@jmlanzaf said:
Yes, I squash them down and make sure the envelope slides through a quarter INCH slit.
The ones I mostly worry about are silver dollar/crown sized coins. With those, I only use plastic flips, not cardboard 2x2s in order to keep the thickness down.
@jmlanzaf said:
Yes, I squash them down and make sure the envelope slides through a quarter INCH slit.
The ones I mostly worry about are silver dollar/crown sized coins. With those, I only use plastic flips, not cardboard 2x2s in order to keep the thickness down.
In a perfect world, that would be my preference, too. I really don't like paying package rate for inexpensive stuff but if I have any doubts about them making it under 1/4 inch, that's how they go.
@MasonG said:
In a perfect world, that would be my preference, too. I really don't like paying package rate for inexpensive stuff but if I have any doubts about them making it under 1/4 inch, that's how they go.
the next step up from standard envelope doesn't need to be package rate. there are non-machinable rates that are around .20 more per ounce that won't be as sensitive to thickness within reason. there are special stamps to ask for (more recognizable for postal employees) if you'd like or just add up the proper amount with normal stamps. i've printed out NON-MACHINABLE on my envelopes before and also have purchase one of the ink stamps with those words.
@MasonG said:
In a perfect world, that would be my preference, too. I really don't like paying package rate for inexpensive stuff but if I have any doubts about them making it under 1/4 inch, that's how they go.
the next step up from standard envelope doesn't need to be package rate. there are non-machinable rates that are around .20 more per ounce that won't be as sensitive to thickness within reason. there are special stamps to ask for (more recognizable for postal employees) if you'd like or just add up the proper amount with normal stamps. i've printed out NON-MACHINABLE on my envelopes before and also have purchase one of the ink stamps with those words.
hope it helps.
Non-machinable has the same quarter inch requirement. In fact all of the requirements of the ebay rate, including size and weight, appear to be the non-machinable 1st class requirements.
@LanceNewmanOCC said:
the next step up from standard envelope doesn't need to be package rate. there are non-machinable rates that are around .20 more per ounce that won't be as sensitive to thickness within reason.
The post office has three main classifications of mail: Letter, Large Envelope and Package
Here are the dimensional standards:
Letter
Length: Min. 5 inches Max. 11-1/2 inches
Height: Min. 3-1/2 inches Max. 6-1/8 inches
Thickness: Min. 0.007 inch Max. 1/4 inch
Large Envelope
Length: Min. 11-1/2 inches Max. 15 inches
Height: Min. 6-1/8 inches Max. 12 inches
Thickness: Min. 1/4 inch Max. 3/4 inch
Package
Length: the longest side of the parcel
Girth: measurement around the thickest part
Length plus girth combined cannot exceed 108 inches.
"eBay standard envelope" isn't a different class to the post office, they consider it a letter. According to the DMM, letters cannot be over 1/4" thick. The non-machinable rate you mention applies to letters, and those shipments must still be less than 1/4" thick. If the shipment is in a regular envelope and it's over 1/4" thick, it has to go at "Package" rates, as it's too small (length and height) to be a "Large Envelope".
Of course, there is no guarantee that the particular postal worker you happen to encounter will interpret these policies the way I have here.
I've always been concerned about using Safe-T-Mailers, as they seem to be close to this thickness. I make sure to mash them as flat as I can, so far (several thousand shipped) no problems.
That 1/4 inch thing makes me laugh. Many of us including myself have been burned by the inconsiderate postal employees who run our 1/2-1" non machinables through a sort machine and break our slabs.
has anyone sent some/all of their funds from pending payouts into paypal? i figure odds are low but i have to ask. kinda pain in the butt to go from bank to pp every time. takes several days.
since paypal still connected to ebay enough to facilitate certain parts of the transactions, figured there is a way.
@LanceNewmanOCC said:
has anyone sent some/all of their funds from pending payouts into paypal? i figure odds are low but i have to ask. kinda pain in the butt to go from bank to pp every time. takes several days.
since paypal still connected to ebay enough to facilitate certain parts of the transactions, figured there is a way.
I don't think there is a way. @ErrorsOnCoins wanted to but eBay told him that PayPal wasn't a bank account and couldn't be used as a transfer destination.
Personally, I have no interest in putting money in PayPal. When I use PayPal it just works as a charge and I get my cashback bonus.
