Large letter shenanigans

[elusiveeditions]

Hi all, just a quick question, sounds trivial but please bear with me. I sell books (only a little on ebay but will probably increase it soon for lack of anywhere else to clear my stock) and often use large letter for small books, so no tracking and must be <20mm but it's nice and cheap.

Anything larger (like your standard 300+ page paperback) goes in a 500g satchel. These are overpriced as has been discussed here before, which must put buyers off cheaper stock, but you do get tracking which is great if the buyer claims INR.

I sometimes send books as parcels, but you can't accurately pre-price postage without knowing the destination. It's too messy to be refunding postage b/c I charged too much or taking a loss b/c I charged too little.

ANYWAY- as a minor test I bought a few cheap p/backs (well over 20mm.... one was closer to 60mm) to see how other sellers do this. Two of them arrived in A4 enevlopes, with 2 or 3 $0.70 stamps on them.

That's not a large letter is it? A 600 page book? They wouldn't have met the weight requirements for large letter at those prices, let alone the <20mm.

So- is it just a fluke that these got through and you're not really supposed to do this? It'd be great if I could send standard paperbacks for $2.10 but afaik you can't, and these sellers have just been lucky/don't realise/are trying it on etc. Is that right?

Apologies for longwinded-ness 🙂

[Anonymous]

thanks for the tip cq_tech..

i dont think i am yet to sell two double packs to a person so i havent had to do that but i will keep it in mind

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@cq_tech wrote:

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Upon reading the above, I immediately grabbed hold of my little-used official AP letter gauge which was given to me by my local LPO and checked the inside measurement with my digital vernier micrometer. The gap varied from between 19.185mm to 19.287mm, which as you quite rightly suggested is actually less than the maximum permitted width of 20mm. To say that I'm not impressed would be a gross understatement, and I'm now wondering just how (in)accurate their scales are. I'm also wondering how interested the Dept of Weights and Measures would be to learn of this discrepancy.

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I posted a combined order just before Christmas and I was trying to keep it under 500g to save the buyer some money. It took me 3 different boxes, but finally got it so my el cheapo digital kitchen scales weighed it at 495g. I didn't seal it when I took it to the PO because if their scales bumped over 500g, I would have removed a few packing peanuts to remove some weight. Popped it on their scales and it said 495g. I was absolutely stunned!. 

Not saying they're all the same, but at least I know that my scales weigh the same as my little PO.

[padi*0409]

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

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Not saying they're all the same, but at least I know that my scales weigh the same as my little PO.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

WOW sheepie.........................................Ummmm, stunned...........

po - British slang for chambre pot or potty, said to be the origin of the expression "po-faced"

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@padi*0409 wrote:

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

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Not saying they're all the same, but at least I know that my scales weigh the same as my little PO.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

WOW sheepie.........................................Ummmm, stunned...........

po - British slang for chambre pot or potty, said to be the origin of the expression "po-faced"

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Is a chambre pot the French version of a chamber pot? 😄

We sometimes called the loo the po when we were growing up. Didn't know it was slang for chamber pot back then.

[padi*0409]

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

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@padi*0409 wrote:

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

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Is a chambre pot the French version of a chamber pot? 😄

We sometimes called the loo the po when we were growing up. Didn't know it was slang for chamber pot back then.

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Yes I think you're correct on the translation there sheeps, when I was young we still used them in the UK, but please please please no pics of your scales beside the po ( I don't want the memories back.............oh no, too late.....)

Spoiler

And if you want your scales checked at the P.O. please remember which one you're taking in............."shudders at the image..."

[cq_tech]

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

I posted a combined order just before Christmas and I was trying to keep it under 500g to save the buyer some money. It took me 3 different boxes, but finally got it so my el cheapo digital kitchen scales weighed it at 495g. I didn't seal it when I took it to the PO because if their scales bumped over 500g, I would have removed a few packing peanuts to remove some weight. Popped it on their scales and it said 495g. I was absolutely stunned!. 

Not saying they're all the same, but at least I know that my scales weigh the same as my little PO.

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I very rarely have need to use the PO scales as they generally take my word for it, but on the odd occasion where I've had to use calculated postage and the packed item is very close to the next weight bracket, I stick a post-it on the parcel which indicates the exact dimensions and the exact weight according to my digital scales, mainly to make it easier for them to double check my calculated postage, and in every case the weights have been exactly the same, right down to tenths of a gram.

If they weren't and the PO ever tried to charge me extra, I'd refuse to pay and kick up a bit of a stink about it because I have a set of calibration weights which I use to verify the accuracy of my own scales at least once weekly, and I've only ever had to calibrate them once, which was when I first bought them, and they've remained 100% accurate ever since. You can pick up a set of calibration weights for around $20 on eBay if you're interested, or you don't trust the scales at your local PO.

[clarry100]

Hi CQ
We have a good quality set of digital kitchen scales we use at home to check weights.
On the odd occasion we do send a parcel when wrong weigh them in at the po their scales are always no more than 5-grams different from ours. And this is at two different LPO places. So we are confident their scales are accurate.
We did ask one time how often they calibrate their scales and they said annually. But I've never noticed any kind of calibration sticker on them tho.

[cq_tech]

G'day Clarry. Way back in the late '70s I worked for both Gross and NCR and part of my duties involved repairing cash registers and repairing and calibrating scales, both mechanical and electronic (although at that time the majority of scales were mechanical, and a lot more difficult to adjust than the more modern electronic types with strain gauges).

All scales used in commercial environments, and especially those in Post Offices, are supposed be checked by a Dept of Weights and Measures accredited technician annually, and recalibrated if found to be inaccurate. I don't know what the allowable tolerance would be these days, but it would be extremely low. There should also be a calibration sticker attached to the scales in a prominent position where it can be seen by the customer.

[clarry100]

Yes I know about the importance of traceable instrument calibration too and the prominent display of appropriate stickers. I used to be an aircraft avionics maintenance technician in the RAAF in a past life. And this was a key point for auditors to check on.

[clarry100]

And to add....
You as the technician could get into serious trouble for using an out of cal instrument. It was your responsibility to check stickers were within validity.