[Milsurplus] Golden years of collecting?

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

First Class is cheap, but it can be slow.  USPS relatively seldom meet 
their three-day claim.  And for all practical purposes, you can't put Delivery 
Confirmation on it (which eBay and PayPal pretend is a tracking system).  
Since the recent rate change, Parcel Post is worth considering only for 
packages over about 4 pounds.  Below that, the cost savings varies between about 
-$0.23 and +$0.45 depending upon weight and Zone.  And delivery times run out 
to 16 days for CONUS and longer to AK and HI.  For packages between 14 
ounces and 4 pounds, PriMail is the best all around bargain.  If you allow 
Partial Post, you may save the buyer a quarter and they will thank you for it by 
giving you one or two stars for shipping time, which they all think means 
transit time, because they never read anything past the first paragraph.

The above comments are based on roughly 3000 packages shipped per year for 
the past 8 years.

In a message dated 3/10/2010 5:06:47 PM Central Standard Time, mmab at cox.net 
writes: 
> 5. Small packages, under 13 ounces, can be sent from the Post Office by 
> 1st 
> Class Mail.  It's cheap, fast and the best deal for both the buyer and the 
> 
> seller.  Even Parcel Post is a relatively good deal for bigger items, but 
> it 
> just takes longer.  Unless you need it yesterday, forget about Express 
> Mail 
> or Priority Mail.  They are not worth the extra cost which can be 
> considerable.  Many sellers only list Priority Mail.  Either request them 
> to 
> ship cheaper or don't bid on their items.  On really heavy items, such as 
> an 
> SCR-284, I use UPS and let them professionally pack it.
> 

Robert & Susan Downs - Houston
wa5cab dot com (Web Store)
MVPA 9480