USPS Discontinuing GBFRB 🙁
eBay – USPS adding new rate increase of parcels 22″ and larger..
leddit discussion about said rate hike
2011 shipping rates… cheap!
The Large Flat Rate Gameboard Box is my primary shipping method for the laptops I sell. I first started selling laptops around 2012 or 2013, and using this box was perfect for the ThinkPads I bought and flipped. Back then I think it cost me around $15 to ship and it included $50 shipping insurance (which it still does today). Recently I just paid $25.60 & $26.85 to ship these laptops fully insured, and the flat rate is about $22 now…
When I was wrapping up one of the laptops I recently sold, the buyer from the other sale had just paid, so I went downstairs to get my boxes… I only had one GB box left, I swore I had more, but I might of used them to stop an oil spill on my 1999 Civic. Unlike some who see this as a small setback, I freak out “Fuck I’m going to have to chase this fucking box down”, although I don’t have a proper scale for my sales, I had just guestimated how much the laptops were going to weigh. Most items you just add two pounds to whatever people say it weighs, and then just guess what the AC adapter weighs. To my dismay shipping via USPS was going to cost me $44 on one of my shipments. I had one buyer from New York, the other from Delaware, I’m in San Diego California, so it’s basically the furthest diagonal distance for shipping, unless we count Hawaii or Alaska shipments.
Now the shipping cost wouldn’t be so much of a problem if I was making hundreds of profit, but these are the first sales of a bulk purchase I got, so basically I’d want to make as much now, before freaking about recoup later. Whatever, I call the store closest to me, they are closed, luckily the P&DC is nearby (10 min drive, vs 15 minutes, oh woe is me). Called them up and they had them. The person I spoke to said “oh let me see if we have anying, we’ve discontinued these” wtf. They got a few boxes, I didn’t ask for them to be held bc thats obnoxious, but I said “great I’ll pick them up soon”. I look online and yeah, they are gone, I’m not able get these from the online store.
The best part about USPS shipping boxes is that, most of them are free. I sort of knew USPS gave free stuff, as someone I knew used to have artwork they drew on their “To and From” shipping labels, they were stickers & they told me “Yeah I got these for free from the post office, they got boxes for free too”. For the GB Box, if I were to buy boxes similar, Uline has a 22 x 12 x 4 inch box for $1.77 each, but the lowest batch is 25, so it’ll cost $44.25 before shipping & handling costs. USPS literally ships the boxes for free, so it’s a win win. The catch is that, USPS has warnings on the boxes that it’s illegal to use the boxes other than shipping via the Postal Service. So technically, you are not allowed to ship via UPS, FedEx, DHL if you use these boxes. In reality I’ve had a few shipments sent to me in a USPS box, but from the other carriers which is (((illegal))). From what I understand these carriers don’t really care, and well some sellers would cross out the post office branding/words. I think I’ve asked a FedEx location what they thought about it & said for us to do the same. I’ve reused boxes and shipped FedEx/UPS logo’d boxes with their competitors.
Uline S-24069
College CEO use USPS boxes
Even then, I’ve come across these boxes in the wild, NOT being used for shipping. I’ve been to anime conventions, renn faires & auto expos, where some of the vendors will use USPS boxes for their supplies, their counters/backdrops, even as a post board. I really can’t be the only one who’ve seen this, because there’s at least 3 vendors doing this in the artist alleys. You’ll see this on eBay too, they’ll cut the boxes up and use it as foreground/backgrounds. Nah I’m not a narc, I really don’t care, and plus they can always say they are “reuising the box”, so thus the box met it’s purpose. I really haven’t seen any use about USPS locking up people for mis-using the boxes or supplies, now if it’s for getting free postage, they are on that shit before you can even drop a bet on it.
I can’t speak about this for DHL, but I’ve used UPS, FedEx for shipping and they’ll charge you later whenever you ship an item. If you ship via USPS, you gotta pay up front, and if you underpay, they’ll either charge the receiver (my buyer), or just return it to the original shipper, & THEN charge you for that. But what they won’t do is refund if you overpay… and yes the flat rate boxes are a godsend. Remember how I said it would cost $44 if I were to use a different box? Yeah the large flat rate is awesome because it’s just $21.90 all around United States, as long as it weighs under 70 lbs. I don’t think there’s even any weights that’ll be above that limit that can fit in a flat rate box… but yeah it’ll fucking cost the same amount. Point is, the flat rate boxes are convenient as hell, if it fits, it ships. Seldom times will I use Regional Box B side loading box (14 x 2 x 15 inches) if the items can fit and it’s nearby. Back when I did eWaste, it would save me like five bucks max it seems.
I know the GB box is weird as hell. The post office said it’s not really a used item for shipments, but I think its because they never fucking have it at the retail front of the postal stores & the box is a side loader. Unlike the Uline box, and any other box, when you lay it flat, it opens on the sides, and not the big sides, but the small. I think the postal service did this as it’s sealable that way. Even the Medium Flat rate B box is the same way. If they did this with the other side, it wouldn’t be as stable and sealer won’t stick. I shipped maybe 2 items without packaging tape, but when I received a laptop & the seams were busting because that seller didn’t use tape, I saw it as a sign for me to over-tape the fucking boxes I ship out. For me, I liked the side loading, as I can wrap a laptop fairly well and the bulging wouldn’t really hinder the box integrity as much. If it was a normal box, then I would have to take extra care because the bulge will actively push out the tape to seal it the box. Not that often would we have an issue with the box bursting open if we packed it too much, and if we had doubt, then the heavy duty tape w/ crosshatch string will do the job.
So yeah… I paid postage for the two laptops, added insurance & bubble wrapped both of them, packed the bigger/heavier laptop into the GB box, because if I had to pay via size/weight, the smaller one would be better. Went to the office, dropped it off, got the box from the window clerk, went to my car, shoved that laptop in there, placed the preprinted label, walked in and yeah. Got lucky, got an extra box for my next sale. I think I have a few more boxes at my parent’s house. I really never would of thought these would of went away. I guess these boxes were brought around in 2010, although they are keeping the “normal” Large Flat Rate Box, this GB box is going away. However they’ll still let you ship it in this box, at least for now. Idk if they’ll let us ship in the GB box in flat rate in 2023, and they also are having a price hike in parcels over 22″.
Reading the threads, people who ship baseball bats and golf clubs are fucked. What I like about USPS is that priority is fairly fast for the cost. I will have to have FedEx ground as the default for laptops now on, and I may pay $10 to $20 more now. This really decentivizes me from selling laptops under $100, and no, “just have them pay for shipping”, really doesn’t change much when the buyer will just try to find something $10 cheaper. Overall I don’t really think it matters much, but I had a simple way of shipping laptops and now is going to be gone. 🙁
nice