Posts by Brian Mitchell44

brightwolf4 said:Well, I just got back from the USPS office.
So, let me clarify—a declared value shipment can't be less than $334
here is what they told me:
Whatever value you write on the package or declare in your paperwork means absolutely NOTHING if it gets lost; you won't see a dime of your money back, regardless of what is printed on the box. It’s just a standard parcel. Whether you bother writing a value on it or not, it makes no difference. For small amounts, you have to send it as a declared value shipment to get any refund if it disappears (I already knew that part), but for packages under $333, there is zero guarantee, zero protection, nothing. You could pack it up like a premium parcel, but unless you actually pay for the insurance to make it a declared value shipment, you're flying blind.
All that effort is just wasted energy, guys. 😢
Sry Arabe 😢

Exactly. A declared value shipment is one thing, and a standard parcel is another entirely. But does that mean those idiots couldn't have explained it better? They could have simply said, "Look, there's such a thing as a STANDARD parcel," and stopped lying about how you don't get reimbursed if it goes missing. Good grief, isn't that the whole point of listing a value on a standard parcel? 🙄

That’s why you list the value on a standard parcel; you sign the paperwork confirming that is the true value, just in case the damn thing vanishes into thin air. 🙂

If you look at the USPS website, it clearly states the shipping rates for specific values for packages up to 5kg (though I highly doubt you'll be shipping anything heavier than that if you're just sending merchandise 🙂 ).

Anyway, next time, wrap the box, tie it up tight, and write the value BOTH on the box and on the shipping label before handing it over. Then we'll see what kind of nonsense they try to pull then. 😠

If they start acting up, go ahead and file a formal complaint against them. ☕

Michelle Fisher98 said:By the way, I’ve got a quick question. Does the USPS charge extra for those little forms you have to fill out when sending certified mail or COD packages?

If you're standing right there at the counter handling standard certified letters or basic packages? No. But those specific forms for Cash on Delivery or the specialized orange cardboard slips? Yeah, they tack on a small fee for those. Just a few cents here and there, but it's there. 🙂

I honestly believe you ought to have filed a formal complaint against them. Why just sit there? Try sending a test shipment first to see how they handle it, then file that report and make it crystal clear that their deliveries are perpetually late and—to make matters worse—your packages are arriving tampered with. 🙂

Nicole Gray82 said:My mom sent off a little parcel yesterday, only to have some clerk tell her it was too small to qualify as a package—even though I’ve sent much smaller things through USPS before without a single hitch. So, what happens? They charged her the rate for registered mail, which came out to about $9.00.
And when she asked what the minimum dimensions actually were? The woman just shrugged and said she didn't know, but insisted it couldn't go through as a standard package!
A complete disaster.

Well, if that's the case, your mother shouldn't have just stood there; she should have gone to a different Post Office branch or waited until someone else was behind the counter. 🤷
That’s my policy whenever I encounter an employee who clearly isn't interested in being helpful. 🤣

rapidrider3 said:It honestly gets under my skin—this constant condescension, acting like they’re teaching a toddler when it’s just some random user. 😛

If I recall correctly, he actually used to be a moderator, even right here on this forum. 🤔

Is thirty-five days considered the absolute upper limit for a menstrual cycle? 😕
My OB-GYN told me that anything up to forty days is perfectly normal, yet I keep stumbling upon data suggesting thirty-five is the cutoff... so now I'm left questioning everything. 🤷

To be honest, my cycles have always seemed excessively long—I’ve been averaging about 38 days ever since I stopped taking birth control pills, which was two years ago now. 😕
And this most recent one? It stretched out to a full 43 days. 😲

Karen Cook51 said:Thanks 🙂 , BUT let’s be real—it’s a total scam if it feels like one!!! This morning, I was looking at those $467 shipping fees and they came out to $26, which is just plain ridiculous 😲 !!!! My god, how much are they bleeding people dry just for a single certified letter? (We aren't even talking about a heavy package here, just a single sheet of paper!) The woman practically plastered ten different stamps, stickers, and little slips on it like she was sending it all the way to >.. Good grief 😠 ..Anyway, I ended up splitting the cost with the other person (I reached out to them immediately)

But the declared value $467, which plays a massive role, isn't the only factor besides weight 😉

copperrider20 said:It is forbidden on this Forum:

*
* justifying or glorifying felonies

The Law works that way throughout all of Europe, and most of the rest of the world, too. In fact, some places are even stricter.

