I had some misc yarn and needles and sewing basket and sewing supplies I no longer needed and decided to sell then here on the forum. I tried to price them low as I knew one would have to pay shipping and handling also.
I was so surprised when I went to see what it would cost to ship it and it was over 60$ I think S&H has got out of hand. I am going to check for one more lady who lives a little closer than the others who wanted it and didn't want to pay 60$ for shipping (which I don't blame them) and if it is still too much I am going to find someone near me that I could take it to. I am so upset that the nicest people on here who wanted it I couldn't get it to them at a reasonable price.
Sorry just had to vent

hey,i feel the same, i go to send something and get a $14 bill for a few items. it's outpo f hand alright

That's a shame, especially when most are on such a tight budget. I'm sure they appreciated the time and effort you took to get it to them as cheap as possible. Sorry it didn't work out in the end.

And they say the Post Office is broke and raising their prices the first of the year! What out then!!!

How heavy and/or bulky is your package?

Where was it going to?

That really seems unreasonable. (unless you were looking at overnight express mail)

the stuff won't fit in a flat rate box?
what burns me up is to pay shipping on a pattern, usually $3, when I get it it has a $1.85 stamp on it!

That is a bit ridiculous. Were you looking to ship it out of the country? Or Priority or Express mail service?

If it is in the US, try FedEx or UPS. For heavier items, their rates are far better and they both include tracking and insurance up to a point. For home delivery, their rates start at about $12 or so. If the USPS rates are higher than that, then I would use FedEx or UPS.

I would definately look into the flat rate boxes. I think you can ship up to 70 lbs. As long as you can get it in and tape it shut it goes. I send lots of stuff like this to my kids out of state.

I think because it was so bulky It had a frame for hand quilting and a large sewing box and lots of yarn and misc stuff the box was rather large to get all of it in. I live in Texas and the people who wanted it lived up North so it had to go quite aways. I checked all the different ways and believe it or not this was the cheapest.

My church ships clothing to the Appalachians and everytime it is cheaper for us to ship through Fed Ex

I will check into fed ex. Thanks for the info jaylee.

I'm not attacking , just using her post to vent. Thanks for reading this.

We are a postal family. I try to stay quiet most of the time because I know alot of people have had some bad experiences with the postal service. That said I do want to say that the good old USPS is broke. Revenue is down. The big businesses that contribute most of the delivery mail are not sending out mail to customers. Alot of people no longer use the USPS to pay their bills. When you don't use a service their costs don't decline they actually increase to make up for the shortage.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you want your costs tostay down. Use to USPS more often for everyday mail. Where else in the world can you send a letter 3 thousand miles for only 44 cents? If you have a loved one overseas in the military and you mail them something to an APO address that same 44 cents still gets it there for you. 44 cent stamps are still the cheapest in the world

I really watch for free shipping when I buy online and take advantage of it whenever I can. If it means combining orders with my friends, so be it. I hate to see how much it is going to cost me to ship the downey quilts back as there are 12 of them in a pretty good sized box. I think they have all gone nuts with shipping. Also, be really careful on ebay. Some sellers lower the price on an item and then charge you outrageous shipping. I've had that happen.

i don't know what the packages measurements or weight are, so i don't know whether or not to agree that the cost is high.

i do know that steaming about it here isn't going to change anything.

also, we forget to sit down and think about how much it would cost us to take something to the destination ourselves. (double that, of course, because you have to get home again.)

just because we don't like the cost of something, it isn't automatically unfair. it's just more than we want to pay.

My thoughts exactly!

I mailed a small package to a person living 10 miles from me, because I did not want to drive there, I knew I'd have to spend at least an hour visiting with the person once there, and it was quick and easy to stick the items in a flat rate box and hand it to the postman and be done with it.

What you say is very true. We do get a lot for .44.
Many years ago my mom accidently dropped the envelope with her social security money in it in a drop box with some letters. When she realized what had happened the next morning she callled me in tears asking if I would go to the P.O. near my house where she had done this to see if anything could be done. I explained what had happened but was told the mail from the night before had been picked up. They took her info and said they would make some calls but didn't offer much else. Later that day Mom recieved a call from the central P.O. Someone had found the envelope and turned it in to the superviser. She had to drive there (about 45 min. away)to get it . The money was all there.
I always think of this when I hear gripes about the post office.

I did not intend to offend anyone I just would of loved to get the stuff to these ladies as they seemed to have really wanted them, but didn't have a lot of money. I do not ship very many things so I am very new to this. I am very sorry if I said something out of line

SherryLea, I took no offense with you at all. I was venting about people in general knocking the post office. I guess because I'm part of the postal family I'm a little sensitive. I'm very sorry I did not mean to hurt you.

ooook, group hug ... a chorus of kumbaya ...

pass the s'mores, please

back to the fun! :-) ;-)

Thank You I know how bad the economy is right now and how hard the post office has been hit with the internet so I do understand. I wasn't hurt just don't want to ever hurt anyones feelings on this forum as this is the greatest bunch of people I have ever known. I am gong to the post office Tuesday and see what the flat rate box looks like and see if maybe 2 boxes sent this way would be cheaper than one box ups. Thanks Again
Hugs to All

It costs me 47cents to mail a letter with the United States Postal Service. Is it different elsewhere?

I bought a food scale that weighs up to four pounds in 0.1 ounce increments. It seems to be accurate within 0.1 ounce - so it's really worth while to use for guesstimating a shipping cost.

It's also worth the time (in many cases) to check usps and ups and fedex to compare the costs.

I usually use usps because it's the closest drop-off site to my home.

This is a good opportunity to learn a bit more about different professions.

There are all those costs we don't see -

How about Media rate?

Mail can't go media rate unless it is media....and...if there is anything included in the same package that is not media, it can't go media. If you do use Fedex or UPS, go to one of their locations, not a postal service that offers Fedex or UPS...you pay a higher rate there...even for stamps etc., because they have to make money on it too.

You might look into shipping heavy or big boxes by bus. I shipped some sewing machines by Greyhound it was much cheaper

Folks in the continental US have what I think are the best shipping rates and options in the world. I can certainly understand why something might seem high because you're generally accustomed to low, reasonable rates.
I live in a rural area and we shop quite a bit on-line so pay shipping all the time. International shipping is a killer, in or out of the country. I've paid more in shipping than the value of the item simply to have something not otherwise available.

I have absolutely no complaints about the postal service or any of its employees. I live in a very rural area in the middle of the forest and I know for certain that if my mail carrier were to find yesterday's mail still in my box when he delivered today's, he would immediately notify the chief of police and someone would come to see if I was okay.

I have never not had my mail delivered due to weather conditions...blizzards, ice storms, unplowed roads, or washouts. They find a way to get it done. These people are neighbors first and foremost and each and every one of them works their tail off. Like other local workers, I will continue to do my part to help them keep their jobs by supporting the businesses they work for.

You all have the world's best postal deal in flat rate packages!
I wish we had flat rate packages here! I mailed some fabric to someone in Kentucky and I think it cost $11. I mailed some fabric to a board member here in Canada about the same distance away and although her package was lighter it cost me $13. Go figure.
Here in Canada if it isn't in an envelope that fits through a small slot, it's a parcel and charged by weight, destination, and dimension of packaging.
I'd be a post office hound if I had access to flat rate!
And Sherry, I saw the items you had for sale. Even at $60.00 for shipping, the buyer would have been getting a darn good deal!
Very generous of you. I almost thought about PM'ing you, but I was pretty sure it would cost over $100 to get it to Canada LOL.
Happy quilting, all!

If you go to USPS site, you can print a label and arrange for pick-up service.

If the rates for stamps are going up again, just buy some forever stamps, they have no price on them and will cover the extra 2 or 3 cents it goes up. Still lucky and glad for the postal service, still compared to some reasonibly priced.

How does one pay for the postage?

Aahhhh, the sound of reason. You sound so temperate in your advice. Keep it up.

In my experience most sewn/knitted/crocheted items won't benefit by flat rate. The stuff is always bulky as comparted to heavy. If we were making door stops or paving stones the flat rate wouldn't be bad. One of my knitted scarves needs a $11 flat rate box just to fit in. Yet it weighs next to nothing. Parcel post isn't much better.

Mailing packages at the Priority rate can get pricey.

1st Class is usually a lot less and is only a little slower (under normal circumstances.)

i pay using either my debit/check card or a credit card. i can't remember whether or not direct deduction from a bank account is an option.

flat rate boxes from the u.s. postal system is the way to go especially if it is a heavy box, can save you a fortune! if it is light weight but bulky i would either cut back on the contents and put it into 2 boxes or find a larger packaging but use parcel post. I was spending a fortune using ups to send boxes to my son in the navy, and then found it really is much more cost effective to send through the post office. In june he wanted me to send him something he had left home, i took it to the ups store and found it was going to cost $45 to ship it, (it was something he bought for about $30) i left and was just not going to send it, but stopped by the post office on my way home and sent it out for $10.95. and it seems to make a difference if you are printing off your own postage or actually going to the post office. if you do it yourself on line you seem to have fewer choices. if you go in you can ask, what is the least expensive way to send this.

People don't send letters anymore either. We email!

Someone asked "how you pay for the postage on line"...First, you go to USPS.com. You then click on "Click 'n Ship". From there you can print your label, pay (using your credit/debit card), and even request a pick up from your carrier. To top it off...its cheaper to do it on line than it is to GO to the post office...AND delivery confirmation is free.

An idea for those shipping bulky knitted items...ship them in a space bag...stuff them in, vac out the air and they will fit easily in the small or med. flat rate box. They will puff back out just fine on the other end.

I have to say that yes...I think some of the rates are high, but thats only because I'm a cheap skate and think everything is high. If you think about it...you are getting a reliable service for much less than it would cost you to do it yourself. With all the things being sent around...its amazing the job they do! Out of 60 quilts going around the world 6 times each in the last year..we had 1 that vanished...1 out of that many mailings...I'd say thats pretty darn good (although it is sad about the 1)

An idea for those shipping bulky knitted items...ship them in a space bag...stuff them in, vac out the air and they will fit easily in the small or med. flat rate box. They will puff back out just fine on the other end.

***********
I'm going to have to remember this!

You are right about the weight vs. bulk. I have actually left the post office after checking the cost and repackaged to send a different way. Fortunately I live in an area where I have some choice in how to ship. Many do not.

Well just to let everyone know I went to the post office
and got a box for 3.69 not a flat rate box as it was not big enough. I Brought it home and packed everything but the quilting frame and a plastic yarn holder and mailed it to a lady in Arkansas for 14.24. Should get there in a week. so Now I just have to find something to do with frame and yarn jar but I am sure I can find someone around here I can give it to. So thanks for all the suggestions I'm just glad I got it gone and someone who really wants it has it. It was a good price everyone here said I should of ask more, but I just wanted someone to have it and put a little change in my pocket for more material HEhehehe