Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaCD

I have a postal scale, so I do weigh my items before buying and printing postage on this site.  However, I dropped off my mail at the post office counter yesterday and the employee decided to check my mail and told me I'd have to pay first-class package prices for my CDs!  So instead of mailing each of these for 84 cents, I paid a $1.71 each.  Her justification for this was that the package was "rigid".  (No, I did not send them in the jewel cases.  They were simply wrapped in paper.)  Anyone else encounter this?  I am thinking that from now on I will just put it in the mailbox myself to avoid the person at the counter.  I send a lot of CDs and none have been returned to me, so I don't think I'm doing it wrong (or that swap-a-cd has it wrong).  

There is an earlier thread on this same subject.  Someone actually posted a page from the post office rules.  You are correct, it is not a package just because it is rigid.  I will try to find the thread.

Carla, that's sadly typical for many of us -- sooner or later you get someone behind the counter with a different interpretation of the rules, and right or wrong, that person with the USPS badge on holds all the cards.  It's argue or pay.

I've sent stuff over the counter with PO-generated postage labels, then gotten an irked PM from the trader not happy about the "postage due" he had to pay once it got there!  Upshot: the PO  even disagrees with itself, sometimes,

Best I can come up with is to save myself the ulcers that come from arguing.  I buy $1 stamps by the roll and -- if the package weighs slightly heavy, -- add a single first class stamp.  Then I  drop it in the mailbox and hope for the best. 

Other times I just hand it over the counter and do sums in my head and smile vacantly while the guy rings it up at 1.71.

Doing it either way won't guarantee a darn thing, but that's my tactic.  Everyone seems to handle it differently.

Hm.

Thanks for the info.  I can see that others have had the same problem.  I studied the mail manual to see if I could figure it out, and I guess you could argue it both ways.  So far, no CD has ever been returned to me, but I will just avoid the counter at the PO from now on.  I suspect that if I had just put it in the mail slot, it would have gone through just fine.  

I was told the price was $1.71 also.  And when I explained about the $.84 deal with the "Unmachinable" stamp, I was told that my package was not flexible in the middle.  The clerk then held up a plain envelope and folded it in half to demonstate what flexible meant.  Any postal people on the site that can tell us for sure what is correct?

Check out the thread titled:  "Insufficient Postage" in Club Members' Thoughts

http://www.swapacd.com/forum/topic.php?t=9153

It provides links to postal regulations on non-machinable letters.  I've never had the post office charge me extra & I'm sure there is no way that Netflix pays the parcel rate either.

You mentioned Netflix and I was thinking the same thing.  They send DVDs through the mail and they are "rigid" and I'm so sure they are not paying the higher parcel rate either.  

It is my understanding that NetFlix has a special arrangement with the USPS.  Another point is that NetFlix has a limited number of distribution centers in the country, whereas we are sending CDs to any post office.  NetFlix gets bulk handling.  We get individual handling.

I'm having a similar problem. Swapacd is charging $1.04 "letter cost" for a 2.2 ounce package (this does not include postage fee and dc). On usps.com, the "package cost" is $1.71 prior to dc.

Of course I'm using tough cardboard to protect the discs. What if the post office considers it a small package instead of a letter and returns my cd's to me? Is there any recourse? Do I still get my 2 credits for trying?

i'm going to use icberry's idea and throw an extra stamp on there since the p.o's around here also push the package cost on anything that isn't as flat as a fruit roll-up

If they get returned, you'll just have to add the extra postage and mail it again.  The package will be a bit late, but shouldn't affect your credits. 

I have also been fighting with my local post offices, and can't get anybody to even look at the letter standards and Non-Machinable criteria info I printed out from the USPS website. I did discover that the APC machines DO have this criteria programmed in and you can mail them there for the $.84 - no arguing!

I am also trying to have SwapaCd have their USPS specialist assigned to their company contact my local post offices and discuss the situation. We'll see what happens!

Rockin Robert

I have a postal scale, so I do weigh my items before buying and printing postage on this site.  However, I dropped off my mail at the post office counter yesterday and the employee decided to check my mail and told me I'd have to pay first-class package prices for my CDs!  So instead of mailing each of these for 84 cents, I paid a $1.71 each.  Her justification for this was that the package was "rigid".  (No, I did not send them in the jewel cases.  They were simply wrapped in paper.)  Anyone else encounter this?  I am thinking that from now on I will just put it in the mailbox myself to avoid the person at the counter.  I send a lot of CDs and none have been returned to me, so I don't think I'm doing it wrong (or that swap-a-cd has it wrong).

