... I could consider Scenario C.

Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks bunches!

I typically use either:
15x12x10
14x14x14
... depending on what is in stock at my local store.

Okay.

What about Regular Box A?

Thanks again!

Any size where the dimensions are all usually under 12 inches. So....

6x6x6

11x10x4

2x2x2

5x4x11

.... etc.

Thank you!

I feel much better about the shop now.

No problem. I've done over 40 of these, so I've gotten used to it.

On the Scenario C be advised your initial outlay may be $40 give or take. You are mailing an item up to 5 lbs, including the box and packing, to the opposite coast of wherever you are. They charge by size and weight, thus the cost to mail is usually over $35.
There have been numerous threads, and wonderful tips, on the 'dim wit' shops here on the forum.

Edited to add: okay not coast to coast, but darn near. My scheduler said it has to go at least 4 zones away, far enough away that it has to go by air, not ground, so for me across the country.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2015 12:11AM by eveb.

My scheduler had me send a box to Georgia; I'm in New York. That's the same (Atlantic) coast.

I will search the threads and find out if I can use a good-condition box that I have, etc.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I will search the threads and find out if I can use a good-condition box that I have, etc.

Most likely, no, you have to use one of the four sizes that the company indicates. You cannot use ANY box that is greater than 12 inches on one side. For the A scenario, yes, for the C scenario, no.

@eodermatt wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I will search the threads and find out if I can use a good-condition box that I have, etc.

Most likely, no, you have to use one of the four sizes that the company indicates. You cannot use ANY box that is greater than 12 inches on one side. For the A scenario, yes, for the C scenario, no.

Also you may want a new box with receipt to prove you actually used one of the listed box sizes per the guidelines, in case there's a question. I found them at my local Walmart for $1 or so.

@eveb wrote:

@eodermatt wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I will search the threads and find out if I can use a good-condition box that I have, etc.

Most likely, no, you have to use one of the four sizes that the company indicates. You cannot use ANY box that is greater than 12 inches on one side. For the A scenario, yes, for the C scenario, no.

Also you may want a new box with receipt to prove you actually used one of the listed box sizes per the guidelines, in case there's a question. I found them at my local Walmart for $1 or so.

At least you have a Walmart :-(

For Scenario C, you have to buy a new box for each shipment, and include the receipt showing the size of the box. Since the size of the box is so critical to triggering the Dim Weight charge, they have to be as certain as possible that you used a correctly sized box. The shipping address will be one which is in Zone 5 or 6 for you. It will not be one coast to another, because that is Zone 8 and even more expensive. I ship from southern NJ, southeastern PA, and northern DE and the required food bank is always in Florida. I now order 15 x 12 x 10 boxes in packages of 25 from Staples. That is the smallest by volume of the 4 acceptable boxes. It costs $24.95 to ship that box if they do it correctly (meaning that they measure it and input the dimensions correctly). The larger (by volume) boxes cost upwards of $35 to ship. I used to use 14 x 14 x 14 boxes from Staples, but they stopped stocking them in the stores, and they were hard or impossible to find in many of my local Walmarts. It was not worth the effort to scramble to find a box. Now, UPS delivers them or I have them shipped for pickup at my local Staples once every few months. I do have to invest $25 (I wait until there is a sale or a discount), but it is painless. If you do buy a box at Walmart, the size is not on the receipt. So I would suggest putting the receipt next to the portion of the box which shows the size, and submitting that photo as the receipt. I never got questioned when I did that. In the last few months, 100% have measured the boxes and charged correctly. A year ago, maybe 25% didn't measure the box and I got charged only by weight (which is much less expensive). Either way, you get paid for reporting what happened. Sometimes they don't measure the box correctly and you get charged even more due to an apparent larger size. I note that in the report, and have never had a problem with the report or with getting reimbursed for the full amount.

Edited to replace "paid more" with "you get charged even more due to an apparent larger size." I apologize for the confusion I created.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2015 02:26AM by myst4au.

myst4au, how do you get paid more if they don't measure the sides of the box? I've been doing these dim weight shops and get paid the same shop fee regardless if they measure the sides or not. In my experience the only thing that changes is the reimbursement amount.

Nataliekorn,

Myst4au I think is referring to getting more than the listed $34.65 reimbursement for the shipping charge. When I used 14x14x14" boxes and the clerk measured it as say 15x15x14 the shipping charge was more than $34.65. Still I would get the full reimbursement. All I had to do to be sure was to documented it in the narrative.

I am better suited to dementia shops myself.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

... I could consider Scenario C.

Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks bunches!

Darn, it must be getting late. I thought that last one referred to shopping oneself for signs of dementia.

LOL!

I did well on my first USPS shop, Scenario B.

I have an opportunity to do other scenarios this week but have no experience with them. I appreciate all the feedback from you. It gives me some confidence .

I've been thinking about ordering some Priority Mail #7 and #4 boxes from the USPS website, for Scenario A. They are free, but take a while to arrive, and you have to order in a 10 or 25 pack, last I checked.

If I decide to do Scenario C in quantity, I'd look at Uline (though I wish they had a location close enough to pick up from).

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Kimbesa,

Using Priority Mail boxes for USPS shops is prohibited. The clerk is supposed to offer you Express and Priority. If they see a Priority box (or Priority tape or stickers left over from the last use) they will automatically assume you want to send your box Priority and defeat the purpose of that part of the shop. Use of such boxes risks shop rejection and maybe even deactivation.

I usually reuse boxes that come to me, either from Post Office buddies or from things that get shipped to me. If I have to buy for scenario A, I see plenty of acceptable boxes in numerous places like Walmart, or discount stores. For Scenario "C" boxes, Staples.com recently had several of the required sizes in bulk (25 per bundle) and will ship to you.

Good luck.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2015 02:23PM by vlade5394.

14 x 14 x 14 @ WalMart for .67 each. I've done almost 300 USPS assignments in the past 16 months and I do as many of the Scenario C's as possible.

Why is it whenever I see dim weight my mind reads it as dim wit?

Because you have to be a dim wit to do that shop?

@bgriffin wrote:

Because you have to be a dim wit to do that shop?

Hah.

I found a $.67 box and approprate items on hand which fit on my postal scale.

I like the bonus.

Now, someone should assign this shop to me.

Nope. No reflection on the shops at all since I haven't and won't try one. And the only reason I won't is I abhor packaging and shipping anything.

That's why I like the B shops. You use the packaging there. I just take some magazines in, throw them in a bubble envelope, write an address on it (mine or my parents', depending) and off I go.

So grateful for this thread. Had this question in my mind. It's the dementia or "dim wit" in me! But plan to do it now. I am always for sending food to the needy!

Didn't we have this discussion a while back when the OP titled or used dim sum instead?

@LisaSTL wrote:

Why is it whenever I see dim weight my mind reads it as dim wit?

The existing editors are very lenient on these shops. I am going to miss them! Has it been stated that the new MSC will have the same scenarios and report?

Considering the old MSC was just a sub contractor for the new MSC I can't imagine they would change?