NOTE: To determine the costs for parcels going overseas, you will first need to find out your Country Price Group on pages 48-51. Then go to the Priority Mail International listing on pages 40-43. For Express Mail International, go to pages 34-37. FYI, this publication also covers all classes of Domestic Retail Pricing. At Player-Care, I typically use Priority Flat Rate unless it's less expensive to use regular Priority, which isn't that uncommon when shipping to states that are within 300 miles of New Jersey -where I live. The cost for Insurance, both foreign and domestic, is contained in the publication. So, you can figure out exactly how much an order will cost to ship once you know the weight of the parcel, which I will be happy to provide in almost every case. (Sometimes it's just not practical if the order contains multiple items that have to be cut to size before they can be weighed. In such cases, I will do my best to provide an estimated weight -within 2-4 pounds.)

Shipping Charges for most supplies and references Orders

We typically use USPS Priority Flat Rate Shipping for all orders. The costs are readily available for viewing at the USPS web site. It's about $5.90 for small boxes and envelopes. For overseas orders, the minimum cost is about $28.00.

The information below refers only to shipping charges that involve a shipping label that is printed online.

In order to insure that there is a record in the postal system that your parcel was received by the post office, and to be able to provide you with a delivery confirmation number online, I take an extra step that can be confusing to some customers.

Here's how it works. I print the shipping label online at the USPS website. For that reason, I am initially charged a slightly lower rate than I would pay if I paid for the postage at the post office. My reasoning for handling the shipping label in this manner is to insure that there is a record of it in the USPS system, and it also allows me the ability to have an email sent to you by the post office which proves that I processed the label. That's the first half of the process. The second half of the process involves taking the parcel to the post office and having the shipping label scanned by the clerk. Most businesses DO NOT take this extra step. Instead, they simply drop off the parcel at the post office and leave. Going the extra mile, and having the label hand-scanned by a postal clerk creates a record that the parcel was indeed received by the post office at a certain time and date.

However, since I require the post office to go through the extra step of hand-scanning the label at the post office, they charge me the same rate as if I handled the whole process AT the post office.

As it was explained to me by the post master, the reason the post office charges a reduced rate for shipping if the label is printed online is that the parcel does not need to be handled by a clerk at the post office. The customer can simply drop it off and leave. But, since I have them take the extra step of scanning the parcel at the post office when I bring it to them, they charge me the difference between the online rate and the regular rate.

The point of all this is so you understand why there is a difference between the amount of postage printed on the online label verses that amount of postage you are being charged.

If you have any further questions, please contact me at 1-732-840-8787.

Musically,

John A Tuttle
Player-Care.com
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