Posts by Melissa Phillips4

Dennis Evans2 said:How much does it cost to ship a package to Africa and what would the shipping fees be?

Give me some more details here.

Shipping is going to be expensive. It all depends on the weight, plus there's the massive question of whether it will actually arrive at all.
If you're sending it to South Africa, it’ll probably make it. For most other countries? Good luck.
In those places, they steal basic letters off the street, let alone an entire package.
The real issue is whether those other countries even have a functioning postal system to begin with.

coastalwolf8 said:When I go to USPS and enter my tracking number, I get this table:
11/24/2011 10:46:00 AM CHINA BEIJING Insert item into bag (Otb)
11/29/2011 8:43:00 AM USA WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001 Receive item at office of exchange (Inb)
11/29/2011 11:11:00 AM USA WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001 Send item to domestic location (Inb)
11/30/2011 9:27:00 AM USA 20004 WASHINGTON, D.C. CUSTOMS Send item to domestic location (Inb)
11/30/2011 6:22:00 PM USA 20005 Washington, D.C. Distribution Center Receive item at location (Inb)

What does the bold part mean??

That’s just the sorting facility.
It'll be at your place in a day or two.

Selling something for the first time here. I need answers to two specific questions:

1. If I provide my bank account number, can the person making the transfer see my home address?
Is there any actual danger in someone knowing my account number? Like, could they take out a loan in my name or something similar?
The internet is full of creeps, so you can never be too careful.

2. If I’m shipping via USPS certified mail, can I just list my address as POSTE RESTANTE, 10000 Washington, D.C.? I don't want my home address out there for everyone to see.

Thanks in advance.

Olivia Green46 said:Quick question: if I'm sending something to a P.O. Box address—usually just a standard letter—how does the billing work?
I checked the USPS price list, and there's an option for P.O. Box delivery mentioned, but I can't tell if that fee falls on the sender or the recipient.

The recipient pays. $0.43

Emily Rivera83 said:I have a question...
A week ago, a woman asked to buy a bag from me. We agreed she’d send the money for the bag plus a little extra for shipping, since I wasn't going to send it via certified mail.
I shipped it the day after seeing the payment. A week has passed, and now she’s messaging me saying it hasn't arrived, accusing me of scamming her. =/

Has this happened to anyone else? What's the deal—is the USPS just incredibly slow or something?
I don't even have a wife to convince that I haven't spent my life flirting with people, let alone her.

Always use certified mail.
It’s entirely possible she already got it and is just taking advantage of the fact that you didn't use tracking to lie about it.

Olivia Green46 said:That covers the Red Cross period from the 14th through the 21st.
I sent mine off last Tuesday, only to be told on Thursday that I actually had to pay for it. It made zero sense. Why would they start a promotion on a Wednesday instead of at the beginning of the week? Makes no sense.

I was there on Friday.🤷
And they didn't tell me a damn thing.

Maybe that rule only applies to shipments headed here in the States. I was sending mine overseas. Perhaps that extra fee doesn't even kick in for international orders.🤷

Hmm, I sent mine out last week and they didn't charge me any extra $0.52.
They didn't even mention anything about needing to...

Rachel Bishop26 said:It all kicked off on July 29th when a dear friend from this forum was sending me an item of clothing. I happened to be heading out to the coast for a month and forgot to give her a heads-up. She sent it via certified mail, and we both assumed it would be returned to her address before I got back from vacation. I returned on August 25th and found zero notice from the USPS, yet the package still hadn't been returned to her. When I went down to the local branch, they claimed they never even received it—nothing had arrived at my address for over a month. Meanwhile, in her city, she filed a formal complaint with the postal service, only to discover that someone had signed for and snatched the package on August 1st. It’s just me and my mom living here, and we both left for the beach on the same day; nobody else in our building signs for anyone else's mail. A few days later, my friend sends me a copy of the official document showing the signature. It’s my signature!!! 😲
I was absolutely stunned. Sure, one letter looks slightly slanted, but it's unmistakably my signature! On Monday, my friend tried sending me some lipstick via certified mail, and somehow the package ended up sitting right in my mailbox. I grabbed it without signing anything, which leads me to believe the same person just signed for it again. I went to the post office and they actually called me in for an interview... I've never had run-ins with the USPS before and have no clue how to handle this. Anyone got suggestions? I don't know why anyone would do this. In two years of heavy ordering, I've only had two packages from eBay go missing, and I don't think eBay is to blame, but this was certified mail... I want to make life difficult for this person. Maybe they mean well, but honestly, having someone forge my signature is unbelievable. 😕

Maybe that first time he just shoved the certified mail into the mailbox, and someone in your building swiped it?
If you weren't home, they saw something valuable and took it.

The whole point of certified mail is that they're supposed to hand it to you personally after you sign for it.
Or at least leave a slip if you aren't there.

Richard Rivera said:I need to ship some small items under 50g overseas. I want to know the fastest way—priority mail or certified mail? From what I understand, the only difference is that certified includes online tracking and potential compensation if it gets lost?

Priority airmail is the fastest option. For Europe $3.25, and for the rest of the world $4.25.

