What are these shops please? Do I mail a package and get reimbursed?

@lucky7s wrote:

What are these shops please? Do I mail a package and get reimbursed?

you attempt to mail a package that supposedly contains a hazardous material (it doesn't, but you say it does, if asked). read the guidelines and you will get the answers to your questions.

i saw those but I did not want to stand in line for 10-15 minutes and then possibly wait for reimbursement.

I'm afraid of those shops. I would be so embarrassed to stand there and admit that I have something in there that I should not be sending through the postal service. I get that postal workers need to ask the question and then decide if the answer is good to go or not, but I don't want to be the one to test their knowledge and then be completely embarrassed... And then they remember me the next time I go in and whisper to each other, "Hey look! There's that crazy woman who tried mail send battery acid to her ex-husband!"

Noooo, it's not like that. It's pretty innocuous. One scenario is that you are sending a package for your mom and you have no idea what's in it. If you can't answer all of those questions about what's in the package, they are not supposed to send it. And if they want you to open the package, you just say you are going to go call your mom and ask her what's in it, and then you buy some stamps or something under the reimbursement amount to get your receipt and leave. Another scenario is that you are mailing a laptop (lithium) battery to someone. That's innocent enough, because you could be sending a laptop battery to your niece/nephew/son/daughter who can't afford to replace the one in their laptop (not likely the postal clerk is going to ask why/what you are sending it for and you shouldn't volunteer any information you aren't asked). If you have to answer "yes" to lithium battery, then they shouldn't allow you to send it, and again, you buy something for your receipt and leave. They are actually easier than the regular box and dimensional shops.

Well, that's awesome! I might just try one out then! Thanks for the information!

The rejections are pretty painless and make for easy jobs. I really hate when they accept my box. I rely on these shops to buy packing tape for my other reg. and Dem/weight shops since the company will reimburse for boxes on those jobs but not packing​ tape.

Are you talking about rejection from the USPS, not mailing the package or rejection of the report from the MSC

I would think you are making money when they ship your package. Packing tape can be brought at the $dollar$ store

@sojo917 wrote:

Are you talking about rejection from the USPS, not mailing the package or rejection of the report from the MSC

I would think you are making money when they ship your package. Packing tape can be brought at the $dollar$ store

rejection from the usps...you are paid the same fee regardless if they ship the package (which they should not) or if they don't. the fee stays the same to you. the product fee charged by the usps if they ship your package will be reimbursed and if your package is not shipped you have to buy something at the usps (to verify that you were there) and i buy 1 stamp for $0.47 which is reimbursed also. if your package is shipped you will be reimbursed and you will have to wait for your reimbursement. i have done many, many hazmat assignments and have never, ever had a usps accept a package (other outlets have, btw but not the usps').

Brian...I buy 10 or more stamps with no issues. Been reimbursed every time.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Brian...I buy 10 or more stamps with no issues. Been reimbursed every time.

yep, they will re-imburse but my issue is that i have done so many that i have wayyyy tooo many stamps. i pay all bills via computer and rarely use stamps. i have literally 100's of 'em. the other msc that lost this contract had a 4 stamp stipulation (as i recall) which is why i wound up with so many. the new msc is so much better as the report is simplified (got rid of a lot of superfluous stuff) and the pay is more...a win-win. and there is no waiting around for a check if your payment is more than $500 like there was with the former msc.

@wwin wrote:

The rejections are pretty painless and make for easy jobs. I really hate when they accept my box. I rely on these shops to buy packing tape for my other reg. and Dem/weight shops since the company will reimburse for boxes on those jobs but not packing​ tape.

This reply is confusing. The reason for my reply

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2016 01:13AM by sojo917.

@sojo917 wrote:

@wwin wrote:

The rejections are pretty painless and make for easy jobs. I really hate when they accept my box. I rely on these shops to buy packing tape for my other reg. and Dem/weight shops since the company will reimburse for boxes on those jobs but not packing​ tape.

This post is confusing. The reason for my reply

great, hope it's all clear now.

Lol. I hate when they accept my box because then I hAve to use that other package that's been in my car for 3 months for the next shop.

Damn phone.

Sorry, I thought it was obvious the rejection was for the package, not the shop. Rejection by the MSC for the job would be neither painless nor would it make for an easy job. It seems after 10 reports in one afternoon, my ability to put words together in an articulate manner has abandoned me. Time for a glass of wine and some salad.

You're good and were understood. Enjoy your wine, iI'm loving mine!

I have done 22 HazMat shops at the main client so far this year. eleven have been accepted for shipment I was going to estimate it was 25%, but I just checked my records and it is 50%.

I have done 27 HazMat shops at Big Box office product stores so far this year. 15 have been accepted, which is 56%. Since this is discrete data (they either accept or reject), there is no statistical difference between 50% at the main client and 56% at the Big Box office product stores. (For those of you who might be curious, this requires performing a two-proportions test for binary (discrete) data.)

I was thinking that the Post Offices would reject the hazmat box and that it was most likely the 'partner' mailing places that actually sent the box. Guess not. And thus, the USPS needs these shops done as a training exercise.

@guanadu wrote:

I was thinking that the Post Offices would reject the hazmat box and that it was most likely the 'partner' mailing places that actually sent the box. Guess not. And thus, the USPS needs these shops done as a training exercise.

i've done about 80-ish hazmats for the current msc and the prior one (combo of usps and cpu) and while i don't have statistical data i've found that the usps locations very rarely accept my package (due to hazardous material issues) and cannot remember the last time my package was accepted but the cpu locations very rarely reject my package (they don't seem to ask any hazmat questions or access the cdu properly). the payment to me is the same regardless of how efficient the clerks are.

