Important USPS Shipping Changes Effective May 14th, 2007

[lightning2000]

<img src="http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/li/ ... xpress.gif" align="left"></p><b>Important Shipping Changes Effective May 14th, 2007 </b>
To no one's surprise, the US Postal Service intends to make important changes to its methods of shipping beginning May 14th. To begin with, the Postal Service is doing away with surface mail for international delivery and instead will only offer Air Mail service. So, if you plan to purchase a large, heavy item and you live half way around the world from us, expect to pay alot more for shipping.

For domestic service within the US, the Postal Service plans to follow the UPS shipping model. In other words, boxes will be measured and weighed, with shipping costs calculated based upon the destination (shipping zone) and the parcel's combined weight and dimensions. These rate increases will automatically take place on May 14th so if you want to avoid these shipping increases, we strongly recommend placing your orders for in-stock merchandise now before these hikes/ changes take effect. As usual, the Postal Service is blaming these increased costs of doing business on the recent hike in oil prices...

So, if you're looking to buy something from the other side of the US and the package is large, I recommend ordering it right now before the rate changes go into effect on Monday the 14th...

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

[VMF115]

I think the death of 1:18 will be brought on by the shipping companies.

Do you have any idea what a 1:18 F-86 from 21st would cost after the 14th of may?

[Light.Inf.Scout]

Good question...or how about a 1/18th scale King Tiger???? A B 25???

[ChairmanMilo]

You would think that in this day and age that they would be rolling around in money because of internet commerce - but no. I guess that the company's bottom line is as ever more important than customer satisfaction. Not that I've ever used USPS land though. Being in Canada, I prefer to have insured, relatively high-speed shipping from American destinations.

[lightning2000]

It really depends upon the dimensions of the shipping box, the weight of the carton and the destination from Point A to Point B. Each price will be different for obvious reasons.

Since most of the 1:18 scale aircraft come in oversized boxes, there may also be "balloon charges" applied, which means the weight of the box is under 15 pounds yet it's still being shipped in an oversized carton. This is an extra charge on top of the new freight hikes, as I understand it.

Essentially, the USPS is following the UPS model, where they are trying to get as much cubic freight into a container as possible, to lessen the effect of recent price hikes in oil and hopefully make them more efficient.

To sum it all up, it may be more prudent to buy in bulk rather than items one at a time from a vendor, as some people do. Obviously, items like 1:18 scale aircraft fall into a different category due to their size. The savings would be appreciable, your "carbon footprint" will be decreased (if that matter to some), and generally its a more effective means of purchasing for all parties concerned, if you're willing to wait even longer for your prized possessions.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

[Hanomag]

I guess we could forego shipping costs all togeather by driving to hobby shops and walmart more often. That way we cut out the middle man and pass the kick-in-the-face oil hike directly on to ourselves!

Nope....guess that wouldn't work either. I don't know how people fill up their cars anymore. Work gives me a "take-home" car and the car I own is a corolla, and I think my $30 fill up every other week hurts.....

-H

[Soldier16S]

Guys,

Most retailers can use FedEx, and UPS, and they tend to be cheaper than USPS in several respects, especially if you collect 1:18.

FedEx seems to be cheaper than UPS though, so I would go that route whenever you can. I have had lots of 1:32 shipped to my address using FedEx. They are faster than UPS and more reliable and cheaper.

Just my experience and 2 cents.


Noel

[Rowsdower]

Most retailers can use FedEx, and UPS, and they tend to be cheaper than USPS in several respects, especially if you collect 1:18.

Might be cheaper for them but I am an eBay seller who used UPS at first and USPS Priority is ONE HELL of a lot faster and (was) cheaper as well. One of the best parts was USPS just taking weight into account and not package size as long as the box was not gigantic. I shipped 1:18 planes with no problems.

Stuff I ship priority gets to any point in the lower 48 in 2-3 days, 4 max where UPS ground can take a week, is usually more expensive, charges BS "rural surcharges" and they don't deliver on Saturday. As for FedEx I wouldn't ship a pillow with them as they would somehow break it. FedEx Sucks!

