Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

I was wondering if anyone could clear something up for me regarding shipping—if I drop off a certified package on a Friday, is there any realistic chance of it arriving over the weekend, or am I just staring at an empty mailbox until Monday rolls around? Also, since I'm the one buying here, could someone walk me through what the actual cost for a certified shipment sent directly to a customer's billing address would look like? I'm trying to get a handle on what exactly is bundled into that price tag and what kind of coverage I'm actually paying for. 🙂

Who is this?

restlessseal7 said:I was wondering if a certified package sent out on a Friday actually shows up over the weekend, or if I'm just waiting until Monday? Also, can someone tell me how much shipping would cost for a certified package sent directly to my address? Like, what am I actually paying for when I hit that option? 🙂

Nothing before Monday, man. Certified shipping is about $9.50 for anything up to 50 grams.

Look, I’m well aware of how shipping rates work from the sender's perspective, but isn't it actually more expensive in the long run when the customer is stuck footing the bill for the postage upon delivery?

restlessseal7 said:Look, I get how shipping costs work for the sender, but isn't it actually more expensive when the buyer covers the postage at the time of pickup?

If you're talking about paying for the package right when you pick it up, then yeah, you're looking at $16.90 plus $3.00 shipping and all that extra stuff combined

Zachary Peterson6 said:if you’re talking about paying for the package when it actually arrives at your door, then you’re looking at 16.90 plus $3.00 whatever the shipping fees end up being

Yeah, that was exactly what I was trying to figure out, so thanks for clearing that up. 🙂

So... I went on an Amazon spree and ordered a ton of stuff, but my mail carrier only swings by twice a week. Every single time, it’s just one lone little package—one at a time! I’m stuck in this endless waiting game when I just want everything delivered in one big haul
I was thinking, can I just head down to the local USPS office and demand they hand over all my packages at once? Or is that gonna cost me extra or something? Like, what's the deal?
Help me out here 🙂

It’s not just about how fast the mail carrier moves,🙂 we're talking about Customs, trade tensions with China, and a million other variables that dictate whether our packages actually show up on time or get stuck in limbo forever...

Zachary Peterson6 said:Look, it’s not just about the mailman🙂—you’ve got Customs, China, and a million other things messing with how fast our packages actually show up...

I get that, but he's literally carrying them one by one because they won't all fit in his bag 😁 so I was wondering—can I just head down to the USPS and have them hand over everything that's arrived at once?

velvetwalker23 said:I get that, but the thing is, he only brings them over one at a time because he can't fit all those packages in his bag at once 😁 so I was just wondering if I could simply head down to the USPS and have them hand over everything that's arrived in one go?

Wait, how on earth are you even sure that's why he's bringing them one by one?!!🙂

Zachary Peterson6 said:How the hell would you even know he’s bringing them one by one?!!🙂

Because they were all ordered at once—there’s no way they just happen to show up one by one for weeks on end. It’s too convenient, right? Like, it’s never happened where two show up at once, but it’s always exactly two every single week, matching his visits perfectly. Seems a bit too "random" to me. Plus, his bag is tiny—it wouldn't even fit everything, haha. 😁

Fine, let's say I'm wrong (which I'm not 😛). Even if he *is* lugging them in one at a time... could I just walk into the USPS and pick everything up all at once? Or do they charge you extra or something?

velvetwalker23 said:it's because they were all ordered at once, and there's just no way they'd show up one by one over several weeks like that—I mean, it's never happened where, say, two arrive at once; it’s always just two every single week, exactly as many times as he shows up, so it feels way too coincidental to me. Plus, his bag is tiny, so he couldn't even fit them all, haha 😁

Look, even if I am wrong (and I'm pretty sure I'm not 😛), let's say he really is carrying them in one by one... can I just walk into the USPS and pick everything up all at once, or is there some extra fee or whatever for that?

Welcome to the world of Amazon🤣🤣
That's just how it works. Some packages from China go through Russia (which is the slowest route), others go through London or Paris... it's totally normal. I'll order a massive pile of stuff in a single day, and then it arrives bit by bit just like yours does. It has nothing to do with the mail carrier, the size of his bag, or any of that nonsense 🤣

And besides, what would you even pick up at the post office if there's nothing waiting for you?🤷
If there actually was something, the mailman would have already brought it to your door, since that's how we usually do things here.😛

Zachary Peterson6 said:welcome to the world of Amazon🤣🤣
that’s just how it works—some packages from China go through Russia (slowest), others hit London or Paris first... it’s totally normal. I order a ton of stuff at once and they show up one by one just like yours, all the time. It's got nothing to do with the mailman or your mailbox or whatever.🤣

And what exactly would you even pick up at the USPS if there’s nothing waiting for you there?🤷
If there actually was something, the mailman would have already dropped it off—that's just how we do things.😛

aaaahh... look, I know how it works, I'm not THAT stupid.😁
But everything I ordered was from China—some from the exact same seller, all ordered on the same day... so let's say I ordered 50 items, how is it even possible that every single one of those 50 arrives separately? (The guy comes twice a week and literally every single time it's just one package after another) and this keeps happening because I'm constantly ordering stuff... it goes on for weeks.

Forget Amazon for a second—I've ordered from US sites too and it's the same story... I've had plenty of orders, but never, and I mean NEVER, have two packages arrived on the same day.😳 Plus, seriously, I don't even have the space to put them all!
Fine, whatever—I'll just head down to the post office and pick everything up all at once.

velvetwalker23 said:Ugh, look... I get how this works, I'm not THAT clueless 😁
but everything I've ever bought was shipped from China, often from the exact same seller, and sometimes I even place all my orders on the same day... so if, say, I ordered 50 items, how is it even possible that every single one of those 50 arrives individually? (The mailman only comes by twice a week, and every single time he shows up, there's just one lonely package waiting) and this keeps happening because I'm constantly ordering stuff... it's been going on for weeks
forget about Amazon for a second, I've ordered from domestic sites too and it's the same old story... there were plenty of packages, but never—and I mean never—did two of them arrive on the same day 😳 plus, I literally have nowhere to put them all, I'm not even joking
fine, whatever, I'll just head down to the USPS and pick them all up at once

And I'm buying from the same damn seller, so things just keep dragging oooooooooonnnnnnn
Man, he'd bring them all to you in one go if he actually had anything to deliver😉
Just ask him🙂
And if you're gonna head to the USPS, try to get there around 7:30 in the morning before the carrier finishes his route, then you can just ask him if there's anything sitting there for you🤣

Zachary Peterson6 said:I'm buying from the exact same seller and my stuff is taking foreverrrrrrrrrrrr
man, he’d bring it to you if he actually had anything😉
just ask him🙂
and look, if you're hitting up the USPS, get there by 7:30 AM before the mail carrier heads out on their route—then maybe you can actually corner them and see if your stuff showed up🤣

It’s not just an Amazon thing, it happens with pretty much any package. It’s impossible for two things to show up at once when they shouldn't, but I order tons of stuff from within the US—it shouldn't take weeks or months to arrive, yet I've got a mountain of packages all ordered at the same time
yeah, whatever, I'll just ask him and call it a day

p.s.
seriously though, I can't even fit all these damn packages in my bag😁

velvetwalker23 said:it’s not just an issue with Amazon, it’s like this happens with pretty much any package I get. It makes zero sense that they all show up at the exact same time. Like, if I order something from within the States, it shouldn't take weeks or months to arrive, yet here I am with a bunch of them all landing on my doorstep at once even though I ordered them separately.
yeah, I'll just go ahead and ask him and call it a day.

p.s.
seriously though, I can't fit all these packages into my bag.😁

😂😂😂

just ask him.🤷😁

Hey there, I'm trying to ship this autumn jacket out to someone over on Maui, and honestly, it's being a bit of a pain because it's leather, so I was wondering what the best—and cheapest—way to handle this via USPS would be? Should I go with a standard parcel or just try to squeeze it into an envelope? Thanks!

briskbadger14 said:Hey, I need to ship an autumn jacket over to Maui. It’s a bit tricky because it’s leather, so I was wondering what the best and cheapest way via USPS would be? Should I send it as a package or just in a padded envelope? Thanks!

Did you actually weigh the thing yet? 🙂 You can check the USPS rate sheet online to compare, but if it's heavy like you say, you're probably better off putting it in a box as a package.

How am I supposed to figure out which days the mail carrier actually shows up? I haven't noticed any kind of consistent pattern. Sometimes they swing by two days in a row, and then nothing for three or four days straight. Is there even a logic to this?

restlessfalcon25 said:Is there any way to actually figure out which days the mail carrier comes? I haven't noticed any kind of pattern at all. Sometimes they show up two days in a row, but then they'll just vanish for three or four days straight. Is there even a set schedule or something?

Usually, it’s pretty much every day, though there are exceptions. Like, if you have those broader delivery routes where the carrier might hit one suburb one day and a different one the next, so yeah, it's mostly constant...
but how can you really say the mail hasn't come for four days? Just because you didn't see them pull up?