I can't believe how much postage has increased.
I sent a box of plants to my friend in Ohio. We trade plants every year, she goes to the Cleveland Orchid Show and snags things to send me, and I go to FL sales and get cool stuff to send her.
Yesterday I mailed her a box, it wasn;t HUGE. They measured it and it was 15wide x 16long x 11tall. It weighed between 3-4 pounds. Because of the SIZE of the box they charged me a SURCHARGE and the Priority Mail postage was over $25!
I think I am going to start looking at UPS and FedEx 2 day air, when the post office starts charging that much for Priority Mail.
Trades and postage
its ridiculous, aint it? A couple of weeks ago, I sent to boxes to a friend in Belgium, some toys for their kids. When I had checked in December, the weight PLUS the size was supposed to cost roughly $45 each to send. Ok, I can deal with that. so In early March when the boxes were ready to ship, I carted them both to the local post office only to discover that each box would now cost me $79.50! Talk about sticker shock.
Last time I checked with the other guys the fees were alot higher.
I try to always use the flat rate boxes if at all possible, then at least I know what the postage will be.
It is ridiculous the amount USPS charges for Priority mail. I sell items over at Amazon and I have to ship a lot of Priority. Do you want to hear the real nail in the coffin - Just b/c you send it Priority does not mean it is guaranteed to its destination in 2-3 days - if it takes four instead - oh well. The PO will not refund your $$, b/c they say their only service that is guaranteed is Express. Like that is cheap! I always sent DHL, but now they only ship International. : ( They were so affordable and everything arrived in about 2-4 days in one piece - more than I can say about the PO. UPS is good, but they are getting expensive also. Unfortunately, a lot of places I ship to are out of town and UPS charges a fuel surcharge, which can add up pretty quickly. You also are charged an extra fee if you are shipping to a resident instead of an business. Now if you do a lot of shipping - look into opening a business account with Fed Ex or UPS and you will get a discount - the more you ship, the higher the discount. It is high anywhere now.
Take Care,
Dana
LOL.. almost worth it just to drive it there yourself.. at least that way you get a little visit, maybe a meal, and a cup of coffee too....rotfl
I second that!!! Good excuse to take a little vacation!! Who knows - you may get some goodies to take back home also!
Dana
LOL.. exxxactly
Just recently I sent one package priority mail and then sent another first class and they both reached their destination the same day. I know you can only ship certian things first class ,but what is the sense of shipping priorty when it takes just as long to get there. This is what don't make sense to me. You pay for that extra service and it don't get there any quicker.
Just another way for them to squeeze more money from ya
I am sure first class is as fast as priority but if you sent a plant exchange that way you might get problems out of some folks who don't understand.
I am surprised at the number of people who send priority for like iris, bulbs, and bare root plants. I have bought that sort of thing at Costco after they have been setting at the store for 3 or 4 weeks so you know from the grower they have been setting around alot longer than that and are just perfectly fine.
I just think you should be clear with your receiver on how the item will be shipped and the cost. Also, explain - priority does not always mean 2-3 days as they advertise Most things would be just fine first class or parcel post. I would not mind either way.
If at all possible I try and use Priory Flat Rate Boxes
They have 3 sizes..really small 4.95 then the two bigger ones...10.35 and 13.95
Whatever I can stuff in it goes....
If it's under 13 oz it goes First Class and it's faster...
I went to the PO last week to buy stamps and the postal worker told me postage is going up again on May 11!!! If we have to ship a box, we usually use Fed Ex, they are cheaper than the PO and if they guarantee something to be there by a certain day/time, they stand behind it.