Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaCD

I've been getting heat from the post office recently for the 86 cents swapacd charges to mail each disc. I do enclose cds  between 2 very thin pieces of cardboard...the package is still very flat, but not flat enough for my local p.o branches. They say I should be paying the package price. An employee wanted to increase my cd to $2. Another one said to not be surprised when the packages get returned to me. ??? Does swapacd recommend cardboard or do they suggest just wrapping the disc in paper?

If the envelope is not as flat as a fruit roll-up, the po is always going to compliain.

Is it because it is not flat, or because it is not machinable?  Because a CD won't bend around a curved corner, the package cannot be fed through the automatic sorting machine.

From the SWAP help:

Our Recommended Method of Packaging:

1. Wrap the CD and 1 to 2 pieces of non-corrugated (cereal box-type) cardboard with the SwapaCD Wrapper. ($0.85)
   • The stiffness of the CD and cardboard adds a $0.20 non-machinable surcharge to the $0.65 2-ounce letter rate.
   • The cardboard must be thin, to stay under the 1/4-inch thickness requirement.
   • One sheet of poster board could also be cut to mail many CDs.
2. Use the folding guide printed on the SwapaCD wrapper: be sure to tape the padding down (do not apply tape to the CD!) where indicated.

We recommend this method due to the low cost of mailing and its proven record of safely transporting CDs. Do not mail the case with the CD.

Alternate Methods Used By Some Members:

1. Bubble Mailer: Place the disc in a small bubble wrap envelope (6x9) and tape the wrapper on the front.
   ($1.95 - parcel 2 ounces)
   • Some post offices will allow this to be mailed for $0.65 or $0.85 letter rate.
   • Using a 8.5x11 envelope is not allowed for the letter rate.
2. Bubble Wrap: Wrap the CD with a sheet of bubble wrap and then enclose it in the SwapaCD Wrapper. ($1.95 - parcel 2 ounces)
   • The USPS has told us that using bubble wrap will cause the package to be irregularly shaped which will make it parcel rate.
   • If you carefully wrap your package to make it flat and rectangular you can check with your local Post Office and they may charge you $0.65 for the letter rate.
3. Jewel Case in Bubble Mailer: Mail the entire jewel case in a small bubble wrap envelope. Lightly tape the jewel case shut to prevent the CD from coming loose while en route. ($2.29 - parcel 5 ounces)
   • If you mail the jewel case you will always have to pay the more expensive parcel rate.
4. Jewel Case in SwapaCD wrapper (not recommended): Mail the CD in a jewel or slim case, enclosed in the SwapaCD Wrapper. Please note, most jewel cases are broken when using this shipping method, but the CDs arrive safely. ($2.29 - parcel 5 ounces)
   • If you mail the jewel case you will always have to pay the more expensive parcel rate.

There are lots of post offices around the country that struggle with this ..... "is it a package?" or is it a "letter with a . 20 non-machinable surcharge?"  I'm one of the lucky ones .... my post office gets it.   

There is a thread (somewhere here on SWAP) ..... someone looked up post office regulations regarding "non-machinable letter rate" and posted it here.  You might be able to "educate" someone at your post office.

This is probably not the best example (but from the USPS website):

Letters

• Must be rectangular.
• Minimum size is 5" long x 3 1/2" high x 0.007” thick.
• Maximum size of 11 1/2" long x 6 1/8" high x 1/4” thick.
• Maximum weight is 3.5 oz.
• A letter will be charged a nonmachinable surcharge if it’s a square letter 5" x 5" or larger, it doesn’t bend easily, has clasps or similar closure devices, has an address parallel to the shorter dimension of the letter, is lumpy, or the length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5.

Same old problem... 86 cents is totally unattainable. :o\

Postal worker sees "swapacd" on the outside, and says "if this contains a CD you'll have to send it as a package...media or first class or parcel post. if it contains something other than paper it can't go as a letter, no matter how thin it is." (one was 1.30oz and  one was 1.40 oz and she said the cheapest way to send was FC Parcel)

And there was a huge line behind me so I paid the $2.07 ea. and went on my way. :o\

Has anyone won this battle with irrefutable documentation yet?  :o(

Honestly, I just wanted to pass along a couple of dozen like-new CD's and get credits  that are worth 1-to-1 at PBS so that I can feed my book addiction, and even at $2.07 it's still a bargain for a book but it still just irritates me to have to pay more than double to send something so small and light. >:o(

Given your ornery postal clerk, there are two routes you can take:  If you have to pay the higher parcel rate, then package the CD like a parcel so it won't get smashed.  Or buy some 86c stamps, stick one on your package, and stick it in a mail box.  Or a couple of 46c Forever stamps will do the job as well.

