<p>I have never had a problem with flat rate boxes.</p>
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<p>I use it all of the time. Even if you don’t want to stand in line for a live person, you can use the automated service at the post office (debit/credit card) and the tracking number is on your receipt .</p>
<p>I don’t understand why you would mail personal stuff through company mailroom as many companies frown upon it. My former and current employer both have policies against using the company mailroom/service for personal mail.</p>
<p>When buying things, there’s no problem because the merchant is responsible for getting it to me and they always use tracking numbers. When I sell things, I always go with UPS because they track and insure. I haven’t had to ship anything internationally before but I have bought stuff that got lost in customs - it’s a complete black hole.</p>
<p>So spend a bit more and get the tracking number and you and the recipient can watch its progress.</p>
<p>I called the postal service and after saying “agent” about 25 times, I finally got out of voice mail to a very nice agent. She said it is very hard to track a package without a tracking number but that she will open a case file. A real person should contact me within one business day. I gave her the originating post office and the end address. They said they can contact the post offices and the destinations along the way. It was sent from the Main LA PO downtown, so I am worried that it could have gotten lost in a huge facility. But we can hope. </p>
<p>By the way, I have checked with mail rooms on both ends. Mail room says it was mailed a week ago Monday. College post office says they don’t have it (he has picked up other packages in meantime) </p>
<p>Again, the take home is don’t put in important documents without a tracking number!!</p>
<p>When I mail legal documents or other important stuff, I either pay for delivery confirmation (it is still cheaper than the other guys!) or send them in a flat rate express envelope. Never had an issue with boxes.</p>
<p>FYI - USPS has a special rate for printed materials. I hauled a bunch of books to the PO @ D’s college town, and the nice lady working there told me to package all books separately from the other junk, so I would pay much less for shipping. It saved me a whole bundle - books are heavy!</p>
<p>I love the flat rate boxes and have had no trouble. But I have $ saving news! I just learned about REGIONAL flat rate boxes. It seems few post offices have a lot of them. Basically they are the same sizes as the flat rate boxes…but they ship at half the price because they only ship so far from the originating post office.
We ship heavy catalogs a lot, and I can now ship out of the SF bay area to anywhere in Northern California ( maybe even LA?) for half the price! Love it!
I did go on line and order the boxes…free delivery to your door. Just a happy FYI.</p>
<p>Add me to the choir of happy Fixed Rate Priority Mailing boxes with the postal service. Like others, I pay for tracking if it’s something valuable. For a regular care package, I do NOT do so. I’ve also used these to ship internationally (there is a 20 pound weight limit) and so far (knock on wood) only ONE has not gotten to its destination.</p>
<p>Seventy cents is a bargain…and you can actually track online. If you REALLY want info, you can also insure, and pay for a return receipt.</p>
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<p>Yes…there is “book rate” but this is one I would NEVER use again. The books are sent by slow boat. If you want the books to arrive in a timely fashion of any type do NOT use book rate. One of my kids mistakenly did so when ordering used texts online. The quarter was almost over when her books finally arrived…took NINE weeks to ship across the country.</p>
<p>L.A. Parent…did I miss something? I thought your package was a care package for your son with goodies in it…not important documents. I don’t think I would go through the trouble of trying to find a lost package of COOKIES. It would be easier to call Harry and David and have some sent overnight.</p>
<p>I have had several problems with USPS, both with shipping and mail stop. I now stick to Fedex and track the progress. I also set it to email me and DS when the package arrives.</p>
<p>USPS’s tracking is not real time. It is slow and often virtually non-existent. My older s decided to send his expensive racing bike, helmet, shoes, etc by USPS. He asked me to send it parcel post, but I also paid for $900 in insurance and some additional tracking. For almost a MONTH is showed as having never left the PO, and the employees were not very helpful. It was finally delivered but until it was OUT FOR DELIVERY the website was never updated. Not fun. And they were starting to give me hassles for what I’d need to file a claim against the insurance I paid for.</p>
