Hi, in 2012, 2013 and 2015 I posted articles on my experience shipping pens the previous year. I get many questions about pen shipping since I ship so many. I had a few questions recently so thought I’d post an end of 2019 update.
Bottom line is the United States Postal Service is awesome when it comes to handling, speed, reliability and on-time delivery. The experience at the Post Office is not always great, but better than in the past. Use online postage services like Stamps.com or the USPS’s own online postage. Online postage is cheaper too. USPS is nearly always cheaper than UPS, FedEx and other services as well. Also USPS scheduled home pickup is awesome and free.
A quick note on packing. As far as I’m concerned if an item is broken in shipping, it’s your fault as the shipper. You didn’t pack it well enough. Use PVC tubes in padded envelopes or a box for loose pens and sturdy boxes with good packing for delicate items. Wrap the pen before putting it in the PVC so it doesn't get scratched and tape the ends. Bubble wrapping a pen and putting it in an envelope is not good enough. 99.9% of packages are handled well and do not get damaged, but pack for that .1% that gets rough handling.
I shipped over 5000 packages via USPS in 2019. About 1200 went outside the USA. For the eighth year in a row I did not lose one single package shipped inside the USA. A few came back for address issues and a few were misrouted and took longer than they should have, but no lost packages in eight years shipping domestically. I had a few where the buyer said he/she didn't get it but the tracking showed it was delivered. Usually when this happens it went to a company or apartment address and no one gave it to the buyer or the spouse didn't tell the buyer he/she had a package. Also sometimes the postal carrier scans the package but doesn't leave it and it shows up a day or two later. Go figure! But usually they turn up. This is why delivery confirmation is important and it’s free if you use stamps.com, USPS online postage and some other postage services.
For mail in the USA use whatever mail class you like. First class is usually not much slower, if slower at all, than priority and about half the price. Use delivery confirmation (which actually provides full tracking and is free) and if it makes you feel better use insurance. Only use parcel post for big packages and if there is a big difference in cost, as it can be slow. Insurance is up to you based on your risk tolerance. It is very unlikely the package will get lost, but if it makes you feel better use it. Priority mail has $100.00 of free insurance in the price. The online postage services have much cheaper insurance than the USPS and their service is much better. It can take months to collect from USPS but Stamps.com, for example, pays claims in 2 weeks. If a package does get lost and you do not have tracking to prove it arrived, YOU are responsible. AGAIN, the sender/seller is always responsible until there is proof it arrived at the buyer’s address so use delivery confirmation.
International mailing is often a bit scarier for many people. Of the 1200 or so packages I sent outside the USA in 2019, I lost 12 (1%). All were lost once they left the USA. Still a pretty good record. There were also a few that seemed to be lost but eventually came back to me since they couldn't be delivered for various reasons. Returned international packages can take 4-6 months to make their way back to you. 98% of the packages I mailed international were sent first class with less than 2% sent flat rate priority or regular priority mail. First class is MUCH cheaper. The transit times vary quite a bit by country, time of year, and if Customs decides to inspect the package. Figure at least 15 days for priority mail but do not be surprised if it takes 30 days sometimes. First class is not really much slower and as it usually bypasses Customs inspection, quite often faster than priority. I ship 98% of international packages first class mail. While mail to Canada and Japan seems to always be very fast, don't assume certain other countries are faster than others. I often have mail to the UK take 30 days and mail to Brazil take 10 days one time and the opposite the next time. Don't start to worry until 30 days after shipping even for priority mail. Just because USPS treats it as priority doesn't mean other countries do, especially their Customs office. I prefer first class mail because it almost always flys under the radar of Customs so first class packages are rarely delayed. The UK is one big exception. They have a very punitive Customs tax and admin charge and seem to check every package. I ship to most all countries. The only exception is India. In 2016 and 2017 probably 50% of the packages I sent to India were lost so I stopped mailing to India. I never use Express Mail. It may be faster but it will nearly always be opened by Customs, likely delayed if there are any questions about value, taxed and it is quite expensive.
