..just having a ball at USPS

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NewLondon88

NewLondon88

Local Chapter Leader
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
5,077
Location
Claremont NH
Packaged up two boxes to ship, one going to Australia. Went to the post
office with a small, flat rate box and a customs form. I was told that the
form was OK, but the small flat rate box I was shipping it in didn't have the
word "International" in tiny print on the box. And the other one, going to
Texas, should be put in my own box instead of a flat rate box because it
would be cheaper.

So I brought them back to the shop.

I took the Australia package and took the items out of the small flat rate
box and put them in an identical small flat rate box that had the tiny word
'international' on it. Apparently, the bright green customs form attached
to the box doesn't alert anyone to the fact that the package is leaving
the country. But the tiny word 'international' on the identical small flat
rate box does. Because if they see the tiny lettering that says 'international'
on the box, then they know the package is leaving the US. Or staying in
the US. I brought them back to the post office.

This time, the customs form was the wrong one. Never even got to the
package for Texas..

I filled out the longer customs form for the package to Australia and asked
if it was the right one this time. She had to look it up, but told me that
yes, it was the right form. And it was.. but if I wanted to repackage it, I
could use the small customs form. Apparently the small form is used for
packages under a certain weight. Or something. Or it can be used for a
flat rate envelope. The small flat rate box fits in the flat rate envelope.
And the shipping would be half price. SO I stuck the small flat rate box
(with the tiny word international on it) into a flat rate envelope (which had
NO tiny word 'international' on it) and filled out the original customs form
that was no good for the small flat rate box that didn't say 'international'
on it, but apparently is OK for a flat rate envelope that doesn't say
international' on it. The customs form on the envelope will alert them to
the fact that it is leaving the country, although if it is on a box, they won't
notice it. I guess..

I never got around to repackaging the box to Texas. But if I had, the shipping
would have been twice as much for the same sized box. It was $12.95 to
ship in the flat rate box I used, but my own box (same size) would have
been $26.95. So why were they telling me I'd save money if I repackaged
it?

I hope I didn't need a customs form for Texas..
 
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Once my headache died down just now, I remembered why I refuse to ship anything overseas. I used to ship Christmas goodies to a friend in France, but after 9/11 it just got sillier. Standing in line for an hour isn't as much fun as it used to be.

Dale
 
I do all my USPS shipping on-line then I don't have to deal with live people. On international shipping, the on-line label has all the required customs information on it. It beats having to go through what you experienced.
 
Well, isn't that special. My local PO told me that I HAD to fill out the Customs stuff in person. That was about 2 years ago, right about the time I told them, in the nicest way, to BITE ME. Sounds like they got tired of biting people.

Dale
 
I keep both forms on hand---fill them both out at home and let them figure it out at the post office.
I hate filling them out standing at a counter.
 
I think I like our Canadian Post office better. I take my package in, if it's for Canada it gets weighed measured by the woman behind the counter, she takes my money sticks the postage on it and ships it off. If it's going outside the country there is this little form that she sticks on the parcel. She then asks me what's in it the value and if it is a gift or not. Fills out the information on the form for me. Weighs it takes my money and it's gone.
 
Online isn't an option. My ID and credit card info have been compromised before,
so I'm a bit paranoid about it.
I guess I could always move to Canada, but then I'd get so confused at
what to sing at a hockey game..
 
The above red tape gobbledygook is why I stopped purchasing insurance on my packages. I could never collect because of all the red tape steps they wanted me to do. In the Greek, the word for it is "stupid." And they wonder why they can't make money with their system. (OK, now I feel better).
 
Welcome to the department of redundancy department, how may we make your life easier? I went to the post office today to ship a package across town (don't ask why the customer will not let me deliver in person he pays for the shipping). I had run out of packing tape so I thought that they would provide a little (I know never think when a government department is involved). They could only provide tape if I shipped it in a priority package but if I used a priority package then I wouldn't need the tape. Oh well 20 min later and $5.00 less I got it shipped.
 
An everyone wonders why they keep raising the price of a stamp - it's being used to teach the postal workers how to make us 'go postal'. That limits the number of them that go there.
 
So, which customs form do you need if you're shipping a package to Texas?

Your story reminded me of the Danny Kaye movie, The Court Jester.

Hawkins: I've got it! I've got it! The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right?
Griselda: Right. But there's been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace!
Hawkins: They *broke* the chalice from the palace?
Griselda: And replaced it with a flagon.
Hawkins: A flagon...?
Griselda: With the figure of a dragon.
Hawkins: Flagon with a dragon.
Griselda: Right.
Hawkins: But did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle?
Griselda: No! The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
Hawkins: The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.
Griselda: Just remember that.


Steve W.
Who after many years in the Army found out that not only doesn't the left hand know what the right hand is doing, it often denys there even could BE a right hand.
 
You may want to rethink that move!

NewLondon88 said:
Online isn't an option. My ID and credit card info have been compromised before,
so I'm a bit paranoid about it.
I guess I could always move to Canada, but then I'd get so confused at
what to sing at a hockey game..
Click to expand...

I'll tell you how efficient our Canadian Postal Service is...

I placed an order with a US supplier (*erea*ard*oods: name disguised to protect the innocent). The bill for the $44.75 US shipping charges arrived the day before the package! When the package arrived I had to give the postman another $35 for taxes before he'd let go of it. That was on top of the exchange rate!
 
I must be just fricken lucky, I send my International stuff fairly flawlessly from here, maybe you should all send your stuff to me. DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD??? I take it back.
 
I mail at least 5 packages a week, both domestic and international and I have only had 2 problems in the last year. One I wrote the wrong zip code and it was delayed about 5 days. The other was returned as unclaimed by the receiver, his comment was he never received the attempted delivery notice. So maybe a carrier was too lazy to attempt the package or the recipient did not make it to the post office on time.

For the price of postage and delivery confirmation I really have no major complaints. A few of the employees could breakdown and smile every once in awhile, or at least say thanks. But I am sure they are treated like a machine by their supervisors so why act human.
 
I have spent over $5,000 a year in shipping via Priority Mail the past few years.
Here are a few tips I've picked up.
1 - STAY AWAY FROM THE POST OFFICE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!!!!

2 - Get a scale to weight the packages and do everything on line through the USPS web site. Doing this will automatically give you the correct Customs form for international shipping.

3 - STAY AWAY FROM THE POST OFFICE !!!!

4 - If you can't or don't want to use the USPS web site, find a "Contract" Post Office. They usually aren't so picky.

5 - STAY AWAY FROM THE POST OFFICE !!!!
 
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I have shipped 3 packages to someone in the Uk and have received 2 of them back and have no clue as to where the 3rd one is. I decided to do it another way now and asked someone else to ship the stuff for me. I hope that someone somewhere gets something someday.
 
You guys just work at this too hard... truth be known, we probably know more about the post office workings than the postal people do.... you know the guy behind the counter.. the guy who las weak cudn't eben spel postmun, now he are one.
 
You people your doing wrong!! First you meet the postmaster at the post office. When your mailing a package You call him up (this is after he/she givies you the direct phone number. ) You walk in and knock on their door and chat chat for a bit and and the postmaster takes care of your package. / forms and everything. After office hours you buy him/her a beer! :bananen_smilies046::party:time!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
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