Absyrtus Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Have you guys used media mail for shipping candles? Cost would be less, and since they have to cure anyway... it seems like it might make sense to wrap them then plastic and send them on their way, letting them cure while the post office takes two weeks to get them to their destination ...What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 We won't get into the discussion about curing, but Media Mail is for mailing media - books, tapes, cd's, magazines. Candles are not media. Besides that, I wouldn't want my beautiful candles sitting in a 100* warehouse or back of a truck for 2 weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Yeah, I wouldn't use the media mail either. If the post office thinks it's just books in there, they may throw the package, risking damage to its contents. If you're looking for a lower cost option and don't mind surface mail, then go for parcel post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolas Lights Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 I agree. Sitting in a hot truck and employees throwing things around because they don't know that there is great candles inside, and I'm afraid what it would do to reputation of a company if they got damaged or melted candles. Something that has my name on it , I want it to be in good condition when it gets to my customer. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 Media mail is not for candle shipping. The post office reserves the right to open anything marked media mail to inspect if it is indeed books, magazines, tapes or CDs. If they randomly choose to open your box and it isn't media material, your box will be returned to you with cancelled postage. I know this because one of my old tenants was a letter carrier with USPS. He he had some great stories.... :rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absyrtus Posted September 25, 2005 Author Share Posted September 25, 2005 Whew... I'm sure he does.So, it seems that everyone is reccomending Priority Mail. Anyone use UPS or FedEx?Media Mail just so much cheaper... and that's savings I can pass onto the customer. The Prepaid flatrate boxes seem awesomely easy... but they also seem pricey for one or two candles. Someone mentioned regular priority (not flat rate). How do either of these work, for pick up? Do I go online and pay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 you can go to usps.com and calculate postage and ship times of your package. You will know the best rate in the least amount of time. Yes, you can use click and ship to print shipping labels or print shipping labels and pay postage. Check out fedex and ups websites. you can calculate postage and delivery there, too.If you are concerned about the cost of shipping then you need to compare different methods and then you can make an informed decision on which service is right for your package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 Whew... I'm sure he does.So, it seems that everyone is reccomending Priority Mail. Anyone use UPS or FedEx?Media Mail just so much cheaper... and that's savings I can pass onto the customer. The Prepaid flatrate boxes seem awesomely easy... but they also seem pricey for one or two candles. Someone mentioned regular priority (not flat rate). How do either of these work, for pick up? Do I go online and pay?You can go to www.usps.com and open a free shipping account.That way you can get rates, print labels with postage and get free boxes for shipping Priority and Global mail. You can also schedule a free carrier pickup online. If you used Parcel post, you would have to supply the shipping boxes on your own, so its worth the cost. Sometimes Parcel is actually more than Priority Mail. They have small boxes for Priority for a parcel with only one or two candles that would work wonderfully.All the shipping carriers~ USPS, UPS, DHL and Fed Ex offer free online accounts to consumers. You can get rates, print labels with postage and send tracking numbers via email to your customers. Fed Ex is the most economical carrier if you are going with a large, heavy box. They are my favorite for shipping to my wholesale accounts and anything that has both bulk and weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 Yes, the flat rate boxes are very convenient. The one which is shaped like a shoe box works well for candles. The other one is more for stuff like t-shirts.If you are only sending a couple of candles, you wouldn't want to do the flat rate box though, in which case a regular priority mail box would do. I have an assortment of boxes, and find the best sizes are: FRB1 (the flat rate box), #4 (slightly smaller than FRB1), 1096L (suitable for 8-10 votives), and #7 (larger than FRB1).If you have an account setup with USPS, you can use it to order boxes for free and pay for your postage online. If you do not have an account with them (I don't), you can still order boxes for free and print your mailing label without postage online. I did not arrange for pickup because I live only a couple of blocks from the post office, but I think arranging for pickup should not be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absyrtus Posted September 25, 2005 Author Share Posted September 25, 2005 Nice and easy at least I notice they have labels and, I thought, tape on there... but now I cannot find it. Is that free as well?Thanks a bunch for all of your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudsnwicks Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 They used to have free tape but I haven't seen it recently. I just use my own clear packing tape, both for sealing the box and for pasting the label on the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 Nice and easy at least I notice they have labels and, I thought, tape on there... but now I cannot find it. Is that free as well?Thanks a bunch for all of your help!No more free tape, they discontinued that feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrie Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 I don't even like to use Media Mail for MEDIA! LOL! ~S~L~O~W~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 I don't even like to use Media Mail for MEDIA! LOL! ~S~L~O~W~I used the Media Mail option for the last label co-op I did. It really is super duper cheap. As long as you don't mind the wait.Definitely giving the words "snail mail" a whole new meaning. :rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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