I'd LOVE to do this kind of shop. Want to ship a box of .338 Winchester Magnum shells to my cousin in Wyoming for his Elk hunts. HAHAHAHAHA !!! (Kidding - no surviving cousins)
This comes to mind because I know what happens with airline travel of hunting gear. Which makes me wonder about being able to shop airlines. Anybody have experience with that? I suspect they get enough feedback from their customers as it is.

There may be a few others, but the only company that I personally know of that shops airlines gives a 50% discount--the entire ticket is NOT reimbursed and there is not a shop fee attached. I have done one because I was traveling anyway, so I got half of my ticket paid back and was happy enough.

OK, so I have a Hazmat question.......for those of you who said the package went through, what ACTUALLY did you have in the package vs. what you SAID you had in the package??? When they postal employee asked (or had you read) the Hazmat question, did you just answer "YES" or did you say, "Well, I've got a laptop battery in there....that's OK, right?" or something like that??? I've been contemplating taking a Hazmat shop, but not sure what to do/say if the employee decides to take the package!! When they ask "Fragile, liquid....etc", does that mean if we wanted to send a can of, say, stewed tomatoes to someone, that would be a no-no???

If I am supposed to portray having a laptop battery, I tell them exactly that after I either press "Yes" or verbally say "Yes" if they ask for more information (some don't seem to respond at all when I say yes). When they ask what kind of battery, I tell them that it is a lithium battery as the instructions say that I should. If they ask if it is inside a computer or a phone or a camera, I say no as the instructions say I should. Similarly, if I am to portray mailing perfume, that is what I say I am mailing and I provide other information as per the instructions when they ask. For the third scenario, since I am youth challenged, I received permission to say that my daughter asked me to mail the package rather than my mother. As Sergeant Shultz used to say, "I know nothing!"

When mailing to my mailing buddy, I actually ship newspapers or magazines. Edited to add the rest of this paragraph: For lithium batteries or perfume, they might offer you Standard Mail (which has some other name now) which goes by ground. You have to decline. That is the reason for Zone 5 or further - Priority Mail goes by air and that is the issue. "I don't know" should not be accepted for even ground transportation.

During a non-shop trip, I learned about the "liquids" issue. If you say yes, I am shopping liquids, that is supposed to trigger additional verbal questions about what kind of liquid. If you say that you are shipping battery acid (= impure sulfuric acid), they should tell you that they can't. I saw a woman ship two 1/2 gallon jugs of Wawa brand iced tea from NJ to her son in the Navy Seals in San Diego by Priority Mail. It was not cheap (1 gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds) last week. I only know what she was shipping because I heard the sequence of questions from the clerk. Off if went. Fragile generally means that they are going to stamp "Fragile" all over the box. If you tell them that you are shipping eggs from your farm, for instance, they should ask questions to ensure that the eggs are 1) individually cushioned, 2) packed to withstand shocks encountered during normal Postal Service handling, and 3) the eggs are not likely to be harmed by anticipated temperature changes while in Postal Service custody. Answer yes to those three questions, and off they go.

Did you know that you can ship baby chicks via the post office? I grew up on a poultry farm and thousands of baby chicks arrived that way. They still accept baby chicks, and there are additional questions and requirements. Same thing if you want to ship bee hives.

You can ship a can of stewed tomatoes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2016 06:49PM by myst4au.

Once they take the package, they may ask if you want more insurance, signature confirmation, etc. They will tell you the price. You pay. You get the receipt. You leave. You do not tell them that they made a mistake, or that it is really a can of stewed tomatoes or a bunch of newspaper. You are not supposed to know the rules - they are supposed to know the rules.

@guysmom wrote:

I've been contemplating taking a Hazmat shop, but not sure what to do/say if the employee decides to take the package!! does that mean if we wanted to send a can of, say, stewed tomatoes to someone, that would be a no-no???

myst4au, well answered!

Thanks, myst4au!!! You provided tons of helpful information!!

Guysmom, I send stuff to my sister in Florida (I live in Ohio) because it can't be in zone 1, it has to be in zone 5 or higher. But zone 5 works out to the right amount for the mail class because of course it costs more for higher zones. I send her powdered creamer, a few cans of cat food for her cat, or something similar that weighs between 1-2 pounds. And I never tell them what it really is. I told the guy once I was mailing something for my mom and wasn't sure what it was and I could go call her and come back, and he laughed and said, "Nah. It's okay," and he accepted the package. Once the scenario was the lithium battery, and a mail clerk said, "Well it seems small so it's okay. They only don't want big lithium batteries mailed." When I tried to send what was supposed to be perfume another time, the clerk said, "No way. You can't mail perfume priority, you'll have to send it ground." At which time you MUST decline ground, because the package has to be sent priority. About 1/2 of the time they have accepted the package, which is great because I bought a book of 20 stamps which comes just under the $10 reimbursement (I can always use extra stamps, ParkCityBrian, LOL). I try to get unmarked used boxes from Dollar Tree or Dollar General when I am in there shopping for cleaning supplies instead of buying boxes somewhere, because with the HazMat shops there is a total reimbursement that includes the price of the box as well as your post office purchase or cost of sending the package.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2016 09:36PM by JASFLALMT.

Thanks JASFLAMT!!! Also great info!!! I might try one of these next time they show up in my area!

During one of my hazmat shops last month, a person in front of me went to the counter and expressed the exact scenario I was there to do (shipping package for mom) and the clerk gladly accepted the package. I was paranoid, sure I was at the wrong post office or wrong date and the other person was the real shopper. Luckily I didn't get the same clerk and my package was refused beautifully and I was paid for the job. My worst Hazmat was the one 30 min earlier when the clerk instructed me to give false info... That was challenging shop and report.