I love sending and receiving mail. Finding something other than bills, credit card offers and fast food delivery menus in my mailbox is pretty much the highlight of my everything. However, actually stepping foot in a post office sends chills up my spine and my blood pressure sky rockets. On the best of days it is a total shit show…on the worst? I just can’t… So, over the years I have made sure to find ways to do all of my amazing postal-ness without having to set foot in the building. And I’ve gotten pretty good if I do say so myself.
- Did you know you can order stamps online? Yep. www.usps.com is the best. For $1 shipping you can order as many stamps as you would like and they have a fabulous selection – like everything they are currently offering – far better than any walk in post office which seems to (as a general sweeping statement) only have flag stamps. And no one needs more flag stamps. Delivery usually takes about a week.
- Did you know you can print postage at home and hand your package off to your regular mailman? There are several companies out there which offer this service, but I prefer to rock the USPS website once again. They throw in free tracking for doing it online and there is another discount tucked in there somewhere – I often save between $2 and $3 per package I ship online vs. a face to face interaction. You can also request pickup, but I just hand mine over to my regular mail guy when he delivers on his usual route. If your package is under 13 ounces, you can also drop it in one of those blue boxes on the street. The USPS site is set up for shipping mainly priority and express (that’s kinda their jam), so if you need to ship first class, parcel or media mail? Head over to paypal.
- Yep. You can ship via paypal. On the left hand side of your main account screen there is “multi-order shipping.” Launch that in a new window and you have access to all of the postal speed options.
- Have a kitchen scale? That means you also have a postal scale. Weigh that package!
- Now….are you aware of flat rate boxes? These little cardboard beauties are amazing. And FREE! You can a) pick them up at your local post office or b) order them on usps.com and have them delivered to your door. Absolutely free. I have found that sooo many people are in the dark about these things. In a nutshell: if it fits, it ships. The box can weigh up to 70 pounds if being sent domestically and 20 if heading international. There are small ($5.25), medium ($11.30) and large ($15.80) – prices are commercial base because you are doing this online; a little more in person. Want to ship a ton of heavy things? Throw them in a flat rate box and forget it!
- Sending things overseas? Both usps.com and paypal automatically print the customs declarations for you.
Now. Go forth and ship all the things without the stress or inevitable press conference associated with going postal at the post office.
annie.crafty.pants 