How *to* Ship a 24" Breaker Bar

[NugeConstruction]

I swear the eBayer who shipped me my SN24B is a ****** genius.

Whereas another eBay purchase I received about the same time arrived with a SN18A having poked a hole out of a box corner through which it could quite readily have escaped, the application of tape to the corners of the box in which this bar shipped worked so well as to even defeat my efforts to rip it out of its packaging with my bare hands.

And talk about fitting a ten pound hammer in a five pound box:

Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box-O-FRB2 in which this 24" bar shipped is marketed as having dimensions of 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" x 13-5/8".

"How he did it" might have had something to do with his having folded out the box corners, combined with some high-level geometric calculations*, but don't quote me on that one...

 

[tw33k2514]

 

[petty4243]

I would most likley have used a poster tubewith plugs at end and taped them so they could not slide back out... might be a shade more than the flat rate, but not much if it is

 

[His200HerScout]

That guy is a genius. Without flattening the box, it has a diagonal of only 18.07363 inches, but flattened it is 25.21687.

He might as well have just put a postage stamp on it...

Did he ship it media mail?

 

[NugeConstruction]

That guy is a genius. Without flattening the box, it has a diagonal of only 18.07363 inches, but flattened it is 25.21687.

He might as well have just put a postage stamp on it...

Did he ship it media mail?

Uh, H2HS, could you please be a little more precise in your calculations next time?

The $10.35 for which my bar did ship is in fact the current standard Domestic Priority Mail rate for any sub-twenty-pound O-FRB2 box.

There is moreover a huge cost advantage to getting just about anything shipped to Alaska via flat rate USPS compared to say zone rate UPS.

And "just putting a postage stamp on it" reminds me of how I read in the ~1980s of those living in the Alaskan bush putting postage on each individual piece of a load of concrete blocks to save a buck shipping over standard freight services.

The story behind this is that the USPS has for decades been required to subsidize parcel post shipments to, from, and within Alaska, though Uncle Sam is currently considering taking a slightly bigger bite* for his benevolence than he had in the past...

(*) http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/63541.html

'Postage rates are headed up, and in rural Alaska, it matters'

"[T]o ship from Anchorage to Cold Bay via bypass mail [i.e., mail shipped at subsidized parcel post rates] costs about $15.09 for every 68 pounds of cargo. That rate will increase to $22.08 per 68 pounds under the proposal being considered by the Postal Regulatory Commission. But the actual cost to the postal service is $153..."

 

[ryan_289]

I cant see the pics?

 

[NugeConstruction]

There, I hope those pic links work better for everyone now: I tried to do something fancy with Google Picasa, and it apparently backfired.

 

[Skyline]

That is not permitted by the USPS rules for a flat rate box. It must be able to seal by the normal means. You're lucky it made it to you. USPS does have two different triangular Priority mail cartons, one 25" and one 35" that would have probably been a better option.

 

[jshillin]

That is not permitted by the USPS rules for a flat rate box. It must be able to seal by the normal means. You're lucky it made it to you. USPS does have two different triangular Priority mail cartons, one 25" and one 35" that would have probably been a better option.

You're right... I ordered an impact socket set off of ebay and the seller did something similar. My post office made me pay extra shipping before I could get the package because of the packaging.

 

[Mr.Nutcase]

Wow...... he is smart...

 

[NugeConstruction]

Skyline and jshillin, thank you in advance for your cooperation in *not* bringing this alleged security breach to the attention of the postal authorities...

 

[nate379]

I once fit a ring and pinion set from a Dana 60 and Dana 70 in one of those boxes. The post office lady about freaked when she went to put the box on the scale

Want to see gettin **** raped on shipping?

I tried to order a "Furminator" for my dog on Amazon last night. $20 and they wanted $61 for shipping.

Or Sears parts direct.

I needed a $35 fuel pump for my yard tractor and they wanted $48 to ship it. I sent it to my folks in Maine for $8 since I was headed there anyhow.

 

[NugeConstruction]

I once fit a ring and pinion set from a Dana 60 and Dana 70 in one of those boxes. The post office lady about freaked when she went to put the box on the scale

Want to see gettin **** raped on shipping?

I tried to order a "Furminator" for my dog on Amazon last night. $20 and they wanted $61 for shipping.

Or Sears parts direct.

I needed a $35 fuel pump for my yard tractor and they wanted $48 to ship it. I sent it to my folks in Maine for $8 since I was headed there anyhow.

An axle!? Maybe a (heavily reinforced) poster tube *would* be the ticket there...

With the Jetsonesque dog brush, even good old Fred Meyer wants $50.99 marked down from $54.99 for the 4" black handle / yellow headed model (so I checked eBay and sent you a link to a way better deal from there).

And speaking of 'shipping' in the same breath as 'folks': the last thing my dad ever sent me was a 144TMPB he forwarded from an eBay seller who would by no means ship (via UPS Ground) to Alaska, but was fine with shipping to anywhere in what shippers like to call "the continental United States."

I still have the message on my answering machine from when Dad let me know he had gotten the package and passed it along my way.

 

[bchee]

That is not permitted by the USPS rules for a flat rate box. It must be able to seal by the normal means. You're lucky it made it to you. USPS does have two different triangular Priority mail cartons, one 25" and one 35" that would have probably been a better option.

You're right... I ordered an impact socket set off of ebay and the seller did something similar. My post office made me pay extra shipping before I could get the package because of the packaging.

I had a similar experience trying to ship something. It has to be able to close using the adhesive provided, and you can't modify the packaging.

 

[GSteg]

I'm going to be selling my SN24B also. Thank god I ran through this thread. Now I can ship with confidence

 

[Stuey]

Honestly, as others mentioned, a poster tube albeit not a genius technique would have sufficed.

 

[nate379]

Thanks for that link, got it ordered up. Petco wanted $60 for it. I was like... WHAT... THE... F... seriously $60 for a hair brush?

An axle!? Maybe a (heavily reinforced) poster tube *would* be the ticket there...

With the Jetsonesque dog brush, even good old Fred Meyer wants $50.99 marked down from $54.99 for the 4" black handle / yellow headed model (so I checked eBay and sent you a link to a way better deal from there).

And speaking of 'shipping' in the same breath as 'folks': the last thing my dad ever sent me was a 144TMPB he forwarded from an eBay seller who would by no means ship (via UPS Ground) to Alaska, but was fine with shipping to anywhere in what shippers like to call "the continental United States."

I still have the message on my answering machine from when Dad let me know he had gotten the package and passed it along my way.

 

[Mezzanine]

I once fit a ring and pinion set from a Dana 60 and Dana 70 in one of those boxes. The post office lady about freaked when she went to put the box on the scale

That is nothing- I am a competitive shooter, and I order bulk bullets: just bullets, not cartridges... A flat rate box holds somewhere in the neighborhood of 50lbs of lead. The mail people would not deliver it- they always made me pick it up at the post office.

 

[NugeConstruction]

A mere fifty pounds got them whining?

I wonder what the "must be able to lift ** pounds" requrement is on a USPS delivery person application.

And I am sure that petty4243 and Stuey would recommend tubes for all your RPG shipping needs!

 

[Rickster]

I have shipped some medium flat rate boxes that were full of sockets and such. I had to warn them to be extra creful because it was very heavy. The local post office guys and gals took it in stride.

 

[PAToyota]

I once had a number of steel crane wheels shipped cross country in flat-rate boxes. They say the limit is 70lbs for a flat-rate box. We were just below that, but the mailman still had quite a complaint about them. Not sure why...



I've also had two Ford 9" axle housings shipped to me. One USPS and one FedEx. Both of them were less than $25 for shipping and purchase price was less than the shipping, both of which surprised the heck out of me. Around here people think they are made of gold or something so even with shipping they were a deal.