Quick question 😍

I need to mail out a jacket... I’m thinking certified mail is my best bet, but here's the thing—can I just toss it in a regular box, wrap it up, and send the whole package as certified? Or does "certified" only apply to those big yellow envelopes? 😕
It feels like a total waste to pay extra for their fancy envelopes when I've already got a bunch of boxes lying around at home—even if shipping a box costs a bit more than an envelope

And let's say certified *only* works for the envelope... do I just show up with the jacket in a plastic bag and they shove it in there for me or what? 😁

Don't judge the dumb questions, alright? This is my first time doing this 😛

northernbadger1 said:Thanks for the reply... Today, my shipment was sent back to me with a little note attached saying the recipient was notified, but they just never bothered to pick up the package. Honestly, I'm done. No more COD shipments from me... 🙂

Look, I get it... I stopped doing that ages ago. I won't even think about sending anything via USPS unless the shipping costs—both ways, mind you—are paid upfront. It’s only about five or six bucks on average, but it adds up. Most people actually pay it, but still... $33I’m convinced the man is being perfectly serious here. That is exactly how you protect yourself from this breed of buyer... You simply refuse the down payment from the total buyout price, and that's the end of it...
I’ve actually dealt with people who were willing to wire me a massive sum upfront just to shave a few bucks off the shipping costs. It sounds crazy, I know, but honestly? Not a single one of them ever got scammed... There are all sorts of characters out there, I suppose...😉

velvetwalker23 said:I have a quick question 😍

I need to mail out a jacket... I think sending it via certified mail is my best bet, but now I'm wondering if I can just pack it in a box (like grab a standard cardboard box, wrap it up, etc.) and send that entire package as certified mail? Or is "certified" limited to just those big yellow envelopes? 😕
It feels like a waste to pay extra for their specific envelopes when I already have plenty of boxes lying around at home... even if shipping a package costs a bit more than an envelope.

And let's say certified mail *is* restricted to just that envelope... do I just bring the item in a plastic bag and they stuff it in there for me, or what? 😁

Don't judge me for asking such silly questions, this is my first time doing this. 😛

I don't know what kind of jacket we're talking about here, but if you want to avoid any damage, you really should use either a bubble mailer or a sturdy cardboard box. Anything else is just asking for trouble in my opinion. And honestly, those specialized envelopes aren't even that expensive...

Edward Turner56 said:I don't know what kind of jacket we're talking about here, but if you actually care about it not getting trashed—just use a bubble mailer or a cardboard box. Anything else is just asking for trouble, IMO. A padded envelope isn't exactly breaking the bank...

Yeah, I get that—that’s exactly what I was thinking. But honestly, I wasn't sure if it would even fit in one of those mailers (plus, it’s super annoying to lug everything down to the Post Office just to grab an envelope since I don't have them at home, though I do have a box). So I was wondering if I can just ship it in a box, even if it's technically "recommended" to use the other way, since it's a box and not a bulky parcel ? 😁

velvetwalker23 said:Yeah, I get that. That’s what I was thinking too, but I’m honestly not sure if it even fits in one of those envelopes. Plus, it feels stupid to carry it all the way to the USPS office just to grab an envelope there since I don't have any at home—even though I do have the box ready. So, I was wondering if I can just send it in the box as registered mail, rather than a full package, since it's in a box ? 😁

Look, a package is addressed to the recipient, right? It's in their name. I really don't see why you're obsessing over the registered mail aspect... If you want, you can just ship the package directly to their home address; there's an extra fee of about $1.75. That way, you don't have to worry about them having to trek out to pick up a delivery...
And no, you absolutely cannot send a box as a letter. 😉
Here, you can just run the numbers yourself:
http://www.usps.com/tools/zonal-calculator.htm

Edward Turner56 said:Look, the package goes to the recipient—it’s addressed to them, so why does it even matter if it's certified or not?? You can always just pay an extra $1.75 to have it delivered straight to their house. That way you don't have to worry about them trekking out to pick it up...
And no, you can't just send a box as a letter. Period.😉
Here's the pricing—you can run the math yourself:
http://www.usps.com/main.aspx?id=194

That’s exactly what I was thinking—since sending it certified ends up being way cheaper than a full package because of the weight, I figured I could just toss it in a box (since I don't have any envelopes lying around) and ship it as a letter, haha... too bad that isn't an option.🤣

Thanks for the info🙂

velvetwalker23 said:I have a quick question 😍

I need to mail a jacket... I'm thinking certified mail is my best bet, but I was wondering if I can just pack it in a box (like grab a standard cardboard box, wrap it up, etc.) and send that box via certified mail, or is certified mail strictly limited to those big yellow envelopes? 😕
It feels like a waste to pay extra for their specific envelopes when I have plenty of boxes lying around at home, even if shipping a package ends up costing more than an envelope.

And let's say certified mail really does require that specific envelope... do I just bring the item in a plastic bag and they stuff it in there for me, or what? 😁

Don't judge me for asking such basic things, this is my first time doing this. 😛

Have you tried weighing the jacket yet? If it’s over half a pound, the price difference between methods doesn't matter much anyway.
As for how I do it, I usually use plain poly mailers when I'm sending things via certified mail. But for anything sent as a package, I always use a box.
You can also definitely send a small box via certified mail.

