cost of mailing CDs

[Robin G]

hi all:

This is interesting:

Today I had a couple of packages of CDs to mail out.  One package was of two CDs, and I had already sent out the same package two weeks ago to a buyer in southern NJ (I'm in Manhattan).  He ordered more CDs from me, so I knew how much it would cost at the Post Office ($2.70 via media mail).  And since I had just sent the previous package recently, the rates hadn't risen.

Anyway,  I thought I'd stop in at the UPS store (franchise, not the real UPS depot)  which is on the way to the Post Office and do a price comparison.   In days gone by, UPS was usually a better rate than the Post Office.

So imagine my surprise when the guy weighed the package and told me it would cost $11.77 to mail the same package that the Post Office charges $2.70 for!  I told him as much, and left to head the always-annoying, but now much much cheaper, Post Office.

I'm wondering if this is just insane local franchise pricing, or whether it's now true across the board that the USPS beats UPS just about every time.....  what's been your experience?

Robin Greenstein

  

Singer-songwriter-song interpreter

www.robingreenstein.com

www.youtube.com/windyrec

[sonl...@aol.com]

UPS has ALWAYS been way above USPS in pricing... they are classified a Courier Service and not a Postal Service.  UPS has been in court for nearly 50 years regarding pricing to try and get the USPS to be more "competitive" with the Courier Services or to try and get Federal Subsididies slashed that offset USPS costs... to no avail.  The last time the two rates were competitive was when 100% of UPS (Then Railway Express) went by railroad, as did USPS.

 

As a matter of fact, the best way to compare apples to apples is PRIORITY MAIL to UPS and then UPS STILL comes up 300-400% higher than USPS.

 

My son works at UPS so I get the inside skinny on a regular basis.  I use both services (UPS for large international shipment of CD's) but am drifting more toward USPS because of the incredible savings at the Post Office.  Should the USPS go belly-up, and some predict that is a real possibility, digital music files may be the beneficiary of that collapse.

 

Son Lewis

Blues Vocalist/Guitarist

www.sonlewis.com

 

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[Bob Gramann]

The last time I went to ship something at the UPS store, the price was so high, I said, "No."  The clerk suggested I get a UPS account.  I called UPS and got an account (with multiple discounts).  My shipping rates dropped by about 50%.  Probably still too high for small stuff but very good for the wood and guitars that I sometimes ship.  

--Bob Gramann

--

['Ragtime' Jack Radcliffe]

Depends on size, weight and destination.

USPS charges same for delivery to any zone in U.S. for a typical single-CD package weighing 5 oz. of $2.68.

Media rate for the same package is actually more -- $2.73  -- for the same package. Media rate becomes cheaper after you add a second CD to a package.

UPS anywhere from 8.01 to 9.76, depending on zone.

 

Not sure why anyone thinks UPS is cheaper. Even if you get a commercial rate, it’s considerably more expensive – and less reliable in my experience.

[Annie Wenz]

I just slap a sticker which I've hand addressed, on one of my Oasis Eco friendly shrink wrapped CDs & mail it just like that!

It's under $2

If I include a 1sheet, I slit the shrink wrap, slide the paper between the front & back panels & seal back up w/ a piece of clear tape.

Eco friendly & economical !

Pura Vida,
Annie Wenz

Www.anniewenz.com