Shipping Supplies

[Zhangliqun]

Looking for some nice, reliable but cheap cool boxes to ship my pickups in. Not the jewel box, the cardboard shipping box. I like to use the Priority Mail videocassette style boxes but the USPS isn't giving those out anymore. Anybody got any good links?

[WolfeMacleod]

http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stor...1643&langId=-1

Yes, they are...
Just ordered 200 of them.

[Possum]

....

I buy my boxes from Uline. I lost a couple sets of pickups and had some take 6-8 using "priority mail." USPS is unreliable these days, I use UPS and never lost one....

[WolfeMacleod]

I buy my boxes from Uline. I lost a couple sets of pickups and had some take 6-8 using "priority mail." USPS is unreliable these days, I use UPS and never lost one....

Wow. USPS always been great for me. The only recent screw up by them was not delivering an express package on time.
In ten years, only one package lost by USPS going to Canada. Never did resurface.
UPS on the other hand...ugh...slow, expensive as hell. Oh..and staffed by Gorillas.

[Norcal_GIT_r]

I ship USPS Priority everyday for all my USA orders, they've never failed me.
Plus Priority is way more affordable than UPS.

[Stan H]

I ship USPS Priority everyday for all my USA orders, they've never failed me.
Plus Priority is way more affordable than UPS.

Same here...Internationally I ship Express Mail.

[Dave Kerr]

From a consumer's perspective, I've had issues with my local PO. Just the other day, a package from Woot dropped at the PO (originated by FedEx Smartpost) sat in a pile in a corner for 5 days until I came in and asked for it. They may give better attention to their Priority Mail parcels.

Never had any issues with FedEx ground (and they're pretty cheap).

[Possum]

more....

My wife has to mail checks to some of her vendors and was sending the letters to California via priority mail. She constantly had them show up two weeks later and one returned a month later even though the address was correct. As I said before I lost two sets of pickups, and the local PO were somewhat uncooperative in cashing my insurance check which was made out for the wrong amount and the wrong name so I couldn't cash it anywhere. I have also talked to Ebay vendors who send out large amounts of small packages tell me that they lose a significant amount of product in the USPS system. I bailed when I heard that, I can't afford to lose a set of $300 pickups and have customers pissed at me because some postal dweeb stole the box and took it home. I do use USPS to send overseas but its not our country that does the actual shipping, its EMS that does the work and they've not lost one yet. Also been told to never use FedX to ship to Canada because of corruption and long hold ups in customs, Global Priority USPS is the best for Canada. So my advice if shipping valuable packages is to use UPS. I"m not the only one who thinks they are unreliable, I recently was shopping online and in their pull down shipping menu it states that priority mail is unreliable and a crap shoot pretty much and not recommended. It may be that our local PO has someone stealing packages, I don't have time to figure out their problems, no one has complained to me about my shipping charges so I stick with UPS, I also like their online system way better than the post office system which is somewhat antiquated. Another thing I just remembered is they have a security flaw in their automated machine systems.When my packages were stolen they were shipped using the machine they have in the lobbies, I would go there late at nite to do my shipping. The clerk told me they DON'T SCAN THOSE PACKAGES INTO THEIR SYSTEM. What that means is that anything that goes in that basket can be stolen as there is NO record of it in their system other than your paper receipt which is worthless in tracking the package. If you take your package to the counter it gets scanned into their computer immediately, never lost one of those.

[SkinnyWire]

Wow. USPS always been great for me. The only recent screw up by them was not delivering an express package on time.
In ten years, only one package lost by USPS going to Canada. Never did resurface.
UPS on the other hand...ugh...slow, expensive as hell. Oh..and staffed by Gorillas.

I've always used them - have the boxes dropped at my door by the mail man. It's hard to beat the shipping price and 2-3 day ship time, IMO. I use the USPS for all overseas shipments as well. This year's price hikes were pretty stiff, but I can still get a couple of pickups about anywhere in the world in 4 to 7 days for $10-$11. The only trouble I've ever had is customs in the Netherlands seems to like to sit on things for a couple/few weeks ever now and again - sometimes Canada too.

[David Schwab]

I buy my boxes from Uline. I lost a couple sets of pickups and had some take 6-8 using "priority mail." USPS is unreliable these days, I use UPS and never lost one....

USPS has lost several pieces of my mail lately, including a Tiffany bracelet I sold on eBay and sent to Canada. Thank God for insurance!

I'm hoping the pickups I just sent off to France get there in one piece.

[Joe Gwinn]

USPS has lost several pieces of my mail lately, including a Tiffany bracelet I sold on eBay and sent to Canada.

Shipping jewelry? This is exactly what Registered Mail is for.

[kevinT]

I haven't really had any problems with USPS either. Maybe a couple of times a priority package was a few days late. UPS is very dependable and it allows you to track the package as it arrives to its destination...which i think is cool...but it costs a little more to ship something.

I know the worst is DHL...they are F***king numbskulls. They lost numerous packages of mine and they delivered to the wrong address (my neighbor's house) even when the number is clearly seen on the mailbox/house. Avoid using them.

[jonson]

Spence will tell you about UK mail, it gets there when it gets there.
Anything I get from the States UPS or Fedex then I've got it in bout 3 days no hassle. DHL well I could still be waiting next xmas.

[Spence]

The mail service in the UK used to be the finest in the World. Now it's less likely to get you a result than the National Lottery.

[Steve Conner]

As Sam Lee Guy would say, Supplies supplies! You package get lost.