Do not use the us post office to ship cast bullets!

[JimP.]

not worth a reply.

[Bullshop Junior]

We used to mail hundred of pounds of boolits. All in flat rate boxes. Never had a issue.

[sackot]

I have a suspicion I know what this is about. Gold and silver are dense. Most dense things aren't gold or silver, but like Nigerian scammers, they only have to strike lucky one time in a thousand.

In this light, the problem with envelopes vs boxes is that it makes it easier to manipulate and realise that the contents are dense, not just heavy.

The saddest postal loss I had: when I was in college in the UK, my mother knitted me an Aran sweater, and posted it to me. After a month of non-appearence, she was able to claim for the price of the wool only. She bought new wool, and knitted me another, then sent it by the same method. That too disappeared. By the second time, I reckon the thief knew exactly what they were getting. Thirty years on, I still have some of the sweaters she made me, and still regret those two.

[popper]

Thanks for posting, I was going to use the envelope, now I won't. Consider that the shippers are all on a deadline and use automated sorters. Anything that doesn't go through the sorter gums up the works. I suspect they got dumped so the mail would go through as promised - minus the contents. On purpose, yes. Cause they wanted your boolits? Probably not.

[w5pv]

I shipped a small amount of brass to a member recently and when he acknowledged that he had received the envelope he told me that all of the brass was but the envelope had been torn and taped back up.I had put the brass in a zip lock bag inside the bubble wrap envelope but when he received the brass the zip lock was gone.I think the postal service heard the brass rattle and felt of it and decided that it was something illegal and took a look see.

[popper]

Thanks for posting, I was going to use the envelope, now I won't. Consider that the shippers are all on a deadline and use automated sorters. Anything that doesn't go through the sorter gums up the works. I suspect they got dumped so the mail would go through as promised - minus the contents. On purpose, yes. Cause they wanted your boolits? Probably not.

[JimP.]

here's what happens to your package, when you drop it off for shipping at your PO. it gets placed in a container which travels to the processing plant. there it goes to the package sorting machine. the container is placed in a tilting dumper which is tilted to allow the packages to slide towards the belt which takes the packages up the ramp into the sorting machine. the drop from the container could be between three feet or about 4 feet. Your box/envelope must survive this drop. that is why the Priority flat rate package (best value) must be VERY securely taped up. if it will take this drop without coming open, your package most likely will survive. the package if extremely heavy will get picked up off the belt and placed in the heavy/bulky container for hand processing. remember it is the shippers responsibility to properly prepare their package for shipment. all packages have to survive this first drop onto the belt. you should see this package sorting machine, it's huge and covers a football field size area. JimP.

[JSAND]

Never had a problem with anything I have shipped, or with anything I have received from members here. I have had a lot of silver and other precious metal (lead, he..he..) shipped to my door. Usually by USPS FRB, it's just the best deal going. I've never worked for the USPS but was a sorter in the UPS hub at Louisville, KY. First, I don't see how anyone manually sorting would have time to pilfer a package. Second, I don't see how they would be able to sneek anything like a bunch of boolits out of their work station. I don't know maybe there is no comparison between the two shippers sort lanes. At UPS it would require the cooperation of several workers for someone to steal something. Can't imagine someone willing to risk a job over some cast boolits.

[Cadillo]

I once bought twelve boxes of monotype that was listed here on the site. It came in flat rate boxes that grossed at just under 70 lbs. each. I was working in the garage with my hand truck close by as the tracking info said that it was out for delivery. When the postman arrived in his little mail truck, he stopped just short of the driveway, so he began to pull forward and actually pulled the front wheels off the ground, and it took a moment for the front end to settle enough for him to decide to get out of the vehicle.

I helped him to unload and he helped me to move the boxes into the garage. He then turned around and headed back to the post office to gather up his regular mail. Seems that his boss told him to "Get the lead out and then come back in for the regular mail."

[MaryB]

Pack anything you ship to survive a 6 foot fall. I don't care who you ship it with. If using peanuts you should have to compress the flaps to tape the box up. Do not use peanuts on anything over 10 pounds. Over 10 pounds use solid foam, blocks of cardboard etc to make sure the contents absolutely cannot move. I shipped a 75 pound amateur radio amplifier a few years ago. I made custom foam blocks for it from insulation sheets glued up to the thickness needed. Then boxed it, then boxed that in another box with another inch of foam in between the two. They punctured the outer box and partially into the foam but didn't reach the inner box or inner foam packing.

Overkill? Yes but it will get there unless it is deliberately opened and stolen.

[cheetah]

Why use envelopes when boxes are free too, more durable, and less pilferable? I'll do it too, but personally I think bullet people are among the biggest abusers of flat rate. I tend to hold my complaints when I see the 100 pound mail lady struggle with my funstuff.

[myg30]

The tracking system with the usps is terrible to say the least. The first scan is when you ship it, the next scan is when its delivered. All the stops and scans between are never posted for you to see where it is and guess-ta-mate when it might get delivered. Any time of the year it just never shows up on the web. Kinda like obummer care.
UPS it scans in and out of the dang buildings. But well I guess you pay fer that too !

