Currently I use my Pampered Chef food scale, calculate rates on the web for estimates and then take the package in when payments are received and let them re-weigh and charge me an arm and a leg (often more than I estimated :( )

I ship through USPS for packages under 2lbs and through Airborne Express for larger packages (I get special rates through dh's work but I don't want to depend on their rates- I'd like to find my own)

What scales do you use, that are accurate? How many lbs does it go up to? How much did it cost? Where did you get it?

Do you use any in home services such as pitney bowes? How do you like it? I send maybe ten-twenty packages a month sometimes quite a bit more if I do a co-op ect.

Any direction and discriptions of what you do would be super helpful, thank you mamas!

Sarah

a bump and a pretty please :(

I got this scale a couple months ago, and love it - it's very accurate for me. You can always try weighing 5 quarters on it for accuracy - 5 quarters=1 ounce.

This model weighs up to 10 pounds and is $36 including shipping.

http://www.oldwillknott.com/royex2.html

As a bonus, the website is amusing :)

Thank you for your response. I've bookmarked that scale and may just order it this evening.

I did however get a call from Pitney Bowes about their services and I'd be interested to hear others experiences with them and if it would be worth the $25 monthly fee. They have a three month free trial and I was thinking of giving it a go :confused:

Sarah

I wanted to bump this because I am curious too! :)

I don't send out that many packages but I think Fed Ex is by far the cheapest way to send anything over a couple of pounds- if you live near an actual Fed Ex site versus a Mailboxes Ect, or some place that just handles Fed Ex...
I use a digital scale to weigh packages. So far it's been very accurate, only gets questionable in the low weights which I guesstimate on.

OK mamas - get out your pens and paper, because here it is!... LOL!

There are several things that I do, that I do mostly to save time, and not have to stand in any lines at the PO!

1. the scale - I have a 5 lb scale, super accurate to the 1/10 of an ounce. I bought it at Office Max and it's a Sunbeam Model SP5, ran me about $29.

Most of my packages are small, so usually this scale suffices. Luckily all of my larger boxes go UPS, so I can weigh the items, then add up, and round up, because you don't have to be too accurate with UPS.

2. shipping accounts:

I have a UPS online ship account. This allows me to print labels directly from my computer, and my printer (inkjet 900 series), on regular paper. They bill me weekly, but they don't care if you pay several bills together, no penalties or anything. UPS account was super easy to set up, just took a bit of time on the phone with them. YOu can hand your packages to any driver, or take them to any service counter including Mailboxes Etc.

Now the cool part...

How to avoid lines at the PO, and not pay too much! LOL.

(if you want exact details about this, please e-mail me directly, and I'll fill in any blanks I may have forgotten here!)

I have an account with Endicia.com This allows me to print customized labels (with my logo and all) from my printer (same as above), onto labels I purchase. The super cool thing is that if I send Priority mail, the delivery confirmation is included in the postage, I don't pay a cent more for it. They also have a method of printing the postage in "stealth" mode which doesn't show the $, rather it says "2lb rate, zone 8" depending on the package and destination. I like that feature. I don't necessarily want my customers to know what it cost me to ship their package.

This system prints everything on one label, Main address, return address with Logo, postage, and delivery confirmation. and it looks really professional. I wish I had one I could attach.

so, how to get this account? If you sign up directly with Endicia.com, you will probably have to get one of thier different level accounts, which charge different amounts based on how much customer service you choose. range from $9.95/month and up.

How to save money?

I paid a $9.95 set-up fee, and $9.95/year, renewable and charged yearly. so, all in all I paid $20, plus $9.95 next year etc. How did I do this?

My rep put me through these steps:

1. First I got an account with www.postalstreet.com (free). Once I had this account, I got my www.endicia.com acount ( I cant' remember if there was a direct link, or if I used my postalstreet account as my loging to endicia. I'll dig arond for that!)

2. Got my endicia account. Once I had the postalstreet account, the edicia account was only $9.95/year.

3. Download the Endicia software, called Dazzle, and go from there!

I pay for my postage using my business credit card, and can get my postage recharged in moments. Best of all, I can give my postage paid packages to my mail carrier, anyone at the PO, and once I had introduced myslef to the Postmaster at the local PO, I can drop them off in the back of the PO at the bulk mailing door/counter. Too cool.

So, theres my story. If you're interested in more details, please e-mail me pua@snuggleroo.com, and I'll dig through my folder and give you exact directions on how to do this and save big money.

I like this system. It saves me time, postage (since I don't have to pay for del conf.) and it makes my packages look really professional.

there are no minimums I have to meet every month or anything. Pay in advance (as little as $10 at a time), use at your own will.

Puja

Thank you thank you thank you Puja for taking the time to type that out :) I'll be checking out those sights today and also hopefully buying the scale mantioned by Rocket Scientist (I like going up to 10lbs- BTW the site is really entertaining :P )

I already print custom labels for all of my packages so this is a great option, no extra steps for me. Dh was just explaining to me last night how his workplace as a teenager (Postal Services Plus) used to do things and this is extremely similar.

If others have different methods feel free to keep responding, I'm very interested

Thanks again,
Sarah