<p>I recently had my mail held (well it was supposed to be held). They delivered it for all the days I had registered it to be held (my neighbor picked it up) and then HELD it the day it was supposd to be delivered (though when I called they claimed, at 6:30 pm, that they were possibly still delivering the mail. Um. NO.) No wonder they are going out of business.</p>
<p>Anyone want to get into experiences using the US post office and trying to get something sent to, say Taiwan? </p>
<p>I have a lady at the local post office who has become a friend as I have mailed care packages at that post office since my son started to go off to summer camp out of state back in 1995. Then it was out of state college. Then it was out of the country to Taiwan.</p>
<p>She was very blunt–send it the least expensive way to Taiwan using the post office and it is a gamble if and when it might get there. I did not follow her advice THE FIRST time and it never arrived. I paid the higher rate the next time and --shazaam-- it got there in 5 business days.</p>
<p>@ thumper–it was a care package of cookies, beef jerky etc, but at the last minute my son’s new drivers license came in the mail and I thought that I would just stick it in with the care package since I didn’t think it would get lost. It was stupid and thoughtless (I originally intended to fed ex it to him overnight), but one of those moments when I thought I could get two things done at once. Now, his license will expire before he comes home and so he needs this new license for airport security. Hence, why I am so frantic. Believe me, I have already beat myself up for the thoughtlessness, but it was just one of those last minute rushes and I grabbed the license and threw it in the box. I had never had a problem before and somehow assumed a box is less likely to get lost than a letter (in all fairness, the DMV mailed us the license regular mail and it arrived). In talking to the DMV, he has to go in person to get a replacement. Since he is out of state, they can probably give him something temporarily to get home, but then he has to spend his limited time at home waiting at the DMV (he is only home for a short time next month and then going to study abroad). </p>
<p>I just went through sending him his expired passport (by overnight fed ex) so that he could renew. Didn’t expect the license drama. </p>
<p>I am glad so many people haven’t had any problems. I hadn’t either before…hence my warning to people. Maybe I was overly harsh in my title for the thread. I was just really frustrated and venting and wanted to let people know to prevent a bonehead move like mine.</p>
<p>OP - Don’t beat yourself up too much over this. As you said, you haven’t had problems with flat rate pkgs before and many posters, including me, also haven’t had any problems so you had every expectation that it should have been okay. But your cautionary warning is noted.</p>
<p>Maybe it still will be and it’ll show up or tomorrow.</p>
<p>Only thing that I ever had lost was Fedex. they believe it was stolen from a truck. My mom worked in USPS for 37 years, so she found this hilarious.</p>
<p>I used to send and receive quite a few USPS boxes. The flat boxes are not a bad deal for their small formats, but are not that competitive for the medium and large boxes. I do not quite get how people find that a 12x12x12 for 14.65 is such a good deal. I can get about 30 lbs between California to Texas via Fedex ground for around 15.00. Try that with the good old USPS! </p>
<p>As far as tracking, unless they found a way to improve the system, I recall plenty of tracking being nothing else than in transit until the bozo in charge might drop the package in front of the building or at the door without worrying about getting a signature. This practice is not that different from the UPS, a company I profoundly despise for its poor service. It seems they believe in three days weeks. When I get orders using my Amazon Prime, the only company that delays orders and is irresponsible is the Big Brown one. Given the choice, I never would use them. I gladly drive a couple of miles past one UPS store to avoid them for shipments. All in all, nothing comes close to the pricing and ease of use of FedEx, especially for larger packages and for a tracking system that is not a complete joke a la “picked up-intransit-delivered without signature.”</p>
<p>To each his own, but the USPS deserves to put out its misery. A “company” that cannot help itself not lose money and operate as a pure welfare agency. </p>
<p>xiggi, when Fedex and UPS start delivering mail to rural communities, then the USPS will not be necessary. As it is now Fedex will only deliver every 3 days to my old hometown, and a letter would cost quite a bit more from these private companies. If it was profitable the government wouldn’t need to subsidize it.</p>