I went to the post office this morning and used a priority flat rate box to ship some material it was 10.70 for shipping. The postal lady told me that if I had tried to ship first class using my own box it would have costed me $20.50 cause the material weighed 6 lb. 5.80 oz..
The flat rate boxes may seem expensive but they really do save and I think we all need to save so we can buy more fabric. :lol:

YES :) Thank you for the reminder. I am always shocked by the cost of shipping, and I do try to use the flat rate priority boxes or envelopes whenever possible. It's almost always cheaper that way!

The only way to ship a package as far as I'm concerned.

I just picked up a few flat rate boxes this morning. I think I've been severely over paying for shipping. Mainly, because the boxes haven't been readily available here. Now they've got a small box station to make it much easier. I can't believe how much $$ it costs now to ship...

I love priority shipping. It's how I ship almost everything.

I have been using the flat rate boxes for while but I didn't know how much I was saving until today. But I do know that if it is something small it is cheaper to ship first class. Every time I go the the post office I pick up a couple of boxes.

bummer, so the manilla envelopes (with bubbles in side) they cost more than if I buy a postal thingie?

Blessings, Ruth

You can go to USPS.com and order boxes and they come to your door...for FREE! :D I ship handmade soap a lot, and the small flat-rate envelopes are a lifesaver. It's usually $5 versus $10-$11 had I done it just regular priority mail. The post office ladies love to look to see how much I saved. (me too!)

And a word about first class: you can only ship first class if it's under 13 oz, so with THAT weight, it's better to go 1st class. International 1st class is up to 4 pounds, and I can't remember at what point it gets cheaper to do the priority flat-rate...

I found out the other day that if all you're shipping are magazines or books, ask for the "printed materials" rate.
Use your own box for that. It was only $4.50 to send magazines this way. I had used a bubble envelope before and paid about $9.00.

thanks for the info.