Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

They made the exact same claim regarding standard shipping, saying the turnaround was three business days... so I have to wonder, if that's the case, what on earth am I actually paying an extra premium for?

Hey there,

So, I’m planning to mail an A4-sized comic strip over to Switzerland. Since this piece absolutely cannot be rolled up or folded, I’m assuming the postal service will treat it like a large envelope. But here’s the catch—I really want to laminate both sides to keep it safe. If I do that, does it still count as a letter, or am I suddenly looking at shipping it as a package or some other category? I’m asking because the price jump between a letter and a package is pretty massive!

Hey there,

I was just looking over the fee structures, and it seems like they’re tacking on an extra 3.66% for those recommended shipments along with the COD fees—though there's a minimum charge of about $1 to $1.50—but I can't help but wonder, what exactly are they charging when it comes to standard packages?

Carl Sullivan22 said:Hey,

They’re tacking on an extra 3.66% for recommended shipping plus COD (minimum of $1 to $1.25), but I was wondering what the deal is for standard packages?

Same here.

Alright, so here’s the situation... I sent out a package, and I made sure to include $77 for the COD amount. However, when the recipient checked their mailbox, they got a notification saying they still owed $82, which makes absolutely no sense to me.
When I first went down to the local USPS branch, the staff there seemed completely clueless at first, but eventually, they suggested that because the driver attempted a home delivery instead of a pickup, those extra $2.00 were tacked on for that specific service.
If that’s actually the case, then I am genuinely struggling to wrap my head around why I was already charged an additional $0.67 for shipping, especially since my receipt explicitly states: "Package, door-to-door delivery up to 2kg." Why on earth am I paying for the doorstep delivery, and then the recipient gets hit with the exact same charge again???

The USPS charges extra fees for processing payments, which is why the COD amount ends up being higher than what you initially expected

So, I just received this package addressed specifically to me, but here’s the kicker: I never actually ordered anything. It wasn't supposed to require a signature, yet somehow I ended up signing for it anyway. Once I finally opened the box, I found myself staring at a bunch of items that aren't even things I'd ever consider buying, let alone purchasing. Now I'm stuck wondering—should I just pack this whole mess back up and drop it off at the local Post Office?

If you and the USPS finally called it quits after that whole payment and pickup fiasco—well, you might as well start singing battle hymns, because honestly, nothing else is going to save you now.

EDIT: Actually, my mistake—I misread the situation entirely. A package from someone else just showed up at my door.
As for the package that’s seemingly vanished into thin air, I’m sitting here wondering what the point of waiting even is. I filed an official inquiry online, but does anyone actually know how long they typically take to process those things?

I sent the package off on April 3rd, and now the recipient is insisting they never received a thing. Then, out of nowhere yesterday, the package gets sent right back to me... so where does that leave us? I submitted an online claim this past Friday, but I haven't heard a single word back yet. To make matters worse, the label explicitly states "refused by recipient"... so who exactly is lying here?
On top of all that, the tracking info on the website is completely useless; it just shows they received the shipment on April 3rd and hasn't updated since.

Carl Sullivan22 said:Alright, let me try this again... I sent out a package marked $77 with COD (cash on delivery). When the buyer checked their account, they saw a notification saying they owed $82. How does that even work?
The folks at the Post Office were totally confused at first, but then they suggested maybe because he requested home delivery, that extra $2.00 got tacked on?
If that's the case, I really don't get why I had to pay an extra $0.67 for shipping too. My receipt clearly states: "Package, home delivery up to 2kg"... So why am I paying for the home delivery service AND the recipient has to pay for it too???

Basically, if you're getting paid via direct deposit, the buyer gets hit with a 4% fee. But if the mail carrier is actually dropping off physical cash at your door, that fee jumps up to 8%.

If the postal service takes more than five business days to deliver a package within the US, am I actually entitled to ask for a refund on the shipping costs? And if I want to file a claim, can I just walk into any local post office and handle everything right there on the spot?

Hey there.
I just got a delivery notification, but I’m not actually expecting anything. To make things weirder, the form doesn't even specify if it's a letter or a package—it just says "US" next to the tracking info. It literally says, "We are notifying you that we attempted to deliver US number..." and then some nonsense about a missed delivery attempt.

Does anyone know what that "US" part is supposed to mean here?

Thanks.

