Hi again, I'd like to add my 2¢ to a couple comments recently made. First to LookAtMe; Well technically, there really is some kind of tracking. But it's not too helpful, because the US Post can only track to the US border. That little green Customs form (2976), or for the more valuable packages, the big white multiple-copy one (2976-A), both have a bar code on them. You can use the bar code number, exactly as a Tracking Number, to see that your package got as far a JFK Airport in New York. But that's as far as it goes. Bar codes change standards in other countries, and cannot even be read by foreign post offices. [Why you ask? For the same reason the entire rest of the world is Metric, and the US is still English Standard.] So, you can tell a foreign client that your package got on a plane, bound for overseas, on a particular date. That's it. Next to traveltrader; What most of us are looking for, is an increase in convenience. Not only for us, but also for the folk working the Post Office. When I sell something on eBay, I can ship using their system. It works almost seamlessly for First Class International. It will directly debit my PayPal account, and print out the correct Customs form, already completed. I just slap it onto my package, and put it in my own home mailbox. They pick it up automatically. That is way more convenient than going to the Post Office. I for one, work 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Post Office is only open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. For me to go to the Post Office, I must schedule Vacation time-off from work, or wait until Saturday. Not convenient. Now, when it comes to foreign shipping for anything that eBay doesn't handle, there really isn't anything that can hold a candle to it. Your alternative of buying a book of stamps, is absolutely correct. Except in my case, I ship about 250 foreign packages a month, for the Gutenberg Project. It ain't a book of stamps. It is about $800 of stamps every month. And there is nothing on the market today (other than eBay) which automatically fills out those Customs forms. Well, nothing that is free or cheap. eBay can do it automatically because I am a merchant. Stamps.com will do it, but for an added monthly fee. And that doesn't interface well with my Macintosh computer. So for now, I have to fill out each of those /////ing Customs forms by hand, and add stamps by hand, and then wait until Saturday, to get several boxes of a couple hundred packages into the Post Office. Some folk who request a package on Monday, do not understand why I cannot mail until Saturday. Can you say Negative Feedback? "Could something be more convenient?" That is what we are asking. eBay can already do First Class International. PayPal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay. So why can't their computers talk to one another? Oh wait, they already do. They are already able to charge my account for First Class International shipping from eBay. So, what stops PayPal from offering the service? Really, having a pre-generated, pre-paid form #2976 is convenient to more than just me. The folk at my local Post Office love them. They just have to weigh the package and scan the bar code -- and their computer interface verifies the postage is right. On the other hand, the extra manual work involved when there is a non-computerized form; including manually counting the postage (which, for the same weight, varies by country); can cause some workers to become snarky. Especially when presented with over 200 packages at a time. Our Post Office is so small I know all the front desk workers by name (Kathy, Donna, Patricia & Mike); by shift; by window worked; and by preference. Which means I can _never_ mail on Thursday. I just remember who does a consistent job, and go to their window always. Then I give them a present for Christmas (I give home-made wine). The one who has rejected packages because they were too "flimsy", doesn't get wine. [There really is a regulation which covers "flimsy" packages.] Yes, Post Office workers don't bite. But when they invoke obscure bureaucratic regulations, just because they had a bad night with their significant other, is about the same.
... View more
