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The very short story of mailing packages


Kirby

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Nice story...and what lead me to short circuiting the process. Actually, Ebay was the catalyst as it gave a discount on the shipping if printed label at home through their system. While I have an account with discounts at UPS and FedEx, I find USPS consistently less expensive.

1. An inexpensive digital postal meter (Max 50 lbs)

2. Log into USPS, input address, weight, and package dimensions to calculate price. (Since you have the data, check UPS and FedEx if you want to)

3. Pay for it and print the shipping label. Repeat as necessary for each package. (can do multiple, but I prefer individual and avoid potential problems printing, etc)

4. Attach paid shipping label to the sealed package and go to the post office.

5. Now here is the fun part. Drop off and leave. Skip the line and walk straight up to the counter to an area they have designated to receive pre-paid packages. In my local post office, it is the fake counter on a hinge that lifts up allowing passage from the lobby side to the business side.

Have found that postal scale is great for other uses, randomly weighing other items. I place parchment paper on it when purchasing 6 lb (or so) package of ground beef at Costco, and break it into six 1 lb freezer bags. Works great...and learned to smash it in the bag so thinner and will thaw faster. 

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15 hours ago, Tizeye said:

Have found that postal scale is great for other uses, randomly weighing other items. I place parchment paper on it when purchasing 6 lb (or so) package of ground beef at Costco, and break it into six 1 lb freezer bags. Works great...and learned to smash it in the bag so thinner and will thaw faster.

That’s what I do except I don’t weigh them. A six pound package I just divide by six.

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You might consider a small utility cart for similar future situations.  When I moved into my 3rd floor apartment after my house fire, I was making 2-4 trips between my car and kitchen to bring in the groceries - including awkwardly carrying 30 lb cases of Snapple.  I got the cart below and now I make one trip. The brand name was "Costway" at Walmart.com. The same one is sold at Amazon and other sites for more money and different brand names. It's easy to put together - I might have needed a screwdriver for a couple things and the wheels just snap into place on the axles. It has worked flawlessly for me for half a year running between my parking lot and apartment. Others in my apartment complex have similar carts but say they like mine better.

It's very light, folds up easily as shown (nothing to loosen or tighten, it just folds) and fits across the back seat of my subcompact Honda Fit.  The handle height is adjustable and is high enough at full extension for 6'3" me to walk fully upright with it. 

The big basket is 13" long (front-to-back) at the bottom of the basket and 12 5/8" at the top of the basket.  It is 11.5" wide.  It is 15 1/4" high at sides.

The rear basket is 4 5/8" long (front-to-back). It is 11.5" wide. It is 10 1/8" high.  The front wheels swivel and do not do well on cobblestones or other rough surfaces but it's not a problem to tilt it back a little to pass over them.  There's enough room to walk behind it without banging your legs and the rear, small basket, is high enough to clear high curbs when pulling the cart up them. The wheels are plastic but the outer edge is a hard, rubbery material.

I also bought two Wegmans "Hot or Cold Thermal Totes:" large insulated shopping bags (Costco sells similar ones), one red and one blue. They are 24.5" wide, 15" high, 9" wide and rectangular-shaped at the bottom and 3" wide at the top - though the top can be pushed down spread out to around 9" wide if the bag isn't filled to the top.  A zipper runs along the entire length of the top.

I can swing the straps of two of those bags around the handle of the cart, resting the bags on top of each other and on top of the cart's box and carry 60 lbs of stuff in one trip. The box itself is long x wide enough to hold 3 16.9 oz. soft drink 6-packs with more room on top of them or stand up a case of 24 20 oz. Snapple bottles (30 lbs) with a little room left over. The insulated bags keep frozen or hot foods good for at least 2 hours, giving me plenty of time to go from store to store and shop (when COVID's not surging) or to sit, rest a while, and have a beverage before putting groceries away.

I've found the cart so useful that I'll still be using it when I'm back in my house next Spring or Summer.

742202453_CostwayCartDimensions.JPG.1705f62a935ccde6c6b4818e69b88625.JPG 24516528_WegmansBlueHotorColdThermalTote24_5in.Wx15Hx9Bottomby3Top(spreadsto9).jpg.6d61821b45a683a1fbf8d32a4bd30c57.jpg122786024_WegmansRedHotorColdThermalTote24_5in.Wx15Hx9Bottomby3Top(spreadsto9).jpg.75e8e41bff8bf6fa29f775471d243caa.jpg

Walmart.com:

1336354238_CostwayCart43.99-44.52withtax.thumb.JPG.7c8e6694ab8a0b3a818ae3c0f3c453e9.JPG

Instacart.com (or in Wegmans supermarkets):

374495880_WegmansInsulatedShoppingBag.thumb.JPG.f5c4b70116f4700553ba3b086bcc44ea.JPG

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I love the shopping cart, Mick.  It reminds me of my childhood.  I lived in a city where people would walk to do their grocery shopping locally and every family had one of those carts.  Ours sat in the hallway of our apartment for years.

The boxes I was shipping were pretty bulky, so I couldn't fit them in even my largest tote or duffel bag.

I think the prices for shipments in the NY/NJ area were cheaper by UPS, but since I didn't try the post office i can't be sure.   But I shipped much smaller and lighter boxes at the post office earlier in the week and they were about half the price the much bigger and heavier boxes were at UPS.  I suspect which is better depends on the size, weight and where you are shipping them.

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