Look, no offense intended, but you are talking absolute nonsense. 🙄
The woman mentioned something that happened ten damn years ago—and we're supposed to send USATF to her front door because of that? Who is the crazy one here? ☕

"Felony"? Please. It’s hard enough not to laugh at that claim. She yelled at a kid once—she didn't hit him, nor is she constantly screaming at him—and suddenly, oh, we're discussing criminal activity? Give me a break; stop being so dramatic. 🙄

My neighbor screams so loudly every single day that the entire street can hear her, and God knows what that's doing to her kids (there are four of them, by the way), and this happens EVERY day. And yes, USATF certainly knows about it, yet I haven't noticed anyone stepping in to take her children away. Though, if you ask me, instead of taking the kids, they should just lock her up in a psych ward. Everything is Peaceful Canada when she isn't around. ☕

So much for USATF. 🙄

p.s. I am not justifying anything, but discussing "felonies" in this context is truly laughable.

Just so we’re clear, posts aren't actually deleted permanently; it's just that regular users on the Forum can't see them anymore. However, the PDF moderators, the sub-mods, and the admins? They can still see everything. So, rest assured, there is definitely a paper trail showing exactly what was said and how it was written 🙂
.
And honestly, if you ask me, those 45 points you picked up seem completely unjustified. From where I'm sitting, it doesn't look like you were even attacking any specific user; it seems more like your statement was directed at the Law itself. 🙂

Rebecca Reed said:Ugh, can we talk about this whole Cash on Delivery thing for a second? I am completely lost here...
If the item value is, I don't even know, $13 and then I pay for shipping, how much am I actually handing over to the delivery driver at the end of the day? $8.25, $22 or what exactly??
I’ve just totally lost the thread on how this works...🤷

It really depends on what you're sending. I've used COD a few times myself, and the shipping usually ends up being around $6.00, so I would just tack that onto the final total that the recipient hands over to the driver. As for larger packages, I haven't really figured out the specifics yet. 🤷

brightcobra772 said:I am... and I'm heading over to drop it off now, but my wife is insisting it can't go as a standard package. She claims if it's just a package, it'll get lost in the shuffle with everything else, so it absolutely has to be sent as registered mail!!! 🙂 🙂

Personally, I just slide everything into an envelope, wrap it up tight with some twine on the outside, and ship it as a parcel. Just tell her you've done it that way before without any issues. All you have to do is fill out that customs declaration form, list the value, and call it a day. 🙂

Amanda Lopez43 said:Does the shipping cost stay the same regardless of whether the package value is high or low? The woman working at my local USPS branch kept insisting to me that it makes absolutely no difference if it's $33 or $333.
But now, looking at their official website, I see that's complete nonsense! 🤷

That description of yours is more than just accurate. 😉

Emily Peterson73 said:But the FedEx truck handles everything over 5kg without breaking a sweat... they don't bother with the tiny ones, right? Isn't that how it works????

Who knows? In my experience, even those tiny little packages used to show up in the delivery van just fine. 🤷

Emily Peterson73 said:It goes like this....

First off, I owe another public apology to $1.75 Sandra Brooks91, who insisted I’d end up paying extra shipping fees even though I already covered them. She was absolutely right! But let’s be clear: those extra charges the USPS carrier asks for upon delivery? You shouldn't have to pay those because the driver is just pocketing the cash! This whole thing was driving me insane... so, since my internet was acting up at the main branch, I decided to lace up my sneakers and head down there in person to find out how this mess actually works. So listen up, people... if you're sending out packages via certified mail with COD (Cash on Delivery) and you've already agreed with your buyer that you'll handle the shipping costs... the buyer is still going to be hit with an $8.90 fee regardless. In my opinion, it’s pure stupidity... but apparently, that's the fee for the money transfer service when the buyer hands the cash to the carrier on behalf of the seller. Well, now I finally know 🙂

We already knew that, and it's clearly stated on the USPS website. 😁

Anyway, those $1.75 carriers aren't just stuffing their pockets 😉 Those $1.75 are what you pay when the package is delivered via a FedEx van, and for those $1.75 you receive a receipt. At least, I always get one. 🙂

Sarah Jackson11 said:What on earth is someone supposed to do when they haven't received their package, yet the USPS claims it was successfully delivered? What are the actual options here? 🤷

She needs to go down there and demand to see exactly who signed for it in her name. Honestly, she should go ahead and argue with them over some phantom signature—let's see how quickly that "lost" package miraculously turns up once she starts threatening to file an official complaint. ☕

Betty Brown76 said:I’ve been scanning this thread and honestly, I haven't seen anyone else mention this specific "issue."😁

I’m looking to send something to North Mexico—it weighs less than half a kilo, so it would just go as a standard letter in one of those yellow bubble mailers. According to the USPS calculator, once you factor in everything including tax, it comes out to about $22, which seems perfectly reasonable.