Thanks for the reply, djtal. :)

It would be my luck that every CD I sent out with 86c (or even 92c) would get sent back to me or else end up delivered w/postage due. :o\

I'm in a small town and that "swapacd" logo sure does stand out.....I could  just fold up some blank sheets and manually address to keep from drawing attention, I guess.

So no one has yet managed to find the correct documentation online that we can show as proof that we're on the right side of legal in mailing these with postage of 86c?  :o\

I looked on the USPS site and it did show  86c to mail an "envelope with a ridgid object inside" (which blows my clerks's theory that it has to be all paper for that rate, it would seem) but it was showing a pic of a business size envelope. So that would make a CD ineligible, I'm sure they'd say...

Also, there was an option for an 86c "square envelope" but it mentioned nothing about a square envelope with a ridgid object inside. :o\

Hi DJ B. and Mike,

I also have had trouble with certain clerks. Whether you can win an argument depends more on the individual clerk than on documentation and facts.

I like DJ B.'s idea of hand-addressing the envelope, and I like djtal's idea of stamping it and slipping it in the letter slot or a mailbox.

I'm lucky to live walking distance from a PO branch with an APC (automated postal center like an ATM). The machine never complains, prints a USPS label for $.86 with zip+4 barcode and "Non-Machinable" on it, I write in the person's name and street address, slide it through the letter slot and have never had one returned. (Alas, the USPS wants to sell this 30's WPA landmark! But that's another story.)

Steve in Berkeley

### update 7/18/2013 ###

Grrr! I just had a CD returned for postage due. 217 CDs mailed, and that's the first one.

s in b

Some of my clerks get it, some don't.  I hate paying parcel if I've not packed it like one.

I have a nice flow chart they also have (or did when all the rules changed) but even then they won't walk through it with me. 

There is a lot of documentation in the U.S.P.S. - but like many other things in life - it is open to interpretation.  Some treat it as a letter, some as a flat, some as a package.

I ship CDs in their case within a bubble wrap envelope (and you can reuse the envelopes you receive CD's in so you don't have to go out and buy any).     Ordinary CD's shipped this way weigh 4 ounces and can be shipped at the package rate of $1.86 if you print your own postage and buy it from a site like paypal.   (Other sites allow for this reduced postage fee as well).    Shipping this way gives me the comfort of knowing I am shipping something the way I'd prefer something shipped to me ~and~ I never have any issues with the U.S.P.S. or with postage due issues.

Some people have it easier - in a larger community, there may be more than one post office - and if one gives you problem, you go to the other one.   I realize a small town doesn't provide this option for you.

just for the record, i've had CDs i sent returned to me as well that had 92 cents on them.  it's not worth my time to fight it, but it is very frustrating -- when i myself receive CDs all the time that have only 86 cents.

I think it depends on if you want to send it cheap, or send it correctly. One could try to do it the way the sight suggest, and try to save some money, but there is no gurentee that it would get there undamaged. Or one could pack like I do (9x6 paper envelope, the original jewel case and tape) cost around $2.25 without tracking, and gets to the destination without any damage to the disc.

On the up side, this site is a little more fair than another trading site I do business with. In the sense that this is mostly a 1 on 1 trading, instad of each cd is worth x number of points where newer/rare stuff is worth more, than older/more common.  Just saying in that sense, really no one feels ripped off or anything it is basically an even swap among members, especally where shipping is concern.

Steve said "The machine never complains, prints a USPS label for $.86 with zip+4 barcode and "Non-Machinable" on it"................. Are you saying the machine prints a sticker that reads "Non-Machinable" ? ........ Also I was wondering if I need to write that on the envelope........... I would think when the PO sorts the mail it has some system for identifying mail that might damage the machines. ......... It's no problem for me to write it but do I need to?  ......... I like those machines and they are easy to use.  

Valerie - some post offices "interpret" the non-machineable letter qualifications differently than others.  Where people have issues....some post offices think every rigid package is at the parcel rate.....even if it's low weight, thin, and small like a letter.

My post office gets it.  I've been able to use SWAP postage without any issues.

I print off the SWAP label.....it reads "non-machineable".  If I use a color printer then the words "non-machineable" are in bright red.  When I don't have access to a color printer I color in the "non-machineable" with red sharpie.  I also write on the back of the envelope  "non-machineable" with red sharpie.  Anything to keep CDs out of the sorting machine.

Thanks Tracy!  I will use all that info.  I know my PO "gets it" too!  I rarely go to the PO anymore because it's so easy to use PayPal postage or use stamps and put it in my mailbox.  

edited by SwapaCD Team