[Dx-qsl] Incoming QSL bureau experiences

[Fred Laun K3ZO]

At 07:51 PM 7/23/02 +0000, "A semi big gun DXer" (AKA NE0P?) wrote:
>  Now I
>see 2, maybe 3 envelopes a year.  I think my last one
>came last october or november.  I will get 5-6 oz of
>cards at a time, though.  I am working plenty of DX,
>so the time between shipments is not due to lack of
>QSLs coming in.  I keep them supplied with address
>labels and money for stamps.
>
>I understand that QSL bureaus are manned by
>volunteers, and I greatly appreciate the work they do.
>  I am just curious as to why service would change so
>drastically.  How often do others get shippments from
>the bureau?  Is 2 a year normal?  At one point I
>considered changing my call trying to get back to the
>original good service I had.  What call districts seem
>to have the best service?

I am the "Z" sorter for the ARRL W3 incoming QSL Bureau.

It all depends on how much postage you put on your envelopes.  I never want 
to be accused of wasting a client's money by sending him an envelope which 
is not carrying the maximum amount of QSLs which can be put in the envelope 
carrying the amount of postage he has affixed to it.  A good rule of thumb 
for the new rates which went into effect on July 1 is as follows:

       37 cents      5 cards
       60 cents     14 cards
       83 cents     24 cards
    $1.06           34 cards
    $1.29           44 cards
    $1.52           54 cards
    $1.75           64 cards
    $1.98           74 cards

(Given the strength of the average manila clasp envelope I don't like to 
cram more than 44 cards into it in any event for fear of breakage en route, 
though the XYL and I do use strapping tape on the outside of the fuller 
envelopes.)

I have taken it upon myself to offer clients who get particularly large 
amounts of cards the option of sending cash or check instead of stamps and 
we ship each time 44 cards accumulate.  You might want to check with your 
sorter if this fits your situation.   But all bureaus do not have the same 
procedures so I can't speak with assurance about a particular case.  I 
should add that each and every time I ship an envelope I enclose a notice 
telling them how much postage/how many envelopes they have left, which I 
think would be a good idea for each sorter to do.  That way the clients 
always know where they stand.

The bottom line is, my files are full of envelopes with too much postage on 
them for the amount of cards that the person in question receives.   Please 
also note that we are volunteers, QSL bureau work is not our major 
activity, and keeping track of special requests for each of 200 or 300 
different clients is not practical;  therefore the practice of checking 
after each month's delivery/sort to see whether each client's envelope is 
"full" is the most efficient way of handling the job.

73, Fred Laun, K3ZO