The PO has changed their rules. I shipped a bow in a carpet tube today and tubes are nolonger in the computer system. It is either a square, rectangular or odd package now. My shipping price went from $16.95 to $33.95 because of the "odd" designation. They want everything to be machine handled now it seems even with Priority Shipping.
The change took place this summer. If you are shipping in zone, the program has the tubes. Outside the zone it's treated as a square. A 3" tube is then a 3x3x70 (or whatever). The price is for under 84" total. If you are over, you pay a premium.
Trick is to know the postal rules better then the postal employees.
LOL
Mike
hmmmm, so what you are saying is the PO can't fit a round peg in round hole anymore...they only can do it in a square hole...and for more money! Sounds about right for a govt. agency! lol
Mine was two inches under Mike. Didn't matter the new software asks "Square" "Rectangular or "Odd" now. I've shipped many tubes since the changeover this summer and this was different.
i'm screwed everytime i have to ship something across the mississippi. the price almost doubles. one would think they have to swim the dang package across for what they charge. in today's economic climate, ineffiency will not be tolerated. the usps will not be immune to the effects.
What do you expect from a government entity?
Heck if your so disatisfied with USPS, go to UPS. Pay more, get less and if you ever have a claim. . .bend over. LOL
I ship over 400 items a year with USPS. You can complain, but they are still the best choice.
Heck I had a bow to ship to New Caledonia this morning. UPS wanted $288 to ship a 3" tube 68" long.
Now that's worth complaining about. :scared:
Mike
I shipped a bow ups yesterday and was told I couldnt use a pvc tube because of a pipe bomb scare in the area. Wonder if its country wide or its just down hear? So I uped the insurance and shipped it in the original box it came in.
--c--
What does the USPS being a GOVERMENT ENTITY have to do with it? No... I don't work for the Postal Service, but have been in local, state and federal service my entire career.
The "Government" has never been sole proprietor of inefficiency, or screw-ups.
Not jumping on anyone in particular. I just get a little riled when everyone assumes I either can not, or will not do my job since I am a government employee.
A lot of the crappy policies or rules come about because we try to make EVERYONE happy (customers want more service, but don't want to pay more; legislators want to take credit for more service, while cutting budgets). Those of us, who try to do our jobs in spite of all the flak, are caught in the middle.
WHEEW!!! Ok... I'm fine now.
OkKeith
Just checked in. Had to go back and make sure I was on the right site. Happy holidays to all. :goldtooth:
Guys I just posted this to prepare you if you go ship a bow in a tube. Not complaining, just telling you how it was for me today. Would be bummer to go to the PO with X number of dollars in your pocket and find out it now costs Y after waiting in line.
Take it for what you like.
Just shipped 2 a month ago in Cardboard carpet tubes, both under 66'' No Problem here ...
My point was only that the government can't do ANYTHING right. It's not the employees, it's the business models (or lack of) that they use.
Heck Keith, you'll probably be the only one on here that still has a job in another year!
I've always printed and paid for my Priority Mail label at home online and have the postman at my office pick it up. No problems with a 72" pvc tube (longbow).
You might be better off avoiding the post office.
I'm getting ready to mail a stave. I don't think I'll put it in anything. Just tape the label to it.
Hey David,
Didn't mean to high-jack. Thanks for the heads up! Would a PVC tube for protection, inside a square box work?
A buddy ordered a bow, that was mailed in a triagular box (USPS issued box no less)and the bow, along with two pieces of box arrived. No damage, but we were a little worried at first.
OkKeith
Wow,I just shipped a bow yesterday in a 3" PVC tube Priority mail with $400 ins. from OH to PA,it was under 84" and I paid $13.95 to ship.Alot depends on where it is shipped too also,I think.Back in the summer I shipped a box with arrows from OH to CA and it cost me $11.20 with no insurance.
USPS is not government. . .
When these things come up, ask to see the Supervisor. You would be amazed how many of the clerks do not know the rules or how to interpret the rules. I got into a hassle a couple or three years ago over shipping a muzzleloader. The gun was sent to me via USPS for repair, but when I took it in to send back they told me they could not ship guns. Au Contraire said I. The Super even came out and told me the same thing. I pointed out that it was a muzzleloader and therefore was exempt.He said it could only be sent to an FFL. Wrong again said I. I went home, got on the computer and downloaded THEIR rules and went back downtown. Still NO. I came back home and emailed the District Super of the USPS. I swear to goodness, 10 minutes after I emailed him I got a call from the local Super who told me that he had got a call from his Boss and that I could ship the gun. The clerks down there don't even argue with me anymore, they just ask how much insurance and where's it going.
"USPS is not government. . .
Semantics Dan. They still have a Board that answers to the Feds since it was "privatized"
Biggie...
I don't know about that! Most of my work is tied to the USDA Farmbill and Oklahoma's Conservation Allocations.
Seems like when the economy gets rough, conservation programs are the first to get whacked. I have been through this before, of course. I can remember when I had just enough funding to pay my people, but none to get any work done.
I wasn't trying to hack on anyone, it was just my red neck shinning through a little.
We only THINK we have postage problems! If I remember right, a fellow posted that overseas a bow is classified as a weapon, and subject to some military type of tarriff or something.
You know, me and my saddle horse could volunteer to restart the pony express! I could deliver anywhere in 3 days if the beer is cold and the oats are fresh. Ya'll think about it!