First class and flat rate priority cannot be tracked once they leave the USA in many cases. Tracking does seem to be getting better every year but many countries still do not track first class mail. Brazil is one of the few countries to track first class international mail and some countries do track flat rate priority, but not all. Regular priority is usually tracked all the way but cost twice as much. So depending on your risk tolerance insure your packages. This is another reason to use Stamps.com as they have a special service called Global Mail that has door to door tracking, $100 in free insurance and is cheaper than USPS first class mail. They will insure all packages to nearly all countries and their insurance is much cheaper than USPS insurance and collecting on it is MUCH easier than the USPS. My risk tolerance is probably high because the occasional lost package is the cost of doing business but I do usually insure international packages with a value over $200.00. Oddly I rarely lose expensive pens, it’s the $20.00 ones that get “lost”.
I also use international registered mail very occasionally for small high value packages. If using registered go with first class mail as it is much cheaper and because of how registered is handled priority is not really any faster. Registered requires special packaging so know the requirements and you will always have to go to the Post Office to register it. You cannot insure registered mail with the USPS so if you want to insure it use Stamp.com for the postage label and insurance and then take it to the Post Office for the registration. You’ll have to explain to them that you already paid the postage and all you need to pay for is registration. This always confuses them. Make sure they don’t charge you again for the postage.
I will not get into Customs tax issues but keep in mind that your buyer may be taxed and in some countries like the UK, Brazil and much of Western Europe the taxes are very high. They may ask you to put a lower value on the Customs label and it is up to you whether you want to do that. I personally have no issue with it except when using Stamps.com Global Mail the insurance is based on the value on the Customs label. Marking the item as a gift helps too. Of course if you put a lower value on the label, don’t put a higher value invoice in the package. In fact I never put an invoice in the package and it has never been a problem at all. International buyers should also know that tax is their responsibility as the importer of the item. Again, be sure to always pack very well. I pack single pens in a plastic sleeve then in a PVC tube which makes them pretty much indestructible.
I hope this info is helpful. Drop me a note if you have questions and I welcome comments that help others ship better. [email protected]. Also check out my new web site at www.speerbob.com. Cheers, Bob
Bottom line is the United States Postal Service is awesome when it comes to handling, speed, reliability and on-time delivery. The experience at the Post Office is not always great, but better than in the past. Use online postage services like Stamps.com or the USPS’s own online postage. Online postage is cheaper too. USPS is nearly always cheaper than UPS, FedEx and other services as well. Also USPS scheduled home pickup is awesome and free.
A quick note on packing. As far as I’m concerned if an item is broken in shipping, it’s your fault as the shipper. You didn’t pack it well enough. Use PVC tubes in padded envelopes or a box for loose pens and sturdy boxes with good packing for delicate items. Wrap the pen before putting it in the PVC so it doesn't get scratched and tape the ends. Bubble wrapping a pen and putting it in an envelope is not good enough. 99.9% of packages are handled well and do not get damaged, but pack for that .1% that gets rough handling.
I shipped over 5000 packages via USPS in 2019. About 1200 went outside the USA. For the eighth year in a row I did not lose one single package shipped inside the USA. A few came back for address issues and a few were misrouted and took longer than they should have, but no lost packages in eight years shipping domestically. I had a few where the buyer said he/she didn't get it but the tracking showed it was delivered. Usually when this happens it went to a company or apartment address and no one gave it to the buyer or the spouse didn't tell the buyer he/she had a package. Also sometimes the postal carrier scans the package but doesn't leave it and it shows up a day or two later. Go figure! But usually they turn up. This is why delivery confirmation is important and it’s free if you use stamps.com, USPS online postage and some other postage services.
For mail in the USA use whatever mail class you like. First class is usually not much slower, if slower at all, than priority and about half the price. Use delivery confirmation (which actually provides full tracking and is free) and if it makes you feel better use insurance. Only use parcel post for big packages and if there is a big difference in cost, as it can be slow. Insurance is up to you based on your risk tolerance. It is very unlikely the package will get lost, but if it makes you feel better use it. Priority mail has $100.00 of free insurance in the price. The online postage services have much cheaper insurance than the USPS and their service is much better. It can take months to collect from USPS but Stamps.com, for example, pays claims in 2 weeks. If a package does get lost and you do not have tracking to prove it arrived, YOU are responsible. AGAIN, the sender/seller is always responsible until there is proof it arrived at the buyer’s address so use delivery confirmation.