Sorry you lost your boolits. Maybe the thief will have a servere case of the leaded bbl. !

Mike

I ADMIT, I STAND CORRECTED. I did just receive an order from WLL by Postal service. After the first info that the order was rec at the po, a few days passed and then a post was made that it was received in TN., out for delivery, and delivered. That info was posted all on the day it was delivered to me. So the SKIPPED posted post was that it made it to TN. But anyway, I GOT IT IN GREAT SHAPE !
THEY ARE GETTING BETTER since my last use of their tracking system in Tennessee.
Maybe we are the last to get the up dated system sine we didn't support Al Gore or this other guy we stuck with now. The smaller satellite offices around here now CLOSE FOR LUNCH and have reduced hours of operation !! We being punished for something ? Hummm

Mike

[Baryngyl]

I never had a problem with USPS till this last year, I bought 2 of the moulds that let me pour 6 ingots to fit into a SFRB for shipping.

I shipped 2 boxes of lead to a member here, both shipped the same day, both showed as making it to the Spokane Wa sort facility, 1 was sent out from there the next day and the member received it on time, the other has never left the Spokane Wa sort facility, I ended up sending a replacement.

I have talked to my local P.O., she is new and young and does not know what to do, I have written the P.O. from their web site 2 or 3 times, all I ever get back is a confirmation email that they got my info and then 2 days later I get a email asking me to fill out a survey letting them know how great a job they did helping me.

I have also had one box broken open a bit and it lost part of a lead ingot where I had shipped 1 or 2 broken ingots (they had been dumped out to soon and broke) as part of the shipment and another box or 2 that got pretty squashed/mangled but managed to make it through.



Michael Grace

[Old Dawg]

I have never has a problem with USPS. Had two packages lost by UPS. Also never had problems with USPS service but then I was always polite and courteous not indignant and irate. Think that may have made a difference?

[Down South]

I just sent a member some 380 cast boolits to try out. I ship in FRB's and use plenty padding and tape when I ship heavy objects through USPS. I haven't had any problems yet. From the condition that I have received some boxes, I can calculate what the ones I ship may go through.
The heavier the box, the more damage is possible.
USPS tracking is a joke at best sometimes. I have a package going and one coming right now. One package, the one coming shows where it cleared the sort facility from the location it was shipped from with expected arrival 12/18. As of 12/20 that package had not arrived nor the tracking updated.
I shipped a package on 12/20 to one of our members. The tracking showed where I bought the shipping label on 12/19 and this morning I got notification the package was out for delivery. There was no tracking recorded in between.
So, take USPS shipping tracking with a grain of salt. Always package your shipped items bomb proof as best you can. And good luck.

[montana_charlie]

I've had some problems recently with USPS . Xmas has them actually working and they don't seem to like it.

Looking back on fifteen years of humping to meet sorting deadlines at all times of the year, I'd like to politely suggest that you stuff it where the sun don't shine.

CM

[Down South]

Looking back on fifteen years of humping to meet sorting deadlines at all times of the year, I'd like to politely suggest that you stuff it where the sun don't shine.

CM

Some USPS workers seem to appreciate their jobs while others don't. I have two PO's that I frequent in Houston. The attitude That I get from one over on 8205 Braesmain Dr is "how can we you help you sir?" The other, over on 11805 Chimney Rock Rd. attitude is "What jude want?"
I shipped out of the one over on Chimney Rock for a while and I was getting MO's back for my orders and was cashing them at same location. I would always get the same smart question, "How much it be fo?" "R's" seem to be left out in conversation. Anyway after showing the not so friendly Postal employee my ID after a number of days in a row, she finally had the audacity to say the photo on my DL didn't look like me. I polietly pulled out my Concealed Permit and showed her my photo ID on it. Seems she remembered me from then on.
I pretty much quite doing business with the Chimney Rock Bunch. Another problem I have, The lazy bunch refuse to pick up a package from where I stay. I have to deliver it to a PO. That is a royal PITA for me since I have to fight Houston Traffic to get to one. I would be so simple for them to do what they are paid to do and pick up at the same place they deliver.

[sghart3578]

Never had a problem with USPS and flat rate boxes. I live in a small town in Northern California. I get lots of heavy stuff shipped to me, lead and such. The other day I went to my local post office for the first time in many months. I was shipping some brass to a fellow caster. I was paying with my ATM card when I pulled out my driver's license for ID. She told me "No need for that, everyone here knows who you are. We get a workout from your stuff." Very friendly and funny folks. Then again we are rural, no big city attitude I suppose.

[frkelly74]

The good, the bad, and the ugly. We have it pretty good here. I routinely use the flat rate envelope doubled up with a used one inside and the Tyveck envelope inside that. If someone is going to steal something then there is no way to prevent it. But you can do pretty well in preventing something being torn open by accident with tape and immobilizing the content.