Are you trying to F&F? Is that why you need/want a cash balance in PayPal?
@jmlanzaf said:
Personally, I have no interest in putting money in PayPal.
Neither do I, especially after the nonsense they pulled recently with two of my subscriptions through them. They are supposed to make regular, scheduled payments but didn't do it because there was no backup payment method noted in the subscription and I didn't have any money in my PayPal account. Never mind that I have set up a backup payment method for regular purchases, like through eBay. It took twenty minutes searching the internet and then burrowing through the PayPal site to set my subscriptions up so that PayPal would use my credit card.
@jmlanzaf said:
Are you trying to F&F? Is that why you need/want a cash balance in PayPal?
no. after a decade plus, experience has taught me that it behooves me to keep $20-40 sitting there for plethora of reasons and i'm not quite in the habit yet of transferring cash from bank to pp.
had to ask, there are a lot of creative people that use ebay/pp on this forum.
Love it. I just had a medal get bent. But that's been the only issue.
I like it, too. The only downside I've seen is that if the envelope doesn't get scanned somewhere along the way (they can't scan it at the counter) and gets lost, they don't pay on the included insurance.
@MasonG said:
I like it, too. The only downside I've seen is that if the envelope doesn't get scanned somewhere along the way (they can't scan it at the counter) and gets lost, they don't pay on the included insurance.
.
i thought someone/we had worked out a solution to the not scanning at counter thing? something along the lines that some PO do but most? don't have the required scanner type at the counter.
i have my fingers in too many pies and can't recall all the specifics so maybe we didn't.
here is a link i dug up somewhere that is better to use (imo) with the standard envelope tracking. LINK
I use the envelopes heavily and have had five major occurrences so far: two lost (envelopes returned empty, eBay paid off both quickly) and three that were delivered to the wrong city (Milwaukee instead of Green Bay, Vegas instead of Ely, Des Moines instead of Davenport). Each time the buyer tried to inform eBay to no avail, then opened a case against me which they all lost since the item showed as delivered (albeit to the wrong place). I supported the buyers with eBay as I used eBay generated labels but neither of us have any leverage to use and I still end up with angry customers.
There were also two returned with postage due with a non-standard surcharge notation, both involving tokens that were thinner than one cent coins. I chalk those up simply to an unaware/untrained employee or two.
@MasonG said:
I like it, too. The only downside I've seen is that if the envelope doesn't get scanned somewhere along the way (they can't scan it at the counter) and gets lost, they don't pay on the included insurance.
.
i thought someone/we had worked out a solution to the not scanning at counter thing? something along the lines that some PO do but most? don't have the required scanner type at the counter.
i have my fingers in too many pies and can't recall all the specifics so maybe we didn't.
here is a link i dug up somewhere that is better to use (imo) with the standard envelope tracking. LINK
It's not a scannable barcode. It's a QR code that gets scanned by the routing machinery.
has anyone figured out how to create a standard envelope label when not presented with the option to do so?
i looked around but didnt see anything obvious. i didn't look hard though. i still have leftover stamps from before the service was offered that i wanted to use up. if someone posted a solution, ive since forgotten.
it would be nice to know and remember though cuz even though i use business policies to control this stuff, sometimes things slip through.
@bsshog40 said:
Yea I have never sent a coin in an envelope. Always in a padded one. Don't think I'll be using these.
cardboard envelopes within the size restriction work great. Just put the coin in a saflip, mail away. Have delivered hundreds with no problem. The cardboard adds 1-1.5 oz to the weight but still gets you in under a buck.
Natural forces of supply and demand are the best regulators on earth.
@bsshog40 said:
Yea I have never sent a coin in an envelope. Always in a padded one. Don't think I'll be using these.
cardboard envelopes within the size restriction work great. Just put the coin in a saflip, mail away. Have delivered hundreds with no problem. The cardboard adds 1-1.5 oz to the weight but still gets you in under a buck.
i have tons of cereal boxes, granola bar, noodles etc etc that work great. i just cut out about the size i need, fold, staple and voila. has worked for years. used to buy lots of card stock; no more.
Evidently their software monitors it quite well. I finally had the crap scenario. Guy buys 3 coins that total over the $50 mark by a little over a buck. Couldn't split the shipment sense he paid as a group and instead of paying $1.46 and having $50 insurance I had to pay $3.48 with no insurance.
