USVI-On-Line

Stopped by the PO at lunch today to pick up a box. Boy, they sure are small aren't they?? I ended up picking up two. For some reason, I thought they'd be bigger How many do you guys ususally ship down? I'm thinking snorkel gear, fins, snacks, personal care items. Our short fins look like they'd be a box by themselves??

I think the flat rate boxes are too small. I shipped down a big honking box with our full length snorkel fins and some other gear, tons of books, and sunscreens, etc. It was about $25 to ship, and I think the flat rate boxes are $8. Space wise I had about 10 flat rate boxes worth of stuff in my one big box. You might want to comparison shop on the usps.com site to see how much it would cost to use a different size box.

liamsaunt wrote:I think the flat rate boxes are too small. I shipped down a big honking box with our full length snorkel fins and some other gear, tons of books, and sunscreens, etc. It was about $25 to ship, and I think the flat rate boxes are $8. Space wise I had about 10 flat rate boxes worth of stuff in my one big box. You might want to comparison shop on the usps.com site to see how much it would cost to use a different size box.

Did you ship USPS and did you get "a big honking box" from them or use your own? We're thinking of doing the same with our personal items and snorkel stuff next month, too. Any tips? Thanks.

Last week I shipped two of the new large flat rate Priority Mail boxes for our upcoming trip. They are 12"x12"x5" and cost $12.95 to ship. We put all of our sunscreens, lotions, books, neat sheet, bug spray, and first aid gear in one. In the other we put food items such as pancake mix, syrup, and a lot of snack food items. I was actually surprised at how much we could fit in them. We mailed them on the 6th of June using all caps and no punctuation in the address, and they arrived on St. John on the 9th. Pretty quick, I think.

Thanks for all the input! I'm going to our main PO today and look for the large flat rate box. The ones I picked up Friday must be the mediums, they were $9.00 to ship. I knew there must be a bigger flat rate, two 12x12x5's should definitely work.

Pjayer I used a box of my own. Yes, usps priority, with delivery confirmation.

My only tip is to tell you to pack all of your liquids into ziploc bags before sealing the box. That way if the box gets crushed the liquid won't go all through the box.

I used the new very large flat rate boxes in late April to ship my books, sunscreen, etc. Had I packed my own boxes and shipped them, my cost would have been $25 each so the rate of $12ish was wonderful! I saved 50%! I agree that you can get a lot of stuff in them.

Hey guys...Just wondering where you ship to (connections?)...Also, do they charge a fee to hold your things until you arrive?

Thanks!

I spoke with Mary Pat at Connections yesterday. She said $10 box to hold. She said 3-4 days for priority flat rate but I'm sending 8 working days ahead (I'm anal that way)!

Jan