Priority Mail Boxes to Shrink

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  • tincup
    tincup Posts: 5,485 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Brings up a question... If I have a supply of the 'older' larger size boxes, will they still be accepted? I would hope so, otherwise they are just trash.

    ----- kj
  • edgar
    edgar Posts: 886 ✭✭✭✭
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    Almost! 90% of USPS phone numbers ring to "this mailbox full" or "the user has no yet set up the mailbox". You'd stand a better chance of getting through to the mint customer service or callback line!

    BUT, In DC there is ONE line that works and the lady who answers is very responsive and always resolved my concerns... She is the Postmaster (can we still say that?) of DC and she rules!

    (l8-)>>

  • WQuarterFreddie
    WQuarterFreddie Posts: 3,305 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @tincup said:
    Brings up a question... If I have a supply of the 'older' larger size boxes, will they still be accepted? I would hope so, otherwise they are just trash.

    Online retailers who have extra stock of the older box sizes will still be able to use the USPS free shipping supplies until their boxes and envelopes are exhausted. The new box sizes started shipping from the USPS.com site in late September 2021.

  • WAYNEAS
    WAYNEAS Posts: 7,272 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    :#
    Wayne

    Kennedys are my quest...

  • ms71
    ms71 Posts: 1,695 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    So the USPS probably saves a tiny amount of its cost for boxes. Your shipping box holds less, costs more to ship, and has had its transit time lengthened. What's not to like?

    Successful BST transactions: EagleEye, Christos, Proofmorgan, Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins, justindan, doubleeagle07

    Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't an optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.

    My mind reader refuses to charge me. . . . . . .
  • pcgscacgold
    pcgscacgold Posts: 3,831 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    So far Priority mail has not slowed down. First class mail has. Last week I received two Priority items and each arrived 4 days after the tracking number was created.

    Completed All CAC approved Classic Head $5 set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mysetregistry/album/344241
    CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572

  • MasonG
    MasonG Posts: 7,589 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    It's not all PM boxes and most of the changes are 1/8" to 1/4" smaller. The sky is indeed falling.

  • YQQ
    YQQ Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    It is all in the Name of
    "better and more efficient service for our valued customers..............." B)

    Today is the first day of the rest of my life
  • jmlanzaf
    jmlanzaf Posts: 43,072 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @MasonG said:
    It's not all PM boxes and most of the changes are 1/8" to 1/4" smaller. The sky is indeed falling.

    Yeah, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even have noticed.

    All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.

  • Fishpro
    Fishpro Posts: 389 ✭✭✭
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    Sent Registered mail, Seattle to Reno only took nine days, box size is not the problem.

  • bearcave
    bearcave Posts: 3,996 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    The USPS is the only option I have. FedEx, UPS and Amazon only comes here when they want to and then they are expensive, lot higher than USPS.

    Ken
  • golden
    golden Posts: 10,538 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I had a First Class letter take 26 days to go 1150 miles!

  • mr1931S
    mr1931S Posts: 7,314 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    The USPS is still the best option for mailing coins. Great service where I am.

    Just make sure you insure fully if item is worth more than $50 or so. Document with photographs what coin or coins you might be sending. If the contents of package get swiped while in custody of PO they will have to pay you for your loss.

    "Two things are infinite: human stupidity and the universe; and I'm not sure about the universe."
    -Albert Einstein-

    Mistakes are natural. But repeated mistakes without reflection are something else. That may be the “stupidity” he was referring to. In research, he admitted uncertainty openly. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This shows humility. Even a Nobel laureate accepted doubt. That humility makes the quote less cynical and more observational.

  • robec
    robec Posts: 7,051 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @tincup said:
    Brings up a question... If I have a supply of the 'older' larger size boxes, will they still be accepted? I would hope so, otherwise they are just trash.

    When shipping Priority you can use the size box of your choosing as long as it weighs less than 70 lbs. It doesn’t have to be a Priority box unless you want flat rate. These boxes are free so I don’t see a down side.

    - Bob -

    MPL's - Lincolns of Colorimage
    Central Valley Roosevelts

  • CoinJunkie
    CoinJunkie Posts: 8,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Of the generic Priority Flat Rate boxes, it appears only the Large size is being reduced (barely!). I use Small or Medium about 95% of the time, so this appears to be mostly a non-event for me.

    My Roosevelt Dime Registry Set
  • derryb
    derryb Posts: 38,615 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 24, 2021 4:20PM
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    FWIW the non flat rate 1096L box (not shrinking) is a bit larger than the small flat rate box and fits nicely in the flat rate padded envelope (also not shrinking) for only a few more shipping pennies than the small flat rate box by itself. The 1096L was popular in the old days for shipping VCR tapes. For added security I will often ship higher value items in a 1096L box that is sealed in the flat rate padded envelope. Costs only a few pennies more than just a single small flat rate box.

    For those not aware, the flat rate Regional Box A (also not shrinking) holds more than twice the capacity of the small flat rate box (but a wee bit smaller and cheaper than the medium flat rate box) and depending on distance is usually only a bit more shipping expense than the small flat rate box. Next time you purchase an ebay label for a small flat rate box compare the shipping price to the Regional Box A cost.

    All three items are not normally available at your local post office but can be ordered and delivered in quantity and free of charge from the above USPS links.

    Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. - Bastiat

  • moursund
    moursund Posts: 3,207 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    How many pennies can fit into each size? That's the practical question!