@bsshog40 said:
Yea I have never sent a coin in an envelope. Always in a padded one. Don't think I'll be using these.
cardboard envelopes within the size restriction work great. Just put the coin in a saflip, mail away. Have delivered hundreds with no problem. The cardboard adds 1-1.5 oz to the weight but still gets you in under a buck.
i have tons of cereal boxes, granola bar, noodles etc etc that work great. i just cut out about the size i need, fold, staple and voila. has worked for years. used to buy lots of card stock; no more.
I did my first two with the side of cereal box cut to size but it felt strange to me when I dropped them in the mail. All I could think about was the forum member who received a coin enclosed in a recycled tampon box, or the "he eats that for breakfast".
I have tons of large index cards laying around and find these work just fine cut to size of envelope.
Enjoyed reading this thread. Tons of good information given.
@fox9487 said:
Enjoyed reading this thread. Tons of good information given.
i used get 3 pieces per standard sheet of paper size from paper card stock (80/100 lb) bought from print shops. i don't recall off the top of my head how much i paid but i used to buy maybe 30 sheets at a time for a few bucks. the option for those not comfortable using household thin cardboard folded and stapled.
obviously derry's method works as well. i personally just don't like that sticky cardboard or anything that makes my items go over 1oz unless it is necessary.
I mailed about 200 of the ebay standard envelope type. One got beat up and the coin disappeared-totally my fault for not securing the coin right. OK I lose $15 here. One was reported not delivered but the tracking, even though not perfect, saved me on that one. The buyer said he did not get it but the tracking showed he did. A few others were put in the wrong mail boxes by the mailperson and eventually were straightened out.
Comments
The ones I mostly worry about are silver dollar/crown sized coins. With those, I only use plastic flips, not cardboard 2x2s in order to keep the thickness down.
I send those package rate
In a perfect world, that would be my preference, too. I really don't like paying package rate for inexpensive stuff but if I have any doubts about them making it under 1/4 inch, that's how they go.
I never realized how funny I am. Makes me happy!!!
the next step up from standard envelope doesn't need to be package rate. there are non-machinable rates that are around .20 more per ounce that won't be as sensitive to thickness within reason. there are special stamps to ask for (more recognizable for postal employees) if you'd like or just add up the proper amount with normal stamps. i've printed out NON-MACHINABLE on my envelopes before and also have purchase one of the ink stamps with those words.
hope it helps.
Non-machinable has the same quarter inch requirement. In fact all of the requirements of the ebay rate, including size and weight, appear to be the non-machinable 1st class requirements.
The post office has three main classifications of mail: Letter, Large Envelope and Package
Here are the dimensional standards:
Letter
Length: Min. 5 inches Max. 11-1/2 inches
Height: Min. 3-1/2 inches Max. 6-1/8 inches
Thickness: Min. 0.007 inch Max. 1/4 inch
Large Envelope
Length: Min. 11-1/2 inches Max. 15 inches
Height: Min. 6-1/8 inches Max. 12 inches
Thickness: Min. 1/4 inch Max. 3/4 inch
Package
Length: the longest side of the parcel
Girth: measurement around the thickest part
Length plus girth combined cannot exceed 108 inches.
"eBay standard envelope" isn't a different class to the post office, they consider it a letter. According to the DMM, letters cannot be over 1/4" thick. The non-machinable rate you mention applies to letters, and those shipments must still be less than 1/4" thick. If the shipment is in a regular envelope and it's over 1/4" thick, it has to go at "Package" rates, as it's too small (length and height) to be a "Large Envelope".
Of course, there is no guarantee that the particular postal worker you happen to encounter will interpret these policies the way I have here.
Thanks, I will try mashing the safe T mailer.
That 1/4 inch thing makes me laugh. Many of us including myself have been burned by the inconsiderate postal employees who run our 1/2-1" non machinables through a sort machine and break our slabs.
has anyone sent some/all of their funds from pending payouts into paypal? i figure odds are low but i have to ask. kinda pain in the butt to go from bank to pp every time. takes several days.
since paypal still connected to ebay enough to facilitate certain parts of the transactions, figured there is a way.
I don't think there is a way. @ErrorsOnCoins wanted to but eBay told him that PayPal wasn't a bank account and couldn't be used as a transfer destination.
Personally, I have no interest in putting money in PayPal. When I use PayPal it just works as a charge and I get my cashback bonus.
