Mail & Shipping - Recommendations, Questions, and Answers

I had such a bizarre experience at the post office yesterday, and honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what actually happened... 😕
Basically, I received a slip on Tuesday stating that I had five days, starting Wednesday, to pick up an international package. It’s just some items I ordered from eBay. Since I couldn't make it out immediately, I finally headed down there yesterday. The funny thing is, earlier that same morning, my mail carrier had already dropped off the exact same items from eBay right in my mailbox—no signature required or anything. So, when I get to the counter, the clerk insists there’s absolutely nothing waiting for me, even asking me three separate times if I hadn't already picked it up. I tried explaining that I definitely hadn't, and besides, if I had, I wouldn't still be holding this yellow notice in my hand 😁 She searched through every possible bin and compartment, but still came up empty. I asked her if it was possible that these were the same packages the mail carrier delivered that morning, and she asked if I had signed for them. I told her no, he just left them in the box. She then claimed that according to some system code, it couldn't be those, because those "missing" packages were supposed to require a signature 🙂
She told me to come back on Monday so she could look into the matter further. I truly can't tell who is being unreasonable here... 😵

Hey, take a quick look at your notifications and see if there’s a tracking number listed there.
If you actually see a number, then we can be pretty sure those aren't just the usual stuff left in the mailbox—because anything with a tracking number usually requires a signature upon delivery.

Maybe you just "showed up a little too early" today, before the mail carrier had even finished their route through the neighborhood.

Anyway, I'm really hoping everything gets sorted out by Monday.

Does anyone know what the USPS charges for sending a fax?

A few bucks

What’s the move when mail hasn't arrived after a week? It wasn't sent via certified mail, just standard 🤷
.

It’s a total wash at home... honestly, there isn't much you can do when nothing was recommended. Just accept that you lost the cash or the package.

I could use some advice here.

Someone from San Francisco needs to mail me two concert tickets, but honestly, I don’t really trust them. I have zero desire to receive some crumpled-up scrap of paper or some useless spikes in the mail. 😁

How can I ask them to send the tickets without sounding rude or confrontational? Is there actually any way to verify what’s being sent before I part with my money?

Thanks.

Chloe Moore65 said:Just write them a complaint and move on. There isn't much you can do if you didn't follow the recommendations. Accept that the money or the package is gone.

Thanks for the polite response...🙂

..From now on, I’ll only stick to what is recommended...

I have a quick question regarding mailing things over to the USA. Basically, I need to send a letter to someone in the States, but I also need them to be able to mail that same letter back to my address here in America. My goal is to cover the postage for both ways upfront so the recipient doesn't have to shell out a single cent. (And no, I'm not looking for any other way to handle this besides this specific setup).

I've seen some mentions of Self-Addressed Stamped Envelopes and International reply coupons floating around, but honestly, I haven't the slightest clue what those actually entail. Has anyone here dealt with this before?

Hey, does anyone happen to know what the damage would be if I wanted to send a registered package weighing over 10kg through USPS... thanks

I need an answer here. Maybe it’s buried somewhere online, but I seriously don't have the time to go digging through everything myself.

So, does anyone actually know what the deal is with shipping a package from the USA weighing around 300g if I want to use Cash on Delivery?
Thanks! 😉

Hey
Anyone know—I can't make it to pick up my package today, so I'm wondering who's footing the bill here.
When the mailman leaves one of those little slips saying a package is waiting, and there’s some weird "RIN" code or whatever at the top
...and then right under the tracking number there's *another* number listed... could that mean there are actually two packages? Like, is it possible both arrived at once? I don't even have a tracking number for the second one—it's a birthday gift for tomorrow—so maybe he just scribbled both on the same slip? Help a girl out 😉

I'm curious about a specific scenario: say someone sends a package all the way from Switzerland, and I'm the one stuck picking up the tab for the postage upon delivery. Does anyone have a ballpark idea of what those per-pound rates would look like?

Amanda Brooks6 said:Hey, does anyone know how much it would cost to send a package over 10kg via certified mail? Thanks.

What’s the value? There's a calculator right on the USPS website.😉

My mom's package just showed up at her place (it's in her name, but it's actually mine). She’s stuck in the hospital right now. How am I supposed to grab this thing if I can't deal with a power of attorney situation at the moment? Someone help, this is urgent!
There's no way they'll let me pick up her mail without her ID. 🤷

I’m trying to wrap my head around why I’m expected to pay for a package $15 when I'm the one receiving it—the recipient should be covering the costs. Isn't there some kind of loophole to get the price down?😬
Since you all seem to be experts, maybe someone can walk me through the secrets of the USPS business model. I'll be waiting by the mailbox with my checkbook ready.🙏

Can anyone give me some advice on sending registered mail to Canada, Mexico, or Mexico?
Does anyone know roughly what the postage costs are, or how things work with their borders and customs fees?
Thanks!

I read on another forum that someone sent a shipment as a package, but instead of using a box, they used a bag. From what I could gather, it was some clothing that they wrapped in a bag, sealed it well, and then tied it up with twine. Does anyone here have any experience with doing that?

redtiger53 said:I saw someone on another forum mention they shipped an order in a poly mailer instead of a box. From what I gathered, it was just clothing wrapped up, sealed tight, and tied off. Has anyone actually tried doing this?

Yeah, you can definitely do that. I’ve been using mailers for most of my recent shipments. The only catch is that sometimes at the local USPS branch, the clerks give me a hard time and insist I send it as certified mail or something similar. When that happens, I just toss everything into a cardboard box and wrap it up in some heavy-duty packing paper to keep it simple.

Could someone please help me out and let me know how many days it usually takes for a package to arrive versus sending something via certified mail?
So, just to give you an idea, if I were to drop off a package on a Monday, and then separately sent some items in a certified envelope... I'm really just trying to figure out the timeline for when the recipient will actually have them in their hands... The USPS website mentions that if things are dropped off by a certain cutoff time, they get processed the very next day, but I guess what I'm really wondering about is the actual delivery window once it's in transit to their house... Ugh, thanks so much, and sorry if I'm making this more complicated than it needs to be...😁 I just joined the forum recently, so I'm still getting the hang of everything here...😁🤷