[Milsurplus] Golden years of collecting?

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Mike,

We still use First Class (and First Class Mail International, although it 
has gotten so bad we've seriously considered killing most of our foreign 
sales by dropping it because of both transit times and loss rates).  I was just 
pointing out that if First Class takes six or seven days, that's not unusual 
and the buyers will blame you (if they are the blaming type, which 
fortunately most aren't).  But first class is super erratic.  We've had it take one 
day to get to Seattle and 7 days to get to Seguin (a little town two hours 
west of Houston).  USPS seems dedicated to meeting the 2 to 3 days they 
promise for PriMail.  Even out to the Territories like Guam.  But their on-line 
claims for First Class and PP have to be taken with a large glass of salt and 
Tequila.

Media Mail is about like PP.  And fortunately people don't seem to expect 
better.  But only about 1% of what we ship goes that way.  I'm guessing that 
you think otherwise because by and large, most of my For Sale posts on the 
various lists are for manuals.  But that's because the lists are basically 
non-commercial, and I only post stuff I think might be of interest to whatever 
list seems appropriate when I first have it available.  And more often than 
not, that's a manual I just scanned because someone wrote asking whether I 
had one available.  And not so much hardware.  Most of the ex-NATO 
warehouses in Europe are gone.

Which reminds me - I don't think I mentioned that I have GC-7 cranks again, 
mostly marked -GY.  And a guy I know who does mostly vehicle mount hardware 
repro's has almost solved the problems associated with reproducing LG-3 and 
LG-13 legs.  I loaned him one of each to work from.  

In a message dated 3/10/2010 9:41:13 PM Central Standard Time, mmab at cox.net 
writes: 
> Robert, My recent experience is the 44 items I shipped this past Monday.  
> Most of them small items, coils and such, shipped by 1st Class Mail.  
> Today Thursday, I've already got positive feedback on 10 of the items from 
> people who received them.  Thus far, I've beat the priority flat rate charge 
> every time, but there may come an instance were a flat rate priority box 
> works out better.  Thanks for your other information on shipping.  BTW, don't 
> you send most of your stuff via Media Mail?
> 
> Mike W6MAB
> 

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