Are you trying to F&F? Is that why you need/want a cash balance in PayPal?
Neither do I, especially after the nonsense they pulled recently with two of my subscriptions through them. They are supposed to make regular, scheduled payments but didn't do it because there was no backup payment method noted in the subscription and I didn't have any money in my PayPal account. Never mind that I have set up a backup payment method for regular purchases, like through eBay. It took twenty minutes searching the internet and then burrowing through the PayPal site to set my subscriptions up so that PayPal would use my credit card.
no. after a decade plus, experience has taught me that it behooves me to keep $20-40 sitting there for plethora of reasons and i'm not quite in the habit yet of transferring cash from bank to pp.
had to ask, there are a lot of creative people that use ebay/pp on this forum.
been going GREAT thus far.
Love it. I just had a medal get bent. But that's been the only issue.
I like it, too. The only downside I've seen is that if the envelope doesn't get scanned somewhere along the way (they can't scan it at the counter) and gets lost, they don't pay on the included insurance.
.
i thought someone/we had worked out a solution to the not scanning at counter thing? something along the lines that some PO do but most? don't have the required scanner type at the counter.
i have my fingers in too many pies and can't recall all the specifics so maybe we didn't.
here is a link i dug up somewhere that is better to use (imo) with the standard envelope tracking. LINK
I use the envelopes heavily and have had five major occurrences so far: two lost (envelopes returned empty, eBay paid off both quickly) and three that were delivered to the wrong city (Milwaukee instead of Green Bay, Vegas instead of Ely, Des Moines instead of Davenport). Each time the buyer tried to inform eBay to no avail, then opened a case against me which they all lost since the item showed as delivered (albeit to the wrong place). I supported the buyers with eBay as I used eBay generated labels but neither of us have any leverage to use and I still end up with angry customers.
There were also two returned with postage due with a non-standard surcharge notation, both involving tokens that were thinner than one cent coins. I chalk those up simply to an unaware/untrained employee or two.
It's not a scannable barcode. It's a QR code that gets scanned by the routing machinery.
ok.
i thought i read someone state the larger offices have one available up front. i may try to see what my iphone scanner apps can do, or well, not.
has anyone figured out how to create a standard envelope label when not presented with the option to do so?
Natural forces of supply and demand are the best regulators on earth.
i looked around but didnt see anything obvious. i didn't look hard though. i still have leftover stamps from before the service was offered that i wanted to use up. if someone posted a solution, ive since forgotten.
it would be nice to know and remember though cuz even though i use business policies to control this stuff, sometimes things slip through.
cardboard envelopes within the size restriction work great. Just put the coin in a saflip, mail away. Have delivered hundreds with no problem. The cardboard adds 1-1.5 oz to the weight but still gets you in under a buck.
Natural forces of supply and demand are the best regulators on earth.
i have tons of cereal boxes, granola bar, noodles etc etc that work great. i just cut out about the size i need, fold, staple and voila. has worked for years. used to buy lots of card stock; no more.
Evidently their software monitors it quite well. I finally had the crap scenario. Guy buys 3 coins that total over the $50 mark by a little over a buck. Couldn't split the shipment sense he paid as a group and instead of paying $1.46 and having $50 insurance I had to pay $3.48 with no insurance.
I did my first two with the side of cereal box cut to size but it felt strange to me when I dropped them in the mail. All I could think about was the forum member who received a coin enclosed in a recycled tampon box, or the "he eats that for breakfast".
I have tons of large index cards laying around and find these work just fine cut to size of envelope.
Enjoyed reading this thread. Tons of good information given.
i used get 3 pieces per standard sheet of paper size from paper card stock (80/100 lb) bought from print shops. i don't recall off the top of my head how much i paid but i used to buy maybe 30 sheets at a time for a few bucks. the option for those not comfortable using household thin cardboard folded and stapled.
obviously derry's method works as well. i personally just don't like that sticky cardboard or anything that makes my items go over 1oz unless it is necessary.
I mailed about 200 of the ebay standard envelope type. One got beat up and the coin disappeared-totally my fault for not securing the coin right. OK I lose $15 here. One was reported not delivered but the tracking, even though not perfect, saved me on that one. The buyer said he did not get it but the tracking showed he did. A few others were put in the wrong mail boxes by the mailperson and eventually were straightened out.