    100th pint of blood donated 7/19/2022 B) . Transactions with WilliamF, Relaxn, LukeMarshal, jclovescoins, braddick, JWP, Weather11am, Fairlaneman, Dscoins, lordmarcovan, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, JimW. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that who so believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
  • Treashunt
    Treashunt Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    That idiot postmaster general. should be demoted to PFC

    Frank

    BHNC #203

  • Jim703
    Jim703 Posts: 23 ✭✭
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    Good, now I won't need to use as much bubblewrap!

  • DelawareDoons
    DelawareDoons Posts: 3,445 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Anybody held the original priority SFRB's lately? They're way bigger than the size of the current ones. About 1/2" thicker, slightly wider, and an inch or so longer. Somebody I bought a coin off of must have had a huge reserve of them because they shipped me my order in one and i was blown away at how big it was. Definitely a case of inflationary theft...

    "It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."

  • amwldcoin
    amwldcoin Posts: 11,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 25, 2021 5:39AM
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    I bolded(well it wouldn't bold I guess because it's part of a link) the key note that is the reason why they are not shrinking. Doesn't take much more weight to really jack up the cost. Say you want to ship 10 pounds of cents. Go check the difference in the rates. With coins, volume has never been an issue, it's always the weight!

    As an aside. I use a lot of the 4x4x6 boxes ebay gives away or sells depending on how you look at it. Now they discontinued them and went to 4+1/2x4+1/2x6. I tried to get them to continue with the smaller boxed but it fell on deaf ears. The problem is 90% of the time now the slightly bigger box pushed the weight over 4 ounces and the shipping costs around 50c more because of that extra 1/2 ounce. :s

    @derryb said:
    FWIW **the non flat rate 1096L box** (not shrinking) is a bit larger than the small flat rate box and fits nicely in the flat rate padded envelope (also not shrinking) for only a few more shipping pennies than the small flat rate box by itself. The 1096L was popular in the old days for shipping VCR tapes. For added security I will often ship higher value items in a 1096L box that is sealed in the flat rate padded envelope. Costs only a few pennies more than just a single small flat rate box.

    For those not aware, the flat rate Regional Box A (also not shrinking) holds more than twice the capacity of the small flat rate box (but a wee bit smaller and cheaper than the medium flat rate box) and depending on distance is usually only a bit more shipping expense than the small flat rate box. Next time you purchase an ebay label for a small flat rate box compare the shipping price to the Regional Box A cost.

    All three items are not normally available at your local post office but can be ordered and delivered in quantity and free of charge from the above USPS links.

  • ricko
    ricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I like the USPS... Have had good luck with shipping (priority and registered) and receiving. Occasionally, something will take a round about route and add several days... but that is not common in my experience. (Though my wife had one that should have gone from NYS to PA, that first went to CA, then AZ then, finally to PA). Cheers, RickO

  • MonsterCoinz
    MonsterCoinz Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    In the same time it took the stamp to go from 44 cents to 58 cents, small flat rate boxes went from $4.95 to $9.20. :s

    www.MonsterCoinz.com | My Toned Showcase

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  • Herb_T
    Herb_T Posts: 1,755 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Fishpro said:
    Sent Registered mail, Seattle to Reno only took nine days, box size is not the problem.

    Registered mail takes longer as it has procedures and sign offs along the way. I don’t like the time involved but I do like that it is more secure.

  • messydesk
    messydesk Posts: 20,829 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @DelawareDoons said:
    Anybody held the original priority SFRB's lately? They're way bigger than the size of the current ones. About 1/2" thicker, slightly wider, and an inch or so longer. Somebody I bought a coin off of must have had a huge reserve of them because they shipped me my order in one and i was blown away at how big it was. Definitely a case of inflationary theft...

    I've seen slightly larger boxes that are similar to SFRBs, but they're not labeled "Small Flat Rate." Those might be box 1096L, which is still available and can be useful for cubic rate mailing, as it is less than 0.1 cubic feet. The one that might impact me is Regional Rate B, which is becoming significantly smaller. I think I could fit 4 PCGS boxes in one of these in the past. I'll have to check to see what the impact is.

    John
    Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
  • derryb
    derryb Posts: 38,615 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Herb_T said:

    @Fishpro said:
    Sent Registered mail, Seattle to Reno only took nine days, box size is not the problem.

    Registered mail takes longer as it has procedures and sign offs along the way. I don’t like the time involved but I do like that it is more secure.

    two types of registered: first class and priority. They both travel as the slow registered pace. If you're paying extra for priority registered and don't need to (under the weight limit) you are wasting your money. Those shipping registered can take advantage of the flat rate boxes, they just have to be sealed up with the paper tape at all seams.

    Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. - Bastiat

  • DelawareDoons
    DelawareDoons Posts: 3,445 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @messydesk said:

    @DelawareDoons said:
    Anybody held the original priority SFRB's lately? They're way bigger than the size of the current ones. About 1/2" thicker, slightly wider, and an inch or so longer. Somebody I bought a coin off of must have had a huge reserve of them because they shipped me my order in one and i was blown away at how big it was. Definitely a case of inflationary theft...

    I've seen slightly larger boxes that are similar to SFRBs, but they're not labeled "Small Flat Rate." Those might be box 1096L, which is still available and can be useful for cubic rate mailing, as it is less than 0.1 cubic feet. The one that might impact me is Regional Rate B, which is becoming significantly smaller. I think I could fit 4 PCGS boxes in one of these in the past. I'll have to check to see what the impact is.

    Yeah those 1096L are the original SFRB, I'm pretty sure. I may be wrong. The ones I had were the same size as 1096L but marked small flat rate.

    "It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."

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