OkKeith
We ship many many items by US Priority mail.
I have nothing but praise for the service we receive. Only one item lost in seven years and thousands of shipments. That item was delivered to an apartment and I think a neighbor stole it.
I shipped a long round tube this week. Under 84" no extra charge.
I recently shipped a tube and it went fine. Don't remember the cost but it wasn't anything unusual. Shipped one several months ago and had a devil of a time with the clerk. Finally just took it 10 miles down the road to the next PO where somebody could interpret the regulations without it being to my disadvantage. Anybody can read the rules, it takes intelligence to interpret them and the correct attitude to apply them. A nucklehead who just wants to go to lunch and get payed can cause you a mountain of grief.
Thanks for the heads up David. :thumbsup:
Thanks for the heads up on a potential postage issue.
As for the arguing, there are other archery sites on the web that seem to specialize in that, but I am thinking this isn't one of them-that is why I hang out here.
RonP
For grins and giggles I used the online Postal Calculator using the dimensions on my receipt. Large package nonrectangular like at the PO. One time it came up balloon payment and one time it came up no balloon payment. This is within 5 minutes of each other. Strange.
My post office "lady" takes great care of me. She always kids me about shipping bow "stuff".. I've used the Priority (triangle) boxes for years. Extra padding and tape the boxes together staying under the max inches.. Never cost me more than about $20.00 to ship a bow anywhere in the USA with insurance.
USPS is the best choice for me.
Just shipped a bow in a tube and had no problems. Use the shipping cost calculator on the USPS site to find out what it will cost to ship.
my post office lady wont drive the 1/2 mile back to my house anymore to deliver .....so now i have to pick it up in town..... i always get the same questions...more bow stuff? or how many bows can you shoot at once? I then get home and my wife asks the same questions... :banghead: :banghead:
I just tell them im like a woman in a shoe store... ive got to try them all out!!
I just shipped a 58" one piece recurve in a normal sized box. In the past, normally I would have been charged around $18.00 to ship, insured for $500, and delivery confirmation. Not this time, about $35.00 to send this one. I'm done sending bows for a while. Maybe this is my bow trading cure (gotta look on the bright side of things).
Dunno what happened there. USPS started the "shape based" pricing due to the fact that the private airlines charge them, (USPS), the same way. Most priority parcels are shipped on private airliners or on Fed-ex planes.
The additional charge comes into affect when the parcel is very light compared to it's dimensional size.
I've shipped many bows, guns, etc since the change in pricing structure and have not seen a great increase in cost.
As far as USPS being a Gov't agency, that it is, but it does not receive tax money and is self supporting. Which, nowadays, is much more than many private companies can claim.
I got the same charge as David on one of my recent bow shipping transactions. I thought it was a new change as well until I shipped another bow to the same area of Texas a week or so later and the cost went back to the $12 to $15 I normally pay. Sometimes the guys at the post office get bad info or just make a mistake.
I am starting to think the POs computer system is having some issues. After my experience with the online calculator last night.
I just shipped a longbow yesterday in a 68" X 4" PVC pipe from WV to IN and it only cost about $15 through USPS. I always use USPS. UPS is much more expensive and less reliable.
I've had no trouble either. I always print the shipping label on my printer. The post office only scans it in and sends it out. I have not had the same issues vermonster13 has had. I sent one last week for about $17.00.
vermonster:
I ship everything in my business by mail, we have a great Post office, never had a problem. You might try going on line and paying with a credit card, this allows you to print out a paid label then just give it too your postal carrier.
Sorry about the above post, I did it before reading page two and three.
Bob
Just got back from my PO and a talk with the floor supervisor. We did the online thing using the dimensions from the receipt. The system for some reason had kicked into dimensional pricing which can happen with lighter weight non-rectangular packages. It shouldn't do that so long as girth and length combined are under 84" combined and the length width are 5" or under(the up charge for 6" and over is minimal) it is a system glitch and can happen online also. They refunded me the error and the supervisor asked that the next time I bring in a tube to have her paged to the front desk to see if they can catch what causes it. They couldn't get it to do it today.
So everything was fixed but if I hadn't followed up I would be out $14.80 that shouldn't have been charged.
mailed a bow to Iraq a month ago and last week it was standing tall at my door. It had three red stamps on it with boxes to check for the reason for the return. None of the boxes were checked so back to the post office with the bow. The woman didn't charge me enough postage the first time so I paid the difference and sent it back to Iraq. This has really been the only problem I have had with them over the past 2 years. UPS is a nightmare to deal with when shipping overseas.
I didn't like the price to ship one day. Took it to 2 other Post Offices, and got 2 different prices. I know you want it in the smallest container possible. USPS is still the only way to go for me.
All's well that ends well 8^).
I buy only 3-PC T/D bows. I don't have to worry about long packages, tubes or otherwise. Plus, I prefer the extra weight/mass of the riser in a 3-PC T/D.
Bill
Thanks Dave for the heads up and Info. As for the Negitive comments, if you don't like the system then don't use it.
I don't...........
So, would it really confuse them if I sent a tube with wooden corners added so it doesn't roll?
A couple triangular plywood pieces with a hole cut out to fit the tube and epoxied in place near each end cap keeps the tube from rolling off of conveyors. Learned this one while working at the airlines and often traveling with my longbow. Works great.
:biglaugh: :biglaugh: