Members solewheelin Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 I didn't know about this for a long time and I lost a lot of money due to it. Maybe its old news, maybe not, but if you ship pedals frequently, you might want to read on. The $4.95 small flat rate mailing boxes I have always seen advertised at the PO are 1 1/2" thick and are only good for shipping books and vhs tapes. They look like this: No way can you fit a pedal in this box. So for years, I resorted to the medium flat rate box which costed $10.70 to ship. Then I started brown paper wrapping a pedal sized box for shipping, thinking it would save me money, and they were still charging me 8-9 dollars to ship a boss sized pedal because I am not using their flat rate priority box, so it would be priced under a different (non-flat rate) priority system. What a load of shit! This made me mad. So, What they don't seem to advertise is that there is something that the USPS calls a "#4 box". They have them in the back and I never, ever have seen it advertised in the waiting room with the other boxes. So ask for it by name. WTF!? For a long time, I didn't know this box ever existed. These qualify as a $4.95 small priority box and look like this: Dog shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jubb Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 the elusive $5 box is $10 here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Good to know! :phil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solewheelin Posted September 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 the elusive $5 box is $10 here. If we're thinking of the same box, its 7"x7"x6". It also goes by the "four box", or "BOX 4" and can be gotten for free through ebay as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gearhunter Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 Been using that box for years and I'm pretty sure that goes by weight and does not equal a small flat rate box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solewheelin Posted September 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 not according to the lady who rang me up..She said that is qualifies as a small flat rate box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gearhunter Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 You might want to get her to ring you up each time then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nbabmf Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 You might want to get her to ring you up each time then. I think that used to be a flat rate box. By the way, as long as the box you use is less than 12 inches on each side, the rate is drtermined mostly by weig. There is a small upcharge determined by how many postal zones away your destination is. Anything under about pound and a half should only be $5-7, and most pedals are around a pound. It could be worse. Try using UPS for a small item such as a pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jubb Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 If we're thinking of the same box, its 7"x7"x6".It also goes by the "four box", or "BOX 4" and can be gotten for free through ebay as well. yeah that box is $10 up here in AK. {censored}slame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tantamo Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 i will have to look into this. i hate finding pedal boxes, i always end up making one and it's a pain in the ass. however if you use your own packaging it usually costs 5.75 to ship a pedal priority (including deliv. conf. so i gues that would be 5) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orange worker Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 yeah, its not flat rate. i always order those online since they are a nice size and none of the POs near me actually have them in stock. usually ends up being closer to $7 if i mail it at the PO or around $5 if i print the label from paypal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankiej Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 Way old. It's handy when your only shipping one pedal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 not flat rate still, it's a good sized box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mitchell? Posted September 19, 2010 Members Share Posted September 19, 2010 I always buy my labels online from USPS and for smaller boxes it always around $5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ALoserNamedAron Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 I always buy the small flat rate for whatever fits and if it doesn't I put them in my own box(or the orginal pedal box) and shove them in the flat rate envelope for $5. My PO lady says as longs as the box fits in the envelope it will be fine and I haven't had one sent back to me. ~Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sandvich Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 Too bad the tea partiers want to get rid of the USPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nbabmf Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 My PO lady says as longs as the box fits in the envelope it will be fine and I haven't had one sent back to me. The only time I've done this is when some eBay asshat sent me a pedal in a reused Flat Rate envelope. It arrived beat to {censored}, so after I got my refund, I sent it back in the same envelope with a little more tape. How hard is it to spend the extra $2 to protect what you're shipping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crxsh Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 I just looked up the flat rate boxes on USPS.com -- that size is not included. You just got lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jb1911 Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 I just looked up the flat rate boxes on USPS.com -- that size is not included. You just got lucky. This. I've got a whole stack of those free from the PO. Go to their site and order them, even the delivery is free. They do go by weight with this box and a pedal is about 6 to 7 dollars now, not $4.95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankiej Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 This. I've got a whole stack of those free from the PO. Go to their site and order them, even the delivery is free. They do go by weight with this box and a pedal is about 6 to 7 dollars now, not $4.95. Cost me $5.50 to ship a MKII/NPN Monsterpiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SonicVI Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 So, What they don't seem to advertise is that there is something that the USPS calls a "#4 box". They have them in the back and I never, ever have seen it advertised in the waiting room with the other boxes. So ask for it by name. WTF!? For a long time, I didn't know this box ever existed. These qualify as a $4.95 small priority box and look like this: Dog shit. I've used those scores of times and have never been charged a flat rate. Usually costs me about $8-11 for a single pedal with delivery confirmation. As an aside, I received a pedal in nothing but a padded envelope the other day. Pissed me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solewheelin Posted September 20, 2010 Author Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 Well, i guess the deal is, these used to be flat rate, and the clerk charged me the old price. I thought I had something there.. I plan on finding this clerk from now on. Didn't mean to spread any misinformation. Really though! Why the hell did they change that? I guess USPS has their reasoning.. but we and many others get shafted because of it. My apologies for submitting false info, but not for cheating the system! And I don't know about you guys, but even though you get charged by weight, I could fit 2-3 well padded pedals in box 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loosegroove Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 When I first started selling/trading on Harmony Central, Priority was only like $2.95 for up to 2lbs anywhere in US. So you could ship just about any standard size pedal for under 3 bucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 when I first started buying/selling/trading pedals it took four months on the back of a brontosaurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members loosegroove Posted September 20, 2010 Members Share Posted September 20, 2010 And I don't know about you guys, but even though you get charged by weight, I could fit 2-3 well padded pedals in box 4. True, but at that point you're probably better off using a medium size flat rate box for around $10. You can fit quite a bit more in there, and the weight limit is 70lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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