You can also send it as certified $7.75 and add priority/airmail on top of that for an extra $3-$1.25.

You get online tracking, but you'll only see updates on the USPS website for your own country.
To actually check if it arrived, you have to go to that specific country's postal service website and enter the tracking number there.
If it doesn't show up, you're entitled to a refund of five times the shipping cost.

If it's going to Europe, it should arrive in about 3 days (though not everywhere), but for the rest of the world, it depends entirely on the destination.

Tell me which country, and I'll tell you how many days it might take to get there.

Morgan Hughes81 said:Hey guys, what would it cost me to send this via cash on delivery?
It’s basically worth a buck and weighs less than an ounce.
Can someone help me out and tell me what the total would be?

Based on the USPS calculator $9.75.
A bit steep. I probably didn't input something right, but that seems to be the price.

Matthew Robinson5 said:I need to get some documents over to Washington, D.C. immediately. They cannot go missing. What happens if I use a return receipt and address the package to a legal entity—like a corporation or an association? Someone suggested that's the way to go, but the recipient is the "SC, Appeals Commission." Does that change anything? 😁

If I drop off a letter at the post office before 2 PM and mark it as urgent, is there any actual chance it arrives by tomorrow?
Is there any other way to ship this that won't take forever? FedEx is charging $30 just to get it here.$13 Either/or? 🙂

Which one’s safer?

Sending it via certified mail is enough, though you might want to add return receipt just to be safe.

If you use the recommended shipping, it hits the US by day two. Period.

Ronald Rodriguez13 said:Everything's been verified... yet the mailman acts like I'm just making things up. Pure fantasy, apparently.🤷

If your package isn't arriving, are you absolutely certain the sender actually sent it?
It doesn't have to be a USPS issue or a faulty carrier if someone is lying about shipping something they never even touched.

I ship items all over the globe and they arrive in record time, no issues. Same goes for receiving packages from overseas—it always works perfectly fine.

I have a few questions if anyone can help me out:

1. Does FedEx handle international shipments on Saturdays, or does everything just sit there until Monday?
Yesterday I sent off an airmail priority package.

2. Do letters actually go through customs inspections? Or do they just ship them out immediately?

Thanks!

Jessica Mendoza4 said:Honestly, I can't remember the last time I actually had to pick up a package at the FedEx Office on Broadway, so I just have one question. What are the counter hours? Are they open until 8:00 PM, or...? I haven't received my arrival notice yet, so I can't check.
Thanks.

I'm pretty sure that Broadway location is open 24/7...

Chloe Moore65 said:Just swap those stamps for a few smaller ones and stick them on accurately. I don't see how you expect them to give you cash back.

Nicole Lee4 said:They aren't going to scrape stamps off if you overpay. Better to just use smaller denominations and pay the difference at the counter.
They'll just print a postage meter stamp for whatever amount is missing.
You aren't getting any change back; they can't even use it.

Fine, thanks.
I always use the correct amount, but when people insist on those extra couple of bucks from USPS
they want them all together on the envelope.$2.25 Whatever. This time I'll just overpay and let them keep the extra.
If they can deliver to the other side of the world in ten days, $0.67 they can have it.
🙂🙂🙂

If you overpay the shipping costs, do they actually refund the difference?
For instance, if shipping is $4.25, and I put down two five-dollar bills, making it ten bucks total.
Do I get those extra $0.67 back, or does the company just pocket it?

Nicole Lee4 said:it used to be $2.00.
now there’s a flat rate of 4.6 for all states. they used to use zones, and they still use them now, just not for postcards)

Thanks!🙂
Glad it's finally $1.50.

Has anyone actually sent postcards via priority airmail before?
According to the USPS rate sheet, it covers $1.50 anywhere in the world, yet I keep seeing people on blogs paying extra through $2.00 just to get a single postcard delivered.
It doesn't make any sense to me. Look, it’s not like it’s breaking the bank $0.67, but still...

Nicole Lee4 said:For anonymous shipping, you can only send standard mail. If you want certified mail, you have to list a sender.
Sure, you could use fake info, but it won't actually verify who you are.

Anyone can use General Delivery, and you can address a package to anyone via General Delivery for $1.30.
As for a P.O. Box, you need a certain volume of mail to qualify, though the box itself is free.

I don't see the point in using General Delivery or a P.O. Box. You never know when something actually arrives. You waste your time driving down there just to find nothing. Plus, you still have to pay fees upon pickup.
I used to do that, but I realized how stupid it was. Wasting time driving forty miles into Washington, D.C. only to find an empty mailbox is a losing game.
Better to just get my mail delivered home.🙂

Kate Johnson13 said:I want to know if I can send packages anonymously. Basically, can the recipient avoid knowing my actual identity—like my full name or home address? I think there’s something about renting a P.O. Box, but I need an expert to clarify 🙂

Look, you don't have to put your name on the envelope if you don't feel like it.
If you want to keep your address private, just use General Delivery at the USPS or rent a P.O. Box. Though, I believe General Delivery might require a certain volume of mail to be practical.