USPS flat rate box

You can print your own Flat Rate Box labels and postage at the USPS site. The site is very user-unfriendly and a cyber nightmare. For instance, your password has to be eight charactors and include one digit and one capital letter. WTF.

Anyway, it took four attempts to print my label. Each time, but the last, it failed to print, I had to retype some of the data and look for potential errors among the many pages on that site, most of which are not linked to each other. Using the back button can reset a bunch of data. The only bright spot is that it appears that I sent a $11.20 Medium Flat Rate Box for free. The account page says every charge was cancelled. I have no idea how to reproduce that zero cost result again. Just hoping my bank statement isn't three pages long with USPS charges.

...and they want to be my health insurance provider.!!!!

A MILF operates the local post office and I see no reason to muck around on the web vs. going there in person!

I haven't used that service, but the password requirements (8 characters with 1 number and 1 capital letter) are pretty standard. The reason is to thwart a "dictionary" attack by someone trying to guess your password.

Wardner,

That flat-rate thing is a good deal if you have something heavy to ship. It is a bad deal if you have something lightweight.

I'd never used the service until about a month ago. I took a light-weight item to the PO, put it into a "free" box, and took it to the window for postage. It was going to be something like $25.00! Fortunately, the post office guy said, "If you take that box and wrap it in brown paper, then bring it back and ship it Parcel Post, the price will be..." it was something like $5.00.

I wrapped and mailed it.

Tom in TN

you will probably find out that the first time your package is scanned that the postage label has been voided and will be returned to you. I use usps website to ship quite often with no problems

(quoted from post at 05:37:51 11/09/10) you will probably find out that the first time your package is scanned that the postage label has been voided and will be returned to you. I use usps website to ship quite often with no problems

Click to expand...

Exactly. In this day and age of electronic marvels, even the post office cannot be fooled, and the first time that package is scanned, they will send an email, and they will NOT be nice about it.

STAY AWAY FROM UPS...best to go a mail everything nowadays. I shipped a box of parts to a guy in Saginaw Mich, 2.5hrs away.He ordered a tool box, a pair of footrests and brackets-used, used govenor, new hood emblem, and a new drawbar , all for his 8N. I shipped the box and it went to his neihbor and was shipped back to me...Attempt 1 failed.

I shipped the same box out again after re-verifying adress with the customer. I shipped a 8in x 8in x 48in box weighing 44lbs. The customer called me 2 days later asking where are the rest of his parts. He got only the foot rest brackets out of the entire order.

The customer then elects to drive down to see me...we meet and he shows me what he got...a box that was 9in x 18inx18in. weighing 3.5lbs. THAT WAS NOT THE BOX I SHIPPED.I got the customers order again fo him to take back home, and made a claim with UPS, I went though 6 different departments before someone was going to do something about the lost order. They tried sending me the simple claim form to fill out...they lost that and we are on the second attempt to get a claim form...This has been going on for 2 weeks now.

I will NEVER EVER USE UPS AGAIN!!!!!

Indeed a great advantage for shipping something heavy. Like the four paving bricks (2 shipments) that I received years ago with each brick weighing about 10 pounds.

When shipped years ago the flat rate box was really cheap at the time.

I'm a former letter carrier and the window clerk made the off hand comment, "What do you have in here bricks?"

"Yes." was of course the answer.

The bricks will mark the borders of the family cemetery plots. http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t298/growerguy/Barr-Peters/100_1603.jpg
Barr brand paving bricks.

My wife ships allot of stuff and almost always uses the USPS website to print the labels and pay for the shipping. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy. Sometimes the address doesn't jive with what the customer has provided. That's when it's easier to just write a label by hand and take the package to the post office. USPS will get their postage fee one way or another. The package will be returned to sender or will arrive postage due.

I agree that you should NEVER USE UPS. I collect gas pump globes. No matter how well they are packed those goons at UPS can and will destroy them. I personally saw the UPS guy throw a box with a rare globe out of his truck. Yep, it was broken. Another time I heard the guy kicking a globe box. Box was marked "fragile" and "glass" in multiple places and the clown was kicking it. A friend received some globes where the UPS guy had stood on the boxes. There were muddy footprints on them. If the package is marked fragile or glass those idiots try to destroy it. UPS is terrible about paying claims. If it's something you care about DO NOT SHIP UPS....EVER!

The last time I use UPS it was 6 juin I send a HD6 sprocket in TEXAS 73 lbs and the guy recieved a hampty box and I never use them

There was a story of a company shipping bricks to Alaska by USPS because it was cheaper than freight.

We heard a similar story as postal workers, cement blocks being sent.

As a result of that there are now postal regulations in place to prevent that from happening again.

Heard of a guy shipping the books from his library back to the lower 48 and had to make many shipments over a long time.

The package didn't come back today. It would have an origin scan yesterday. In fact the route carrier has a scanner but I didn't see him use it as we chatted. I gave him the package and told him I got the label for free. He didn't care. Can't see how a "paid" bar code would be released for printing and rejected later.

Seeing as how we are bashing UPS, my biggest gripe is UPS ground is just that. I can generally figure 6-8 days for a delivery that's over 1000 miles. USPS will fly everything and deliver in 2-3 days.

I can't believe that UPS will sometimes retain a package in one of their on-route terminals for more than 24 hours on a weekday.

The last time I used a flatrate box the postoffice wouldnt sell me the postage till brought back unsealed so the could see what I was shipping. Few days went to postoffice in small town got box and postage. Put stuff in it sent off got back next day something about need MY ID before could send out. It was over 13oz. postwoman said to keep from us from sending guns and other explosivies.

I am a big fan of the flat rate boxes. I sent 2 boxes, each containing a 50# 12" wheel weight to a guy in Missouri for $30.