Post Office Buddies?

I've never got asked for clarification on magazines. They're yours to keep or toss. I've maybe been asked 4 or 5 times in the past 8 years for clarification on something. If you go to their website, somewhere on the first page is a list of zip codes that they currently cover. If your zip isn't listed, you may have a good chance, just guessing about that though.

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More About Post Office/Shipping

I just send my packages to my sister. I live with her so the packages are actually coming to me anyway. Works fine. But there are some great ideas in here that I may try too. Thanks!!

toyhorse Wrote:
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> I just send my packages to my sister. I live with
> her so the packages are actually coming to me
> anyway. Works fine. But there are some great ideas
> in here that I may try too. Thanks!!

Do you use a differnt zip code for the return address then?

@Iblessyah Can you send me cookies, like Snickerdoodles and such?

Can I please send someone something. I have several ready post shops coming up soon. Please!

I do alot of Internet shopping. Sometimes things don't fit properly and I have to return the items I then use the post office shops for that. My daughter lives in another state and I am always mailing her packages. However, the zone she lives in, I don't get complete reimbursement and it winds up costing me some money.

I would LOVE to be PO buddies with one of you -- I have all kinds of interesting stuff I could send to you!! Please PM me your address and expect a package from me....I have several to do tomorrow, so please PM me ASAP! FYI, I live in the Chicago area so I need someone in a separate zone. Thanks!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2012 01:55AM by SusieAD.

What are the MS companies that have the PO jobs?

Post office buddies - a great idea. You could ship newspapers or magazines that aren't really valuable except to pass on during the next shop.

I would love to do this and I'm in Rhode Island - that's 02903 for those using the USPS page to calculate which zone I would be in. Zones 1 through 4 get full reimbursement.

If you are interested PM me.

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut

If anybody needs a Canadian address, I love to get mail!
I wear XL t-shirts and I love cats

)

Does anybody know if there's an MSC that does Canada Post?
Alberta Shopper

" I think there's a nap for that."

One pound box of dog bisquits to the animal shelter and mags and slightly used books to the local library(different zip code).

For my last PO shop I returned a pair of shoes that I had bought online and that didn't fit. They didn't weigh enough, though, so I threw in a bag of dried beans. I've been wondering what the person thought who opened that return.

NDC - National Distribution Code. It refers to the first 3 numbers of your zip. That's a central distribution area where all the mail in that zone goes to get sorted for the flights or semi-trucks. Because I live in a zone that has a lot of rural, it covers 3 or 4 states. Others might cover only one or a part of one. That's why the post office shops have to be in another area code - so they go through the NDC. If you sent something to your own zip code, it may never leave the post office. I used to work for a bulk mailing company - it was my job to know all this.

And thank you all for the wonderful suggestions for alternative mailing options - I'm working on a possible route to some of those rural areas. This will come in very handy.

I like the idea of PO buddies.

Usually I send A or B to my sons and tell them not to open them. When I go visit, I take the stamps off and any oher PO markings, change the address and sent it back to me. The weight and the zone is already taken care of so its a no brainer. I know two packages have been sent back and forth at least ten times in the past month.

Different POs and different clerks, so its easier. But a Buddies would not be bad.

I was happy: I had a couple of Scenario A shops to do right around Mother's Day.

By shipping to her I got two things off my 'to do' list - woohoo!

Silver Certified - and, on occasion, Certifiable

To Live ~ To Learn ~ To Grow ~ To Share

My son in the Navy is tired of getting cake mix in the mail from me!

SpyGirl719 Wrote:
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> If anybody needs a Canadian address, I love to get
> mail!
> I wear XL t-shirts and I love cats

)
>
> Does anybody know if there's an MSC that does
> Canada Post?
> Alberta Shopper

Yes, a MSC does Canada Post. We just mail it to an address of their choosing though. They say to send the right weight of newspaper or something like that. I'm assuming it just goes in the garbage.

Someone please tell me how to let Spygirl know which MSC does this shop. I see some broad hints on here but I don't want to break rules.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

Spy girl, are you signed up with InTouch? I do quite a bit of work for them in Camrose area, and I think they have several jobs you might like in Edmonton.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

I've been doing this for about a year and have received nothing in terms of payment. I have contacted them more than once about getting paid.The first time they said I would get paid after I processed fifty pieces of mail. The second time they said I would be paid in May. Now they are telling me I will be paid next week. I wonder.

Has anyone else had any problems getting paid by this company. I have told them I that I will not process any more of this mail until they pay me.

"Evolve thyself and lose all hate...." Orphaned Land

The shop being talked about is when you go in and ship a package to someone of your choosing. You get paid for each package you send. You are describing something completely different.

That is what I do. The DIM ones require you to do this, so I just keep sending stuff to that food bank. I am sure they wonder why they keep getting packages with one can of beans or something. lol

cynb Wrote:
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> Also consider sending dried beans ie black and
> rice and macaroni or oatmeal to a food bank
> outside of your area. The cool thing about that
> is that the packages are weight marked and usually
> one or 2 pounds.

Just wanted to pull this thread up to the top again. Your ideas have been working for me for a year now. I've got a buddy that partners with me to send packages back and forth every month.

I went to the "Re-Store" (Habitat for Humanity) and bought lead bolts and plumber pipes that weigh a ton for ten cents each. One of the pipes is the right weight for a shop. About 4-5 of the bolts worked. They are taped up and just dropped in a new envelope each month and sent back and forth between myself and my buddy. It works great. We always know that the package will be the right weight then. All the weighing was done months ago. All we have to do is put an address on an envelope and drop one of them in.

I do still send old magazines to a personal care home sometimes. That's a great idea. I sent my Goodwill Donations to a friend who then took them to Goodwill in her town. lol But I no longer buy something for $2-$3 to ship off and never see again.

I send mags to a library a few of towns over(look them up online). I send a couple women mags and the weight is easily over min. This works for secenario A and B.

I'm living in Sun City West, AZ now so my zone has changed. My buddy for the past year and a half is in East Liverpool, OH. We had a great system set up where we just sent the same packages back and forth to each other but now I'm way out of zone 4 for her. Any takers that do lots of post offices who would like to swap packages back and forth? I have eight coming up the end of the week that I'll send you. It may be used bolts from the restore or rocks....ya never know. lol We just weigh them and send them back and forth so we don't wind up paying for something to ship for every shop. If I don't get someone this time around, I'll find an animal shelter in Albuquerque and start mailing dog food to it.

Any scrapbookers out here in the west? I can send you some paper next time around after my moving truck gets here.

Today I Will Choose Joy!

"Finally, whatever things are good, true, noble, lovely, of good report...if there be any virtue, if there be any praise...think on these things." ....It's a command, not a suggestion!

I always feel kind of bad if I can't do a PO job with some kind of purpose. It just seems so wasteful to use the time, packaging, postage, labor etc to just send worthless items back and forth.

I love, love, love the ideas of sending magazines to nursing homes or food to food banks and animal shelters.

How about we post each others favorite Food Bank, Nursing Home or Animal Shelters here and then others can choose the ones in their desired zones. A total Win Win situation with no wasted effort or postage.

Posting these addresses should not cross any lines and I am sure they will be baffled ( but happy) to receive these unexpected deliveries.

Now - if somebody could just get some standard weights worked out for different products we could make a list of that too. Most cat food comes in 3 and 6 or 7lb bags, but the flat boxes weigh less. I usually buy my cat food in 25lb bags so I am not for sure on the box weights - but I think they are around 18oz.

I am going to start this off in a separate post by listing my local shelter and the Feral Cat Rescue non-profit that I volunteer for (and the reason I have to buy my cat food in 25lb units !). I will expand to include nursing homes and the local food pantry.

Boutique Wrote:
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> I always feel kind of bad if I can't do a PO job
> with some kind of purpose. It just seems so
> wasteful to use the time, packaging, postage,
> labor etc to just send worthless items back and
> forth.>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<

Even though You feel bad about sending worthless items in the mail, not all of Our PO mailing is worthless. Currently my PO mailing is to relatives and that is far from worthless. I would be very skeptical of a package arriving at a nursing home or a pet shelter without a return address or some type of acknowledgement of whom it is from. Unsolicited items are often sent anonymously, I would be very suspicious about packages arriving at those establishment.

I am not a pet lover or owner but I do allow ownership to my relatives. To send those type of pet packages to me would be worthless.

IBY------If I am in your zone or not, I would be bless to mail nuts and bolts, back and forth.

What about the Food Pantry donations ? I am sure we could put a brief note in them explaining that this is part of our job to mail things, but that we like to make it worthwhile.

I usually try an coordinate my PO jobs with my online business, but some days it just seems silly to pay Priority (reimbursed or no) for something that would only cost me 1.65 to send normally.

This is only for the shops not within 10 miles, those I always do no matter what.

Sounds like you guys are making a real route of PO shops to be shipping that many packages. I guess I don't find enough of them locally to worry about having prepared packages ready to do them.

That said - PM me and I will send you my address if you want to send nuts and bolts

Boutique- have you ever done a Scenario C? Thats where you send food items to a food bank, and they give you the address. I think it also pays a little more than the other scenarios. If you've already signed up for one of the other scenarios, I'm sure you could still use that address as they're obviously used to getting packages of food in the mail.

My point is that I have nothing to send anymore. I don't have a stack of magazines waiting anymore for now and pet food or people food costs money. I was doing this to maximize profit.

I've received a couple of requests from people in South Carolina. If you want me to match you up, I can. You are both too far away from Arizona. I'm going to go buy a large bag of dog food today and make labels that explain what I'm doing to attach to zip lock bags and send to animal shelters. Ultimately and greedily, I don't want to spend money to send stuff.

Any takers out here in the west? And I'll send magazines as they start piling up again as they always do. lolol

Check your private messages.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

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