Praise for the Post Office

I know, I know, you have a horror story. Let me tell you mine.

I made a deal with a fellow member last Wednesday. 50lbs of ww ingots for a set of carbide pistol dies.

I mailed the ingots in a double boxed medium flat rate box and he used a small flat rate box.

I shipped mine on Thursday mid morning. He got it Saturday morning. He mailed his Saturday and I got it today, Monday. 5 days. Both packages in great shape upon arrival.

Get this. He lives east of Sacremento, Ca and I live just east of Raleigh, NC.

Wow.

I tell jokes and share candy with the ladies at the post office. I hide the cleaning ladies broom if she ain't watching. They leave me mail, packages, a slice of pie or cake or leaves in my po box. I don't know what the other fella does. Treat em right gentlemen.

It's been many years now but; I called a company late one afternoon and asked them to send me a free VHS tape of one on their products. Company was in Washington State and I'm in Eastern North Carolina, almost at the coast. Believe it or not, the tape was in my mail the next day. Honist.

I could not agree more. They are our friends and neighbors

And they make great chocolate pie.

chocolate pie?

Today I received a medium FR box of about 20 pounds from Virginia that was mailed saturday and a small flat rate box from Michigan that was mailed friday. I'm in North Central Montana, far off the beaten path, They are great people with great service in my area.

And what does the cleaning lady leave on your cake and pie when you're not looking?:kidding:

I got a MFR box from AK today that was shipped last Wed . . .

I'm sure the postal carrier will have unkind wors for me when he has to deliver the two flat rate boxes of ingots I sent out today ..... The flat rate box is the best deal in town though.
Ohio Rusty ><>

When I was working in Kuwait I had my wife mail me something Priority Mail from Maryland (through the APO). Two days later, I had it in my hands! You can't beat that!

And then, there's the Priority Mail box of clothes I sent from Korea to my granddaughter in Maryland that took a month...

They give me the raised eyebrow when I come in to ship handguns, but they sure beat the hell out of having to drive 30 minutes to an hour to the nearest UPS or Fedex facility where they charge three times the amount for slower shipping! Flat rate boxes are the best thing to ever happen to my business, haha.

Yup, but you CAN beat the 60 day turnaround for a lost postal money order.

I know the PO in times past had lousy service but recently, the last few years, I have been very pleased with the service and their rates. UPS and FedX are getting very expensive compared to PO flat rate boxes.

Ken

I have a young lady (I am 75) at my P O I call SMILIE. No matter what, Juanita always has a big :bigsmyl2: even if it is 5:59 and there are still 10 more people in line. She will always make sure your package is on the next truck out. Gotta love that smile and service.

I asked the nice post ldy the other day if they had a comment dept. She sighed and said "That would be me." I told her that I have been very impressed with their service lately. She was very happy to hear this. She said most all comments she gets are negative.

My delivery lady never balks at heavy packages. I told her she could call and I will get the or she could roll them out of her car beside the drive. She totes them the extra 20 yards to my door every time.

Almost every flat rate package has been delivered or received in two days of late!
Jay

My delivery fella can't be bothered to get out of his car. He has dropped packages in the puddle beside my mailbox more than once. Fortunately it was car parts and not computer parts, so no damage was done. It is now at the point that I just have him leave a notice and I go pick it up at the post office.

Can I borrow your delivery person to train mine?!?

Yesterday, I sent my wife to the PO to mail a small flat rate box FULL of sierra match kings.
It was taped up with clear tape, very clear. Guy at the counter tells her she cant send it because it has too much tape. I go in with a flaterate box taped about twice as thick, he gets agitated but wont tell me I cant ship it.

It is good to put your positive report on the USPS generally we only make a complaint not a complement unless it is in person. 99% of my mail goes though fine but that other 1% is a major issue.
Complaining to the post office is at best like peeing in a dark suit you get a warm feeling but nobody notices.

Ordered 2 older Gun Digests on Good Friday from a dealer in Texas. Received in rural Kentucky on Tuesday. Cost of shipping----- $4.21. The US Postal Service isn't perfect, but for the most part, they are hard to beat.

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Originally Posted by ilcop22

They give me the raised eyebrow when I come in to ship handguns, but they sure beat the hell out of having to drive 30 minutes to an hour to the nearest UPS or Fedex facility where they charge three times the amount for slower shipping! Flat rate boxes are the best thing to ever happen to my business, haha.

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I'm just a dumb ol' retired pipefitter, so what I know about the law wouldn't fill a thimble. The statement made about shipping handguns through the Postal Service, however, raised MY eyebrows. The following is copied & pasted directly from the BATF site, question number 7.
I also called the local post office and asked the PG. "No sir, we do not allow the shipping of handguns."
I dunno, I'm just posting what I found and repeating what I was told.
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Q: May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U.S. Postal Service?

A nonlicensee may not transfer a firearm to a non-licensed resident of another State. A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. The Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms. Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

[18 U.S.C. 1715, 922(a)(3), 922(a)(5) and 922 (a)(2)(A)]

Thats for a nonlicensee, an ffl can ship a handgun but it is kind of a pain.

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Originally Posted by 82nd airborne

Thats for a nonlicensee, an ffl can ship a handgun but it is kind of a pain.

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Yeah, none of the ffl's around here want to bother with it . . .

I stand corrected. I found the following on the BATF site. You ain't kiddin' about it bein' a pain. Notice the part in bold below. Do I interpret that to mean the addressee may not sell the handgun, but must keep it for his own personal property?

