Saturday, April 16, 2011

Shipping

I have used the U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail system for shipping ScopeRoller products for several years now.  The major reason that I switched from UPS, a private sector company, is that I needed a way to calculate shipping costs on the website.  UPS did not make this easy, and finally, I decided to use Priority Mail because they had a flat rate box.  I could fill up their flat rate box with just about anything lead weights and I would know exactly what it would cost to ship anywhere in the U.S.

Eventually, this expanded to an international flat rate Priority Mail service, and then they added a small box (too small for my product to fit) and a large box (useful for the very large caster sets that I build).  Again: having a guaranteed maximum price really simplified calculation.  If a customer is nearby, sometimes the shipping comes in a bit less than the flat rate price.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had switched from 5" diameter to 3" diameter casters, and this had several positive effects.  Yet another pleasant discovery was that I can now use the Postal Service's Regional Rate A box for shipping most of ScopeRoller's products--and instead of $10.50 for shipping, it is even cheaper! 

It also is a nice tight fit.  I recycle grocery shopping bags for packing material, and nothing is loose inside the box now.

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