So, I’ve got someone trying to order something from me, but they’re being incredibly vague about their location—they’re giving me nothing but a P.O. Box address instead of an actual residential street address... It’s almost as if they think that’s how things normally work, which honestly feels a bit bizarre to me.

And while we are on the subject, I would truly appreciate it if anyone with a bit of expertise could weigh in on this specific question:
"If the USPS takes more than five business days to deliver a package within the US, am I entitled to request a refund on the shipping costs? Can I just head down to any local post office branch to get that sorted out?"

I went ahead and shipped out a package valued at $33.
Well, it turns out the delivery was a bit of a disaster because the recipient claims the item arrived completely broken, and since the contents themselves were damaged, they actually refused to accept the shipment altogether.
Given these circumstances, I was wondering if there is any realistic way for me to get my money back?

Up until now, my experiences with the postal service have been mostly fine, especially using their express pickup. But lately? It’s been a total disaster.
On Wednesday night, I called to schedule an express pickup for a package. They didn't show up until Thursday. Then, I check the tracking on Tuesday only to see the carrier never actually delivered it. The recipient was losing their mind waiting, so they just gave up and went down to the local FedEx office to grab it themselves. They finally got the package on Tuesday. So now, I've been sitting here for a full week waiting for the carrier to bring me the COD cash. We're talking nearly two weeks from the moment the package was sent to when I actually see the money.

Last night, I tried to send another package. I figured I'd just do it online to save some hassle. I filled everything out, hit "add" to finish the order, and suddenly the pickup window fields turn bright red. No matter what dates I select, the system rejects them. I ended up calling their customer service line—which, by the way, they charge you just to call—and sat on hold for about 13 minutes. When I finally explained the issue, the guy gave me some nonsense excuse about how every local post office has different operating hours. I asked him, "What does that have anything to do with scheduling a pickup?" He eventually told me to dictate the details so he could manually process the order for me. I asked if that meant I'd lose the 15% web discount since I wasn't technically using the site. He said no, so I had to wonder: what's even the point of having a website if it doesn't actually work?
Fine, we did it his way. He promised a carrier would be there for the pickup by 6:00 PM. They never showed up.

Look, I get it. I know firsthand how bad things are at the USPS right now—terrible organization and a massive staffing shortage—but this is getting ridiculous. You shouldn't have to deal with this much stress and wasted time just to ship a box. By the time you're done, you're already too frustrated to care if the package even arrives intact, or if it shows up at all.

Does anyone know if the Post Office handles currency exchanges, specifically swapping Euros for Dollars? I've got 200 Euros sitting here that I need to trade out since I have no use for them...
Thx

Just following up on my previous post.
So, they told me an HP driver would swing by for the pickup by 6:00 PM, but nobody showed up. Not even by noon the next day. I called customer service, and the woman on the line gave me some vague answer about how they probably just hadn't made it out there yet.
Well, past 6:00 PM rolled around and still no sign of anyone. I called customer service again, only to be told the package had actually been picked up yesterday. I mean, seriously? If it was picked up, why am I staring at it right now? After some back-and-forth, she contacted dispatch and apparently there was some glitch in the system—it was marked as "collected" almost immediately after I booked the service, which is why no one ever actually came to get it.
So where does that leave me? Now I’m expected to waste even more time and energy filing formal complaints? Honestly, I’m speechless. I have no idea what HP is even doing lately.
And don't even get me started on how they handle the actual packages; they toss them around during loading like they're nothing more than dodgeballs.

When you send an envelope, I think it’s probably best to use certified mail. Do they put some kind of date stamp on the envelope so you can actually see when they picked it up at the post office?

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Has anyone actually managed to successfully order an Express shipment through the website? I can't get past the checkout stage to save my life. No matter what I do, those pickup time fields just stay red. Even though I’m based right here in Washington, D.C., it won't accept any time slot I select. Apparently, there's some rule saying it only works if the sender pre-pays and you pay cash on delivery—which is exactly what the note says—but I tried that too, and still nothing. What is the point of having a website if you can't actually use it to book a service?
I honestly don't have the patience to sit there for 20 minutes every single time just waiting for a customer service rep to pick up the phone.

I ended up trying it on my laptop and it went through perfectly fine, but for some reason, it just fails every time I try it on my phone.

It works flawlessly across every single scenario