International mailing is often a bit scarier for many people. Of the 1200 or so packages I sent outside the USA in 2019, I lost 12 (1%). All were lost once they left the USA. Still a pretty good record. There were also a few that seemed to be lost but eventually came back to me since they couldn't be delivered for various reasons. Returned international packages can take 4-6 months to make their way back to you. 98% of the packages I mailed international were sent first class with less than 2% sent flat rate priority or regular priority mail. First class is MUCH cheaper. The transit times vary quite a bit by country, time of year, and if Customs decides to inspect the package. Figure at least 15 days for priority mail but do not be surprised if it takes 30 days sometimes. First class is not really much slower and as it usually bypasses Customs inspection, quite often faster than priority. I ship 98% of international packages first class mail. While mail to Canada and Japan seems to always be very fast, don't assume certain other countries are faster than others. I often have mail to the UK take 30 days and mail to Brazil take 10 days one time and the opposite the next time. Don't start to worry until 30 days after shipping even for priority mail. Just because USPS treats it as priority doesn't mean other countries do, especially their Customs office. I prefer first class mail because it almost always flys under the radar of Customs so first class packages are rarely delayed. The UK is one big exception. They have a very punitive Customs tax and admin charge and seem to check every package. I ship to most all countries. The only exception is India. In 2016 and 2017 probably 50% of the packages I sent to India were lost so I stopped mailing to India. I never use Express Mail. It may be faster but it will nearly always be opened by Customs, likely delayed if there are any questions about value, taxed and it is quite expensive.
First class and flat rate priority cannot be tracked once they leave the USA in many cases. Tracking does seem to be getting better every year but many countries still do not track first class mail. Brazil is one of the few countries to track first class international mail and some countries do track flat rate priority, but not all. Regular priority is usually tracked all the way but cost twice as much. So depending on your risk tolerance insure your packages. This is another reason to use Stamps.com as they have a special service called Global Mail that has door to door tracking, $100 in free insurance and is cheaper than USPS first class mail. They will insure all packages to nearly all countries and their insurance is much cheaper than USPS insurance and collecting on it is MUCH easier than the USPS. My risk tolerance is probably high because the occasional lost package is the cost of doing business but I do usually insure international packages with a value over $200.00. Oddly I rarely lose expensive pens, it’s the $20.00 ones that get “lost”.
I also use international registered mail very occasionally for small high value packages. If using registered go with first class mail as it is much cheaper and because of how registered is handled priority is not really any faster. Registered requires special packaging so know the requirements and you will always have to go to the Post Office to register it. You cannot insure registered mail with the USPS so if you want to insure it use Stamp.com for the postage label and insurance and then take it to the Post Office for the registration. You’ll have to explain to them that you already paid the postage and all you need to pay for is registration. This always confuses them. Make sure they don’t charge you again for the postage.
I will not get into Customs tax issues but keep in mind that your buyer may be taxed and in some countries like the UK, Brazil and much of Western Europe the taxes are very high. They may ask you to put a lower value on the Customs label and it is up to you whether you want to do that. I personally have no issue with it except when using Stamps.com Global Mail the insurance is based on the value on the Customs label. Marking the item as a gift helps too. Of course if you put a lower value on the label, don’t put a higher value invoice in the package. In fact I never put an invoice in the package and it has never been a problem at all. International buyers should also know that tax is their responsibility as the importer of the item. Again, be sure to always pack very well. I pack single pens in a plastic sleeve then in a PVC tube which makes them pretty much indestructible.
I hope this info is helpful. Drop me a note if you have questions and I welcome comments that help others ship better. [email protected]. Also check out my new web site at www.speerbob.com. Cheers, Bob