Olivia Green46 said:Did you try weighing that jacket? If it’s over a pound, honestly, just pick whatever shipping method you want—at least you'll be paying what it's worth.

I did—it’s pretty light since it’s a summer jacket, so the weight isn't an issue. I just wasn't sure if it would fit in those padded mailers because I didn't realize they were that big. Turns out it fits fine, so I just grabbed a mailer and sent it off.

Olivia Green46 said:As for shipping, I use plain poly mailers sometimes, but only for certified mail. For anything else, I always go with a box.
You can also use certified mail if it's a smaller box.

In plain mailers? Never heard of that—actually sounds like a great idea.😁... How do you even handle the address? Just tape a piece of paper on top and call it a day?

velvetwalker23 said:Wait, you mean just using regular plastic bags? I haven’t even thought about that, but honestly, that sounds like a lifesaver 😁... how do you handle the address part, though? Do you just slap a label on top and call it a day?

Yeah, I just stick a Post-it note on there with some Scotch tape. It’s really not worth my time or money to go out and buy actual envelopes when shipping costs are already through the roof; I just repurpose whatever packaging I have lying around.

Olivia Green46 said:Yeah, I'll just slap a Post-it on there with some Scotch tape. Why bother buying envelopes? Shipping costs are already insane—I just reuse whatever packaging I have lying around.

Thanks for the tip 🙂

velvetwalker23 said:That’s exactly what I was thinking! Since sending something via certified mail ends up being way cheaper than a standard package because of the weight, I figured I could just toss it in a small box (since I don't have any of those specific mailing envelopes on hand) and send it as certified mail, haha... it's such a shame that option doesn't exist.🤣

Thanks for the reply!🙂

I don't have enough time to read through everything here, but yes—you can definitely send a certified letter in a small box, provided it stays under four and a half pounds and isn't some massive container.
As for the shoes, those should be totally fine.

Nicole Lee4 said:I don't have time to read through everything—but if the recommended package is just a box, it should be fine as long as it stays under four pounds and isn't some massive crate.
Those shoe boxes? They pass without a hitch.

Gonna give that a shot too... thanks Nicole Lee4 😁

Checking all possible threads here 😢 A friend sent some baby gear over from the States, packed in a bubble mailer
Meanwhile, two other packages from the US already arrived, but this one? Nowhere to be found. It's been a month... if it doesn't show up, I might actually cry 😢 It cost me $60. I was just trying to save money since everything is so overpriced here, and now it's just gone. I can't even tell my husband I spent any money on this $120 because I have nothing to show for it
My friend even covered the shipping... I was so happy at the time

Here I am again with another question, obviously 😁
I’ve been scrolling through this forum, but I’m still a bit lost—and what can I do, I'm just a total airhead at heart 🤣

So... I'm planning to send two pairs of pants via cash on delivery, and the buyer covers the shipping... Do I actually need to carry any cash with me, or nothing at all since he's paying the shipping? The total value including shipping is $53 (it's 138 without shipping), so would it be smarter to mark the package so it doesn't exceed $33 (since I think you get charged extra for that)?

One more thing... How and when do I actually get my money? Does the mailman just hand it to me or what? Sorry for being such a pain 😍

velvetwalker23 said:Well, here I am again with yet another question, because naturally, 😁
I've been reading through this forum, but I'm still a little confused (and what can I do? A blonde at heart! 🤣)

So... if I were to send two pairs of pants via COD (Cash on Delivery), where the buyer covers the shipping... do I need to have any cash on me when I drop it off, or nothing at all since they're paying the shipping? Also, the total value including shipping will be $53 (it's $138 without the shipping fee), so would it be smarter to mark the package so the value doesn't exceed $33 (since I think that incurs extra fees)?

And one more thing... how and how soon do I actually get my money? Does the mail carrier bring it right to my door or what? Sorry for being such a bother! 😍

a) You'll need to have enough cash on hand to cover the shipping costs upfront. (With USPS, FedEx, or UPS, standard packages usually require the sender to pay the postage; certain express services might allow you to bill the recipient, but for basic certified mail or standard COD packages, you're generally responsible for the shipping cost at the counter.)
b) You can list the package value as $33 and set the COD amount to $158.00 (just be really careful not to mix those numbers up when you're filling out the form!)
c) The mail carrier will bring the cash directly to your home address. You'll just need to fill out a specific postal voucher/form where you'll be listed as the recipient. Here is a link to see what that looks like: http://
I hope that helps clear things up!

Nicole Lee4 said:a) You gotta cover the shipping costs—FedEx is basically the only option where you can charge the recipient for delivery. For standard USPS tracked mail or other packages, you’re paying upfront.
b) You can list the package value at $33 and set the COD amount to $158.00 (just double-check your math so you don't screw it up)
c) The carrier will drop the cash right at your door. You'll just need to fill out a money order form listing yourself as the recipient, http://
Hope that clears things up.

Yeah, thanks 🙂
The driver dropped off the cash today—everything went smooth. I saw some people having nightmares with COD shipments, but luckily, I didn't run into any of that mess.