[Gunzlingr]

Good info here. Thanks.

[IceWolf]

So can you send DVD's and CD's by media? One postal empoyee said I could and another said I couldnt. Confused.....

[General Hawk 7]

Why is shipping to a P.O. Box risky? I read this in the B/S/T rules area, and I see that a lot of ebay sellers wont ship to PO boxes.

Again... why is this?

Thanks

(There is a fellow here that wants to buy something from me but wants to me to ship to a PO box so I really need to know ASAP)

[mapasu]

From experience, I had a PO box and more than once a pick up note was dropped at the wrong box and the person went ahead and took the item even though it had my name. After dealing with the PO personnel, they even had the individual on video, but getting the item back was no luck.

[nighthawk]

I don't know if this was mentioned or not, but if you are shipping to Canada, they will assign a customs number which is printed on a bar code and stuck onto the package. I don't know if that number will be printed on your receipt or not, but it starts usually with an LCXXX... That number can actually be used to track the package online. Just thought I'd let you guys know. It's a nice little benefit you can give to the Canadians that you ship to. ;)

[soia339]

Really helpful, thanks

[Alyosha]

I use the customs numbers for my out of the country customers, and that statement should be clarified. You can use the number to check and see the date that the package was accepted at your local station, but most times it will not be trackable once it leaves the US.

I've actually got one customer in Canada right now who is missing a package, and tried using the customs number to find it with no luck on his end. He's emailing me every other day asking for me to do something, but my hands are tied since I don't have it. I'm considering making all foreign purchases ship via EMS from here on out, because this isn't the first time, and the losses are piling up.

[samantha]

Thanks for the useful tips.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Gotta say

"13. If you have a problem, the Postmaster is your friend...sort of. A lot of times you can ask to see or on the phone speak to the Postmaster of your city directly. Though the larger the city, the less likely you can see him. But in my experience PMs don't like complaints and are usually pretty good about trying to deal with them. The main reason is they are judged on complaints to the postal line so they generally want them dealt with before it gets to that point. Supervisors on the other hand, at least in my office, just want you to go away and leave them alone as quickly as possible."

Is.... situational. SOME of them care.

Mine.. .does not.

I live in the UP of MI...and our postal carrier sucks. And that's being nice.

1) He keeps my magazines and reads them. How do I know you ask? I routinely get them ruffled and fluffed and clearly paged though multiple times with fingerprints and smuggy prints in them. Food crumbs and the like. My wife's magazines? No. My Maxim and stuff? yes. He likes looking though my Wired too. I'll also be out and about and see stuff hit news stands and my mags won't show up for a week or two. Subscription mags hit your mailbox about a week before the same ones hit news stands. Not mine. Mine are always late and paged though.

2) The postal creed? They've never heard of it here. If it rains, the guy drives around in his car and only stops if there's a flag up at the box. I've seen him do it. I live on a street with 20 condos. The mailboxes are in 4 "groups" and I can see all from my window. I've seen him drive down the street and stop at the one box with the flag up. You can NOT tell me 19 houses full of family's didn't get ONE bit of mail in a day. Not one bill, one card, one bit of junkmail, one magazine, one package, nothing. There's got to be 60 -80 people living on my block.Sure some are kids but still. That just doesn't happen. If it snows? HA. We see him twice a week, MAYBE Three times. We also get notes in our boxes to the tune of 'Shovel out the STREET, 50 YARDS before your mailbox.

50 YARDS? That's half a foot ball field before the mailboxes. The street itself is probably only 200 yards long on this block.

3) The guy here doesn't care about your stuff. I've had expensive books (( $100 type stuff)) Delivered all the way across base, with addresses not even remotely close to mine. Only reason I got the items was I happened to know the people they were delivered to. Another time I saw the guy pull down the street. Stop at our group of boxes. Put letters and magazines in the box. have a package. Look at it, and toss it in the back seat. I was standing at the kitchen sink when I saw it. Bright green package. I was expecting one and thought that it must just be a different one.

Three days later the mail carrier gets out of his car and walks up to my door and tosses the exact same bright green package on my porch. He'd had it in his car, didn't feel like getting out so it was tossed in the back seat. 3 days later he finally delivered it.

Could someone else on the block perhaps have gotten a bright green package from Australia? One the same size and shape as mine. Same bright green packaging. Sure ... it COULD have happened. But I don't think so.

4) All these things have happened. I've called up and asked to speak to the post master. Got someone on the phone claiming to be him. Placed my complaints. told him about the shoddy delivery. The guy actually told me one time "Naa I don't belive you. Our guys wouldn't do that" When I'd seen the guy drive down the street and only stop at the one box with a flag. I insisted I saw it and the guy on the phone had the nerve to tell mme "Well some times you'll go 3 or 4 streets and noone gets a stick of mail" Gimmme a break. I've even been down to the post office to put in complaints in person. When I did the guy acted like he was giving me his liver, instead of taking the complaint, and I"m sure as soon as I walked out he tossed it in the trash. ((No proof of that. Just his attitude))

So.. while I'm sure there's 100s and 1000s of people working for USPS that are fine upstanding and wonderful people that have pride in their work and do good jobs....

Not all are... Our Post office Sucks bad.... I've complained, nothing's done. So we just live with it and if anything 'important' is coming, we try and get it sent UPS. I know USPS is cheaper, but with the absolute horrid service we get here, it's taking a chance with our items.

When I win things off ebay.. and they send stuff USPS... I just wince. I've got a Bench Press and Snow Serpent coming USPS now... and I'm sweating it.

if you've got a GOOD post office and GOOD postal carrier. Good deal. If you DON"T (( and I don't)) It's mail at your own risk at the very best. Vindictive punks paid by our tax dollars at worst.

[gunfighter77]

pepsi jedi:

A picture is a thousand words and a video proof can also be condemning. Your local news is your friend. If your mail carrier is neglecting his duties take some video footage. Everyone's got some sort of video device these days...camcorder, digital camera, heck even a cell phone perhaps. Take some hard evidence proof and present them to any of your local news station. If is "hot" enough or even if its a slow news day. Someone will be willing to run a story or investigate. News hound are always looking for a scandal. Like you said, its your tax dollars at work..you have the right to keep the PO honest.

Just my 2cents.

also, do the same carriers hit the same route everyday? How much "tip" is appropriate?