First USPS Shop

Hey all! I'm doing my first USPS shop (regular) today or tomorrow, depending on how my schedule works out. Any tips/advice you'd be willing to offer? It looks fairly straightforward, but sometimes it can be deceiving. Thanks in advance! smiling smiley

Shopping central Arizona.

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I haven't done any yet but I have a question.
How far away do you have to mail the packages?
I would love to send stuff to my son at college, but it is only on the other side of the state. One, maybe 2 postal zones at the most.
If it's a Haz Mat shop it must go to a zone that is at least zone 5 from your location. If your doing a regular box, any zone over "0" is good. Mailing to other side of your state should be fine.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain
The one I'm doing I can send anywhere in the US (as long as it's not Zone 0 or in the same city/zip code that I'm shipping from). However, I've seen others require you to ship to a certain Zone, so you'd really just have to read the guidelines of the shop prior to applying to see what would work for you.

Shopping central Arizona.
Double check and triple check your instructions. This new company is good at trying to get out of paying you for the shop. So far we're batting four for four with them and no, I'm not screwing up every shop I do.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain
Make sure you look to see if the flag is flying and whether or not the zip code is posted on the door or in the entranceway somewhere (the zipcodes are supposed to match, but there is sometimes no address/zip code on the building). And don't forget those timings!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Cettie - Can I ask what they're saying you're doing/not doing?

Shopping central Arizona.
They tried saying the package didn't go far enough away although it ended up a zone 7, I thought 7 was farther than a 5 but not according to them (yes I checked the charts), another time they also said the package was a pound too heavy and they couldn't reimburse it. I said whatever the reimbursed amount was is good with me, (I send "cheering up gifts" to people so I saw it as a discount on whatever it cost me) Nope, they said a pound over and not paid for the shop, another kind of shop altogether was to see if a business had a certain kind of product, I went tot he location and found that it was not a store at all but was a warehouse and offices for a business downtown. Nope, not paid for that either because they insisted that it was a retail store despite my numerous covert photos proving it wasn't a store and yes I was at the correct address.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain
If you were doing a DimWt scenario and it was a pound over, that would mean that it weighed over 5 pounds and DimWt rules do not apply. I have shipped packages (Reg and HazMat) weighing over 2 pounds and have always received partial reimbursement (the reimbursement being what a 1 lb 15 oz package would have cost). I have not had any problems with the current MSC. Could be that I am living a charmed life. I did 52 shops in January and got paid for all of them. Only found and did 19 in February and got paid for them. Alas, I could only find 5 to do in March, I am looking forward to the new quarter starting on April 1st.
@Cettie wrote:

They tried saying the package didn't go far enough away although it ended up a zone 7, I thought 7 was farther than a 5 but not according to them (yes I checked the charts), another time they also said the package was a pound too heavy and they couldn't reimburse it. I said whatever the reimbursed amount was is good with me, (I send "cheering up gifts" to people so I saw it as a discount on whatever it cost me) Nope, they said a pound over and not paid for the shop, another kind of shop altogether was to see if a business had a certain kind of product, I went tot he location and found that it was not a store at all but was a warehouse and offices for a business downtown. Nope, not paid for that either because they insisted that it was a retail store despite my numerous covert photos proving it wasn't a store and yes I was at the correct address.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
I don't do DimWit shops, can't front that much money for those. Some of mine were Hazmat and other shops were a totally different kind not at that client at all.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain
I'd say don't forget the flag ( it's the one I always seemed to forget when I started). Watch out for the zip codes on the buildings, around here some old post offices have permanently fixed zipcodes on the buildings that are outdated. Besides that follow the guidelines. Good Luck!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2016 10:44PM by wwin.
Well I did it on my way home from work. Seemed fairly easy overall. I eyed the flag immediately as I entered the parking lot. And despite walking around the entire perimeter of the customer side of the building, there was no zip code present anywhere on the building. Oy! Lol

Shopping central Arizona.
Many locations don't have zip codes on them. It has not been a problem on the reports.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2016 03:37AM by wwin.
The zip code is sometimes on the glass window or the glass door. I have never had an issue with the zip code on the building. As long as the correct zip code is on the receipt, I am happy.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
How long does it typically take the MSC to review these shops? I completed it last Monday (3/21) and it still shows as "Pending Validation". Is this normal based on your experiences? Thanks! smiling smiley

Shopping central Arizona.
Sometimes a few days sometimes a few weeks, which is nerve racking when its dem wt jobs. I think on average about a week and a half.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2016 02:19PM by wwin.
@wwin wrote:

Sometimes a few days sometimes a few weeks, which is nerve racking when its dem wt jobs. I think on average about a week and a half.

I sometimes wonder if the delay is by design to move our shop from one pay period to the next and extending 'their' pay window by 30 days....

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."
I got paid on March 15th for all shops done in February. The date that I complete the shop seems to determine when I get paid for it, regardless of how long it takes to be reviewed. I never even bother looking. I just do them and submit them. If they have a question, they contact me. The only questions I can recall in recent months have been about a blurry receipt (they were right) and the wrong receipt (they were right).

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
@myst4au wrote:

I got paid on March 15th for all shops done in February. The date that I complete the shop seems to determine when I get paid for it, regardless of how long it takes to be reviewed. I never even bother looking. I just do them and submit them. If they have a question, they contact me. The only questions I can recall in recent months have been about a blurry receipt (they were right) and the wrong receipt (they were right).

Myst4au,

My experience has been different from yours. Only my shops that are marked 'ok for pay' when the pay period ends have made it into the current pay cycle. I have had multiple shops that were completed within the correct timeframe, but not reviewed and marked 'ok for pay' by the statement date and were not included in the current pay period.

I guess YMMV....

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."
The pay period is through the 7th of the month with payment on the 15th if I remember right. The Month before last I had about 6 shops that weren't Ready for Pay on the 7th and went on the next pay cycle, last month a bunch were reviewed the last day and made it on that month pay no problem.

Fixed it - pay period ends 7th of the month

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2016 11:21PM by wwin.
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