Thanks USPS! Thanks so bloody much! /Shakes fist in general direction of post office

Now excuse me I need a Xanex

[ostketten]

Might be cheaper for them but I am an eBay seller who used UPS at first and USPS Priority is ONE HELL of a lot faster and (was) cheaper as well.

I agree. The problem with using UPS is unless you live near one of their hubs you have to ship out of an affiliate like Staples, Office Depot, or one of the "mom and Pop" outfits like Mailboxes Plus, or whatever, and they kill you with their markup, which in some cases can run 30% or more. they have to make something to offer the service and they pass that cost along to you, the customer. We won't know exactly what the increase for USPS is going to be until the 14th, and you can plug in the weight, package dimensions and origin/destination zipcodes using the online postage calculator, but based on the information I've gleaned from the website recently the increases are not all that terrible, but they are increases nevertheless and will have to be taken into consideration when you are shipping stuff, especially larger/heavier items. As for Fedex, let me just say my experiences with them have been "less than satisfactory", and I simply won't use them unless they become the only game in town.

[lightning2000]

Hi,
You can see the new fee structure by visiting this page:

http://www.usps.com/ratecase/

The new rates are in Adobe PDF format. As for UPS, you can give a box to the UPS driver (we did it today) if the driver is in your neck of the woods and you're around to catch him. By us, we're in a built up suburban area, so if we miss one driver, we can find another soon enough.

Anyway, USPS is still the preferred method of shipping smaller sized items. The larger 1:18 scale planes will still need to go via UPS, unless there are mitigating factors. I only wish that the Postal Service would offer boxes bigger than their "#7" box, so it could accomodate a lone 1:32 scale FOV vehicle and such. The cost of purchasing shipping supplies can be high too, unless you can work out a deal with a local box supplier.

My only gripe with the new system is that it still falls short for international shipping. They claim they can track a box to major destinations, but never say which destinations are included or how they plan to track the parcel cause they dont use the same tracking devices outside the US.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

[Ziegler2112]

Wow, Priority Mail rates have increased significantly. But I'll continue to use the service since I get all of my shipping materials at no cost and delivered to right my door.

And yes, they definitely need a bigger box.

[lightning2000]

Hi,
After looking over the new chart on the site I mentioned earlier, it looks like Priority Mail International, which supplants Air Parcel Post, falls under Group Rate 5. For sellers, be careful which price you quote now since there are three different rate tables and multiple group rates depending upon the destination and corresponding weight/dimensions of the parcel.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

[Soldier16S]

Well, I have had nothing but good experiences from FedEx, and most of the guys that I deal with have accounts with discounted shipping.

There are a couple that use DHL, and they do not seem too unreasonable either. The rest use UPS.

The amounts I buy, USPS could never handle, so I don't ask to use them. But if a retailer wants to use them, that is fine too. I never have paid more than $30 for shipping of 10-15 1:32 items, except from Ebay sellers who usually jack up the shipping to cover their "costs". This is from all the shipping services, USPS included.

By jacked up rates I mean, I take the package to USPS have them weigh it and figure out what it ACTUALLY cost to ship it, if I think the shipping was too high.

One seller that I bought 1:72 items from, charged me $100+ for shipping, but did not tack it on till after I won the auctions. When I complained about the shipping, she filed NPBA against me. I paid the full amount and she dropped the NPBAs. Thank GOD the stuff never arrived and I was able to get everything back that I paid for from PayPal.

Since I am not a retailer, nor an ebay seller nor an out of US resident, I was only speaking for myself and paying the shipping to get the items to me.

I was under the impression that the original post was saying you were not going to use USPS because of the rate increases and tried to offer my own experiences on the alternatives.

I also agree that USPS needs larger boxes and larger flat rate boxes.

I hate having to go to WalMart or a grocery store all the time to find the larger boxes and then ask if I can have them (I am selling my 10-year collection of trains).

Noel