How do I ship?

[MAXPOWER419]

I would like to get a tracking number so when i send my knives out i can give it to the buyer . However when i go to the post office they tell me it is like an extra 20 bucks to do that? What shipping method can i use and get a tracking number?

Thanks
-Ryan

 

[DaveH]

Delivery confirmation costs $2 on top of priority postage, or you can give them the insurance #, which you'd have anyway. Remember anything insured for less then $200 does not require a signature on delivery any more. There's no "tracking" available.

If you're paying $20, that's the overnight service, I'm not even sure they can give you an actually tracking number with that even.

 

[MAXPOWER419]

Excelent, thank you for the quick response

 

[CaptInsano]

WTF? Just send it Priority Mail. Delivery confirmation is like $1.50 or so.

 

[jthomas]

WTF? Just send it Priority Mail. Delivery confirmation is like $1.50 or so.

What do you mean WTF? He politely asked for a way to ship that would allow him to give a tracking number to the buyer.

MP419, in my experience with the postal service, even when they give you a tracking number, you cannot look up any 'progress' on the item, with the exception that it will show when it is delivered. If you ship UPS you can follow the package as it travels from hub to hub. The majority of the knives I have purchased have come priority, and I have yet to have a problem with it.

 

[KeithAM]

That's right. The USPS number is not a true, real time tracking number at all. Rather, it's a "confirmation" number (even though the website mentions the word "tracking" along with conformation). The USPS is pretty inconsistent about what it posts about a package and when. I've had packages that the USPS did not acknowledge existed until after they were delivered. That said, I also have yet to have a problem with USPS Priority mail.

UPS has a true tracking system. It once showed me a package being delivered to the wrong city, then sent to right one.

 

[CaptInsano]

What do you mean WTF? He politely asked for a way to ship that would allow him to give a tracking number to the buyer.
it.

That was directed toward the postal worker who told him it would cost $20.

 

[Cougar Allen]

 

[jthomas]

That was directed toward the postal worker who told him it would cost $20.

Oh, well in that case a good old fashioned WTF was called for, sorry for taking it out of context.

 

[Parker]

Send it via fed-ex, best tracking period. USPS postal is not tracking as noted, just a "confirmation" which will take up to 30 days to update. Use Fed-ex ground for a knife and it should stay under $12 for you.

 

[steelnut]

I have been useing Priority with the added confirmation.
When you go to USPS.com you can get email updates sent to you tracking progress.
For just a couple bucks on top of Priority it is way worth the peace of mind.
It is cool to get an email saying what time someone signed for the package,
and see that it was just a couple hours ago!!
The insurance tracking number does not work at the website, you only get to use that if there is a insurance claim.

Fedex is delivering a lot of US mail packages

 

[Dan Barnes]

IMHO, the best deal for sending packages within the USA is USPS Priority Mail with Signature Confirmation - costs $2.10 in addition to the Priorty Mail fee, gives you a tracking number (not "real time" tracking, but sufficient for most purposes), and guarantees that the package will wind up in somebody's hands, not just sitting on a doorstep.

UPS ground with "signature required" gives more detailed tracking but, for knives anyway, costs more and takes longer.

Fedex has done very poorly for me. In the past six years they've lost 2 out of 4 packages they were suppose to deliver to me and almost returned a third to its overseas sender because of "insufficent address". When I picked it up at the depot, not only was my full address clearly, legibly, and accurately written on the label, my phone number was there as well! Talk about WTFs!

 

[MAXPOWER419]

Thanks for the input, ya WTF was my reaction too, but the post office i send out of is in a quaint little town of like 135 people, so they can be kinda weird. I have been using USPS with deliv. confirm and Insurance, i just wasnt sure if there was something else. I would use fed ex but then i have to factor that much more into the price.

Thank you guys for the responses.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

I wonder if international is different. Every time I get a shipment sent Express Post from the US I have been able to track its every stop along the way. This includes being informed that it is in Customs, and when it is out for delivery.