Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

Olivia Green46 said:You’re going to have to handle this one yourself; those people won't lift a finger to help you pack, tape up the boxes, or even bother writing down an address. 😁

I know it might sound a bit naive, but I was under the impression that there were strict, standardized regulations dictating exactly how a package should be formatted for shipping, which is why I bothered asking in the first place. Thanks anyway. 🙂

So, here’s the situation. The folks at the post office messed up again...

On Wednesday, I sent out a certified package with a COD value of $77 to a lady over in San Francisco. But then, this package (which is mine!) gets delivered right back to my doorstep, and they expect ME to pay for it (WTF?!)—even though I have the receipt proving I already sent it... What am I supposed to do with this??

What’s the best way to ship some stuff?
It's just a T-shirt and a skirt, and I'm trying to figure out if putting them in a box means the recipient will have to trek down to the post office to pick them up. Honestly, I'd much rather have it delivered right to their doorstep.
Could I just fold everything into a plain poly mailer so it looks like those standard packages we get from eBay?
The goal here, obviously, is to keep costs as low as possible.😉

I'm heading out for a week and I've got two packages coming in. My mailman is an absolute disaster—he basically misses one out of every ten deliveries—so I’m terrified he’ll just leave a yellow slip and then I'll waste five whole days trying to grab the package before they ship it back to the sender. Is there any way I can give someone else power of attorney or just authorize them to pick it up for me instead?

Hey, does anyone know if I can mail a Glanopol magnet in a bubble mailer? Also, any idea what those cost roughly? If I send it via certified mail within the US, about how much would the postage run me? Thanks in advance!

urbancobra12 said:What's my best bet for shipping some stuff?
I've got a shirt and a skirt, and I'm worried if I put them in a box, the recipient will have to trek down to the post office to pick them up. I'd much rather have it delivered right to their door.
Can I just fold them into a plain poly mailer so it looks like those eBay packages we get?
My main goal is obviously to keep costs down. 😉

First off, weigh the items. Then, head over to the USPS website and compare the rates for a package versus a certified letter for that specific weight. 🙂

You can actually send things in a box via certified mail; at least, that’s how I usually handle it. I use poly mailers too.

Donna Vaughn34 said:I’m heading out on a 7-day trip and I’ve got two packages coming. My elderly neighbor is a total saint and usually grabs my stuff every few days, so I figure they’ll just leave a yellow slip at my door. My big worry is that it'll take me five days just to get around to picking them up, and then they'll just send them back. Is there any way I can give someone else permission to grab them for me?

Found this on the HP website

General Hold Service

If you're traveling or just too busy to check your mailbox every single day—or if you can't make it down to pick up registered mail in person—you can request a general hold service at your local post office. Once you pick a branch, they'll hold onto anything addressed to your hold address for up to 30 days. You can just swing by whenever it works for you within that window to collect your mail.

Angela Flores76, thanks 😉

I need an answer ASAP! :/

I ordered something from an online shop using a Poste Restante address, but I had no idea it would be sent via FedEx. Now I'm looking at their website and it looks like they don't even offer that kind of delivery... the package is stuck in Minneapolis right now and the tracking says this:

Further Detail:
The shipment is awaiting the next scheduled movement
Next Step:
The shipment will be processed in the next available movement

Destination service are: Minneapolis - DOBOVA - Canada
Monday, November 26, 2012 Location Time
14 Shipment on hold Minneapolis - Canada 09:08

13 Address information needed; contact FedEx Minneapolis - Canada 07:44

12 Arrived at Sort Facility Minneapolis - Canada

Elizabeth Davis said:so, check this out from the HP site

thanks,, I'm gonna head over to the post office and see if I can dig up some more info😉

So, does anyone here do graphic design or photo editing? We’re actually getting super close to hitting that 4,000 follower milestone, which is wild! To celebrate, we really want to level up our Facebook page with a killer new cover photo... If that sounds like you, shoot me a DM! Thanks!

Betty Kim55 said:I need an answer urgently! :/

I ordered a package through an online shop using a General Post Office hold service, but I had no idea it would be shipped via FedEx. Now I’m looking at their tracking page and seeing that they apparently don't even offer that kind of delivery... the package is currently sitting in Minneapolis and shows this status:

Further Detail:
The shipment is awaiting the next scheduled movement
Next step:
The shipment will be processed in the next available movement

Destination service are: MINNEAPOLIS - DOBOVA - Canada
Monday, November 26, 2012 Location Time
14 Shipment on hold MINNEAPOLIS - Canada 09:08

13 Address information needed; contact FedEx MINNEAPOLIS - Canada 07:44

12 Arrived at Sort Facility MINNEAPOLIS - Canada

Your best bet is to contact FedEx and perhaps find someone in the area who could receive it at their address,
or maybe the driver has a route near the border, so you might be able to coordinate a meeting point directly with them.
I once ran into a similar headache with UPS in that region; I provided a local address for delivery, only to have the driver call me later saying they had left the package at an ExxonMobil station instead.🙂

Quick question..

A girl I know over in Mexico wants to mail me a certified letter with one of her drawings inside.
Any idea what the damage would be for sending a certified letter from Mexico? (I tried digging through their website, but when I actually opened the price list, everything was in Cyrillic 😠).

Elizabeth Davis said:I have a question...

A girl from Mexico wants to send me a certified letter containing one of her drawings.
How much would a certified letter from Mexico cost me? (I tried looking it up on their websites, but when I opened the price list, everything was in Cyrillic 😠)?

Wait, I don't follow?
If someone is sending you a package, then the sender—in this case, the girl from Mexico—is the one paying for the certified mail. You won't be paying a dime! Now, if that drawing were some massive, high-value masterpiece, we might have a reason to panic, but otherwise, it’ll likely just arrive at your house without any drama.
The only thing I'd suggest is asking her to use a rigid mailer or a hard envelope—that way, the mail carrier won't try to force the letter into your mailbox and bend it ten times over. 🙂

Look, I'm covering the shipping too... that's how we're playing it... but we haven't actually shook on anything until I see what the postage looks like.

Elizabeth Davis said:Look, I'm covering the shipping too—that was the deal. But we didn't settle on any specifics until I actually knew what the shipping costs were.

So why didn't she just ask how much shipping would be? Like you said, there’s a price list online; you just clearly can't make sense of it.

I'm just hoping it ends up being cheaper than what we deal with here. In the States, it's honestly not even worth sending anything to Mexico or Canada... the shipping rates are just ridiculous.

honestly, I think I'm gonna pass on this. I can probably just find whatever I'm looking for right here in the States without dealing with insane shipping fees, customs bullshit, or weird translations 😁

Olivia Green46 said:Well, why didn't she just ask about the shipping costs then? Like you said, they have a price list online, maybe you just can't make sense of it.

I'm honestly just hoping it's cheaper over there than it is here. In the States, it feels like sending anything to Canada or Mexico isn't even worth the hassle... the shipping rates are just ridiculous.

Why do you think it's so expensive? I just sent something via certified mail to Canada yesterday and it was only like $15...

Zachary Peterson6 said:Why would you think it's too expensive? I just sent a certified letter over to Canada yesterday for about $3.50...

I was looking into shipping packages, which is a whole different ballgame.

I sent a pair of earrings to a friend via mail. The package was traveling through San Francisco (from one end of the country to the other, doesn't really matter why), and I sent it as certified mail with COD. She was supposed to pay $37 upon arrival. Well, the package showed up this morning, and it’s a total disaster. It’s completely smashed—the earrings are totally destroyed, the glasswork is pulverized, and they aren't just unusable; there isn't even enough material left to salvage anything! What can I do, and what *should* I do here? Is there any chance I can actually 😢
? To make matters worse, they charged her $120 instead of $37
.