 Dont do that or else you may cause the receiver of the cd to pay the postage. Believe me I know since I pay other peoples postage pretty regularly now.

 I personally wish the USPS would eliminate the the confusion and make it 1st class mail for all them.

The United States Post Office has a new updated web site that clearly supports SwapaCD’s recommended packaging & postage plan.

PO Online shipping calculator at this link:

https://www.usps.com/

Click “Calculate a price”

If you run through this calculator for a First Class letter with a weight of 2 oz and select the button “Envelope containing a Rigid object”  you get a price of 84 cents.

The cost for a 2.5 oz calculates at $1.04.

The cost for a 3 oz CD calculates at $1.04.

I just don’t see how the Post Office can argue with their own web site.

The United States Post Office has a new updated web site that clearly supports SwapaCD’s recommended packaging & postage plan.

First Check out:  http://pe.usps.com/search/jsp/search/vv_docread.jsp?k2dockey=http%3A%2F%2Fpe.usps.com%2Ftext%2Fdmm100%2Fpostage.htm%40PE_DMM100_HTML_5&serverSpec=56.0.145.56:9920&QueryParser=Simple&querytext=nonmachinable&dtype=2#hit0

That link is to a 2009 page with out-of-date rates.

The table of rates in your post is also out-of-date.

Your right!  I should have looked more closing.  I have removed the outdated info.  Thanks.

I received a 3 CD package from a member here once, postage due. I sent a PM to the sender and never got a reply. I had always assumed the sender miscalculated postage and left me hanging but never considered a PO worker might have miscalculated. That's good to know. Also, I've always weighed and used either the first class or the media mail weight regardless of whether I mailed the CD with a bit of stiff cardboard or not. I guess I'd better look at that better next time.

I had a case where I had the exactly correct postage on a package and it was returned to me by the post office with a note demanding an additional 56 cents.  I took it to the post office and talked to the manager, who agreed that the postage I had on it originally was correct.  This is yet another in a long string of examples that illustrate how postal workers often don't know the rules very well.

When this happens, I've always gone to the post office & asked to speak to a manager.

I think I'm going to do that with the notice I got yesterday for a CD that is postage due.

I feel bad for the senders. :(

If you add too much cardboard, the CD WILL become too thick (and it certainly is with the case) to go first class w/non-machinable, and parcel will be correct.  I don't remember the thickness, but it's been close with some extra-thick booklets on top of the thin cardboard envelopes I use. 

The POs around here all got a flow chart when the new policies when into place, but getting them to look at it and notice the FIRST question was "is it no thicker than this and within these dimensions" (my envelopes are) and NOT "is it rigid" was really hard.  Rigid is the second question--sending either to unmachinable or parcel, depending on the answer to the first.    There's even a slot to test the thickness. Not sure if those are still around--one of my favorite clerks gave me one, so if I'm concerned I can check from home.  Of course, it's "slides easily" through the slot, which is open to interpertation.

Must be less than a quarter of an inch to fit through the slot.  You can make your own slot in a sheet of cardboard.  Or just eyeball it.

I paid $1.95 today for eacch CD.  My postmaster wouldn't budge.  Said it was a FC package.

anyone have updated 2012 info?  She said that the $1.05 on the website is because USPS hasn't updated it correctly since 2011????

It's the difference between a package and a letter.  A letter has to be less than 1/4 inch thick.  If it is that thin, it should be treated as a letter and have the Non-Machinable surcharge applied.

I've had this happen too.  Postal employees are not respecting the 1st class plus 20 cent nonmachinable surcharge price.  It does no good to argue, and so far I've been too lazy to write a letter of complaint.  If I have the correct stamps for the weight, and just stamp the wrapped cd and put it in my mailbox the cds get sent fine for the lower rate.  If I take the wrapped cd to the PO at least 50% of the time they insist I pay the higher rate.

Rigid items, and I would consider a cd as a rigid item, must be mailed as first class packages. The nonmachinable surchage rate does not apply.