But here is my dilemma: what if the recipient gets hit with unexpected customs fees or some other ridiculous charge they weren't expecting? If that happens, I would feel absolutely terrible. 😠

Has anyone actually dealt with this before?

By the way, I am definitely not sending this via a Greyhound bus; that feels like nothing more than a total gamble. 😂

In any case, you’ll have to fill out a customs declaration anyway, where you specify exactly what's inside and mark it clearly as a gift. 🙂

Anonymous said:I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to, even after scrolling through the first five pages of this discussion. 🤷
My mother was at the post office this morning trying to send a package COD (cash on delivery), and they told her there were two different ways to do it—one using USPS Express and then some other method 😕—and they wanted to charge her nearly $17 in shipping alone. 😕
I truly don't understand how this works. The package is valued at $37; so, what should the actual shipping cost be? Is it really $8.25 like I've read mentioned here? And what are these two different methods? 😕
And more importantly, what exactly am I supposed to tell them when I go to drop the package off this afternoon? 😳

The very first post in this thread covers C.O.D. shipments, so you might want to give that a read. I think it explains everything quite clearly. 🙂

ironwolf52 said:I haven't paid a dime yet; I'm still debating whether it's even worth picking up this package or not!
The package arrived from Canada in a 30x30 box, marked as a gift to try and dodge customs, but I’m heading out today to check the status—though I highly doubt I'll be paying $60 just for the shipping and handling fees alone. It's practically costing as much as the items themselves! ☕🤷

Just because someone writes "gift" on the label doesn't mean the authorities actually believe you. 😉
Customs officers have every right to decide for themselves if a package is truly a gift; they'll estimate the value themselves and then hit you with the full brunt of import duties and sales tax. 😉

ironwolf52 said:The US Postal Service managed to delight me once again today—so much that just seeing that yellow color makes me want to gag! 🙄

So, let me get this straight: I ordered a package where shipping was already included $100, yet when it arrives, the post office tries to charge me extra money for what, exactly$160? Just to remind everyone, this wasn't even a customs issue, because if it were, I would have received a notification before the package even hit my doorstep. Even if it *had* been subject to duties, we're looking at 22%, which is roughly $22! But $60? For what???
I am honestly fed up. Are we really the only country left with a postal service that functions like a legalized mugging? ☕👎

And don't even get me started on the delivery times. Lately, my packages have been taking nearly a week to arrive, when they used to show up within two or three days! 😕
One package took about ten days to reach me. Ten days! What kind of operation is this?

What kind of package are we talking about here? Where was it sent from? Who was the sender? Honestly, you can't just claim the post office "delighted" you without providing any actual details. 😁

And if you actually ended up paying something, did you bother to ask WHAT the charge was for, or did you just hand over the cash and now you're complaining? 😕

So, I was just sitting here thinking about it, and it looks like Cleveland was the stumbling block for me, granitemaker13, and Nicole Garcia alike. 😲

Nicole Garcia said:I sent a package to Cleveland 11 days ago and it still hasn't arrived! I'm starting to lose hope that it'll ever show up...👎

How long am I supposed to wait before I can actually file for a refund?

Once the 14-day mark hits, you initiate a claim, and then they have to investigate its whereabouts. That claim goes to the recipient, who has to formally state that the shipment was never received and sign off on it. Once that's done, the claim cycles back to you, and you get notified that the package couldn't be located—along with an apology and a promise to refund a specific amount. Then, a few days later, the money hits your account. It’s that simple.

granitemaker13 said:So, reading through all your experiences here, I have to wonder: what is going on with the package I sent on March 30th from Cleveland to NYC? It's still missing. I have the receipt, but should I start hunting for it now, or will it just magically appear after two weeks like it did for Electric?

And one more thing: has anyone here sent packages to Canada? I have an inquiry, but I'm not sure how much shipping costs or how they handle payments (is it via a standard domestic account or something else?)
If anyone has any insight, please let me know so I can pass the info along to my friend....

Hmm, yeah, that definitely should have reached NYC by now. Tell the person waiting for it to check in at the local post office; sometimes a notification slip gets missed, even though they're sitting there with the package. Just give them the tracking number. 🙂

As for Canada, I haven't a clue. I once sent a small registered package to Germany, paid the $10 registered fee, and it arrived within a week. 🙂

Chris Collins6 said:Does anyone know how long a package sits at the post office before they send it back if we don't pick it up???

5 days.