Q: Who may ship handguns through the U.S. Postal Service?

Federal firearm licensees may send an unloaded handgun in the mail to another FFL in customary trade shipments. Handguns also may be mailed to any officer, employee, agent, or watchman who is eligible under 18 U.S.C. 1715 to receive pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person for use in connection with his or her official duties.

However, postal service regulations must be followed. Any person proposing to mail a handgun must file with the postmaster, at the time of mailing, an affidavit signed by the addressee stating that the addressee is qualified to receive the firearm, and the affidavit must bear a certificate stating that the firearm is for the official use of the addressee. See the current Postal Manual for details.

Despite complaints, which I share at times, we have the best postal service in the world. I have numerous family members who have lived overseas in the past and theft is the biggest issue. Whatever you can say about our postal service they are honest.

I don't know what it is with getting stuff in the mail lately. Recently my wife ordered shoes, and I ordered a Lyman pot, RCBS dipper, two Lee molds and two sizers. My ordered was mailed on Mon., got it on wednesday. I think that was UPS, but still fast.

exile

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Originally Posted by 123.DieselBenz

Yeah, but . . . why does one need a ffl to ship a hand gun with them? Seem silly that I can ship a long gun with them, and a hand gun for $98 UPS or FedEx . . . but they won't let me use their service!:(

This means that the buyer has to (or should) figure in the total cost of the gun (including shipping and ffl) which UPS is taking almost $100 . . . I could get $80 more of the sale price if UPS wasn't so greedy, OR USPS would allow unlicensed people to use their service! :Fire:

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That is just one of the ways the Government uses for gun control.They do not what to make it easy or cheap. The honest man has to pay dearly.

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Originally Posted by exile

Despite complaints, which I share at times, we have the best postal service in the world. I have numerous family members who have lived overseas in the past and theft is the biggest issue. Whatever you can say about our postal service they are honest.

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not around here, you better have your stuff insured. so many packages end up "missing" you can track them with the tracking number, then when they reach near this area no more scans.

and good luck getting paid for the insurance you bought, unless you have a "cash register receipt" not an online print out.

Jim,

I understand "official use of the addressee. " would being that they have a ffl, they are "officially" in the business of selling or transferring ownership of firearms . . .

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300,

Yeah it is hard to not just stick it in a flat rate and send it off . . . but I try my best to follow the laws I know about . . .

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Originally Posted by troy_mclure

.....and good luck getting paid for the insurance you bought, unless you have a "cash register receipt" not an online print out.

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When I ship, I always ask the other party to let me know when they receive the package. And I always keep all documentation from the PO until the other party lets me know they have received the package.

i always use insurance, and delivery confirmation, even tho the delivery conformation rarely ever shows delivered, and i have been screwed 2x on the insurance.

The FFL that receives my firearm purchases is in the next town about 8 miles away. Recently I needed to send a handgun to a smith in another state. I took it to the FFL along with the form (1508) which states:"To the best of my knowledge and belief, the addresses are manufacturers of firearms or bona fide dealers therein." I had already filled out everything except the FFL's signature.

He called the local post office and they told him they would get back to him since they had never shipped a handgun before. Since I wasn't in a hurry, I told the FFL that I would be back the next day. The next day they had not returned his call so he called again. They gave him the same song and dance as before.

I asked if he would fill out a copy of his FFL and sign the form 1508 and let me take it back to my local post office. He agreed and off I went. The lady postmaster(mistress?) looked everything over, checked her regulations, and accepted the package. Took all of 15 min.

Quite a contrast between two post offices in adjacent towns.

John
W.TN

Trying to watch the USPS tracking # is a joke. It takes till the parcel is at my PO before it changes from "the post office has been notified" ets. This can be from 2 to 5 days.

The Daughter of our Post Master is in our Daughter's class at school and it is a pleasure to catch up with her when the line isn't too long at the P.O. The carriers are all private contractors in our little town, and service varies considerably when the regular fellow misses a day at work. He is patient, and considerate when it comes to all the heavy packages that manage to wind up at my address. If he needs assistance, he honks; if I am not here to help, he makes sure they are in the chest on the front porch out of sight and protected from the weather. He usually finds a bottle of KY's finest Bourbon, a gift card to restaurants, or new fishing tackle in the box addressed to him throughout the year. A fine old gent and Former Marine. Doesn't have any interest in shooting, but appreciates my passion for the Garands and M1A/M14s.
Flat Rate boxes are truly the best deal in shipping these days, but I have been known to use quite a bit of tape to reinforce them.
Got-R-Did

Got-R-Did, you sure you don't live here in Floyd? What you describe sounds just like my little town.

So a month and a half ago, I mailed a certified letter, return receipt, to California. And I mailed a copy of the same letter first class mail.

The first class letter got there a month later. The certified mail letter never, no return receipt and it was never scanned a single time in the USPS system. No explanation.

So, did you get your postage back on the Certified, Return Receipt requsted letter?
PO lost one of mine 2 years ago, and I got a refund of the postage and fees.

Yep. And a blank look from the post master regarding why it was never scanned from the moment it was put into his post office's hands.

One time I did a mailing of over 500 pieces and mailed one to myself so I would know when to start contacting people. All were first class. About a week later I got mine in the mail. Lets see 7 days to get a letter to travel less than ONE mile. Go figure.

Jim, It could be the last name that keeps us in good stead with the delivery guy!
:drinks: