I agree---my son lives in Croydon, just south of London in England and it costs so much to send him the simplest things.

I checked out the new one price,one size boxes that are new at the post office and what a joke. They are no better. Plus, unless whatever I send is a gift, he has to pay British taxes on it. The Queen has to make her money someway.

He just started quilting a year ago and is quite good at it, but fabrics over there are really expensive. I tried to send him some fabric and they taxed that plus all his tools and equipment---when he asked why, they said that he was taking money from England because he could have purchased the items over there. Very frustrating.

Chocolate cake, with a surprise filling...gotcha!!!

Yes, shipping costs, taxes, it sure can run the expense up when you want to send a gift or help someone out...

I wondered with the electronic world that we live in where people email, send electronic greeting cards, online bill paying...if they are trying to make up in shipping what they are losing in stamps???

I understand your frustration. I made a quilt to send to a very dear friend in the UK who is going through cancer treatment. On the custom's form, I checked the box indicating it was a gift and my English friends still had to pay customs. Customs was 17%! I didn't realize they had to pay custom on gifts. I said the contents of the box were worth $100 so they had to PAY to get their gift! :evil:

I got a package returned like that, too (3 days later). I went back to my post office and got my postage refunded, then went to a smaller post office and sent it as originally planned. I've been hearing a lot of complaints lately about mail being returned for silly reasons. I guess it depends on how much of a nitpicker your postmaster is. They have to make you believe two rate increases a year is actually going somewhere.

Have you noticed the priority boxes have logos inside AND out now?

am i understanding that the reason you covered it was to send it for less than priority mail? i've re-used those mailers by slapping a sticky label over the original address. i buy those 8-1/2 x 11 sheets of peelable sticky sheets and cut off what i need to cover the old address.

on the other hand, i've smushed fabric into plastic bags, layer on layer on layer. my favorite is black garbage bags. taped it all over, and sent stuff that way. i can't win no matter what i do. the only thing that goes at less money is media: books, videos, discs, etc. MUCH LESS MONEY!!! in the plain metal-clasp envelopes. i think the key is not to use those mailers. i think.

A big THANK YOU to amma for alerting us to the USPS newest plan to soak the American public. I just sent my 24 Fall Block Swap to Colletta and was astounded by the mailing cost. I did send them in an envelope(along with a return stamped envelope) priority mail even though they were sent early, because the clerk told me I could check on the delivery. Next time, if the swap organizer lives closer to Chicagoland, I might drive it over...wait....maybe I should wait until gasoline prices are more reasonable.

wow, glad you brought this up. i have a pkg to send and was gonna recycle a box. thanks kiddo for the heads up :D

While our sons were deployed to the "Big Sandbox", we sent many packages using the "one Rate" boxes provided by the post office. We found this the best "buy" for our money especially if it was heavy. When our oldest son requested a horseshoe set, you can imagine the weight of shipping those!!
APO is a term referring to an "Army Post Office" or a military post office overseas (i.e. Korea, Germany,etc.). Postal rates are similar to those here stateside. When sending to/from one you have to fill out a form stating contents of packages. if its something you want to surprise the recipiant, you can state "bonafide gift" and value.
As for the problem Joan and fktsewing had with customs and cost, its may have been because it was not a military APO. Not everyone has access to use an APO.

Sorry if this is too long but maybe it can clear up a couple questions. Thanks for indulging my "two cents worth". :-)

Well, it is and it isn't. It's an independent agency of the federal government, but since its reorganization in the 1980s it does not receive taxpayer dollars. Here's a Wikipedia article about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...Postal_Service

I tried to reuse one of those boxes last year. If memory serves, I covered everything that said "Priority Mail" with an opaque white label. Then when I got to the post office, they said it couldn't go that way because the blue stripe around the box still showed, and that's how the handlers sort things out. What a bunch of hogwash! I wonder what they do when a box comes through that has any old blue stripe on it. Anyway, somebody there helped me completely cover the blue stripe with more labels, and off it went. It made it to its destination alright.