jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on Apr 3, 2009 3:25:22 GMT
Anyone in Canada besides me finding postage expensive? I mailed three 8" squares today, and surface/sea mail to Africa was nearly $7. Airmail would have been just barely under $10. Crikey! So mine will get there slower. I suppose I could try mailing just one square in a letter envelope next time, as originally suggested and see if it's cheaper. Not that I think I can fold and fit an 8" square into one of them! Oh well...believe it or not the lady behind the counter said it would have cost me more money to mail those 3 squares to Calgary (I'm in Ontario) than it did to South Africa. yeeeesh. go figure...I used to work for the Post Office and I can't figure it out. LOL! I couldn't find the postal rates thread so I stuck this here. Just wondering if anybody has a cheaper rate. I double folded 3 8" squares in a size 0 bubblewrap plastic envelope. They said thickness doesn't matter for overseas, only weight. I'm glad it was lightweight!
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Post by grannieannie on Apr 4, 2009 11:12:02 GMT
Hi Jeanne I have driven my local postmaster crazy weighing various envelopes of squares to find the cheapest postal rates.
Here's the best I have found - Canada Post Small Packet Rate applies to any parcel with total dimensions of 90 cm or less (height+width+ length) and weighing 2Kg or less.
I am using the box from computer paper (5 pack size - from Walmart) which will hold 55 squares and the total weight including box, squares and plastic bag to protect them weighs in at just under the 2Kg allowed. The cost to mail this is $22.59 - a whole lot cheaper than smaller quantities. (works out to about 40 cents per square)
I am sitting here with 120 squares waiting to be mailed and will hold off until Sandy does her next posting regarding duty etc. I think I will send off one box as a trial and hope the SA ladies will let me know by email if it arrives safely.
This is the surface-mail rate - but I suspect that they might just go by air anyway
Do email me if you want to pursue this
Anne
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jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on Apr 4, 2009 15:04:10 GMT
Grannieannie this sounds like a solution alright. I don't know how long it would take me to crochet that many squares but it seems bulk is better. I'm trying a larger envelope this next time. It should hold a 10" square crochet top and about 6 8x8 squares. I hope! If the box idea works then yes, I should try that too. Thanks so much for your input!
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Post by grannieannie on Apr 4, 2009 16:39:42 GMT
Me again, Jeanne.... when I had one square in an envelope weighed it would have cost $2:36 to send it!!!!! The small packet rate for 500G to 1Kg is $15.26 (20-30 squares ??) and for 250-500G. $8.98..... (10-15 squares? ). so the more squares you can send at once the cheaper it is. I suspect the squares I have crocheted weigh more than the onces I have knitted - they are a wee bit denser... so I am planning to arrive at the post office with the box unsealed so I can add or subtract a few squares to get the most bang for the buck. Too bad our postal rates are so high.... seems like Canada is more expensive than some of the other countries chiming in Happy squaring..... Anne
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Post by Christine (Tina) on Apr 9, 2009 14:57:50 GMT
i posted about 15 squares yesterday, they were just over .500kg and this was classified as a small package. Cost $34.50 The gal working at the post office said, yes a small package is classified as nothing over 2kg and an overall size adding up to 90cm. BUT, it ur items weight more that .5kg, the price will double. My next package weight is .36kg and this will cost me 18.00, big difference. These prices, BTW, are all going by air. They will reach Africa within a week. So...keep ur packages within the 90cm size ( L + w + h) and under .5kg if u want to ship by air...of coarse, by land is the cheapest, but will take up to 6 weeks to reach its destination. Gotta love our Canadian Postal system!!!LOL Another piece of info....i havent tried it yet, but you can "Ship and Click" on the can. postal site...and pay ...print off ur mailing labels. Then just mail ur parcels instead of heading into ur local post office. I bought a digital food scale from Walmart ($19.99) so i can weight my packages at home. ( a food scale is more sensitive and will weight the smallest of items) Hope some of this info is helpful Tina ;D
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Post by grannieannie on Apr 11, 2009 11:17:40 GMT
Hi Canadians
On Thursday I mailed my first two boxes of squares. Each contained 50 squares and qualified for the 90 cm. "small packet" rate weighing in at 1.85 Kg. (just under the 2 Kg. limit) The cost was $22.59 per box. My postmaster feels there's a good chance they will be treated as air mail.
I have included a note in each box asking to be emailed when they arrive, so will update this forum when I hear.
Cheers
Anne
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jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on Apr 16, 2009 11:18:14 GMT
Grannieannie your advice about shipping abit larger works! I just mailed a bubble envelope that was about twice the size of my original and only paid $2 more in postage. Yaaay! The original package I sent was 3 squares for $6.50 and 2 days ago I spent $8.35 for 7 squares plus a 10" crocheted top! Bigger is better--to a point of course. Thanks for the valuable info on weights everyone. I too, Tina, am thinking of getting a scale. Meantime I'm still sending sea mail...if it's only 6 weeks I am encouraged. I have a daughter in South Korea and sea mail takes 3 months to get to her! So to me, 6 weeks sounds like a bargain, lol.
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Post by Shealeen on Apr 29, 2009 2:13:48 GMT
I live in Montreal,Quebec and have already sent 3 envelopes with squares.I can fit 5 non folded squares into a Zip Lock bag and then insert them into a 10x13 non-bubble wrap yellow envelope.Each time the cheapest postage rate I could get was $6.22.This is surface mail and could take up to 6 weeks to arrive.There are no taxes applied on International postage over $5.00.My envelopes weighed 0.214kg.I prefer to not send too many squares at once just in case they get stolen or tampered with and have always written no retail value,for charity,not for commercial sale.
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andrea
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by andrea on Apr 29, 2009 13:58:12 GMT
I used a #5 (I think) bubble mailer - 10.5" x 16" - and fit 7 squares in for a mailing cost of $8.98 (surface mail). I figured the ladies have more than enough squares to keep them busy for awhile so I could ship the slowest and save money for the next shipment. I'm hoping to find a box that fits the 90cm requirement so I can send more! )
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Post by Christine (Tina) on May 5, 2009 14:57:05 GMT
;D Yes postage from Canada is a challange...! But, grannieannie, ur idea about more is cheaper is great. Im going to try that on my next shippment as im close to having another 50 squares ready. Keep Knitting Canadians!!!!
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jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on May 7, 2009 12:21:41 GMT
Well since I crochet I think I can add "Happy Hooking!" I find the brushed or nubbly/slubbed yarns seem to give bulk and warmth without the same weight. The 9+ squares I crammed in the last envelope weighed very little compared to the denser plain acrylic yarn squares. Hmmmm. The mysteries of the Canadian Postal System continue!
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kyla
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by kyla on May 7, 2009 13:46:54 GMT
Andrea, are you sure it was a #5? I know you said they were bulky squares but I used a #5 and got 20 squares in. It was a very full package mind you.
I rolled up my squares really tight into little knitted sausages and stuck 10 each in a freezer bag, then sat on them and got all the air out. I taped the ziploc end so no air would seep back in again, and then took my two freezer bags down to the post office and we crammed (and I truly mean crammed) them both into a #5 bubble envelope, and then paid about $17 to go surface mail. Air mail was double the price, and the woman at the post office warned me that it may take a month for airmail anyway, depending on when the shipments go out.
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andrea
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by andrea on May 16, 2009 22:42:15 GMT
I finally checked and it's a #4 envelope. I like your idea of rolling the squares... I laid them flat instead and might've been able to fit more in had I rolled instead!
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jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on May 18, 2009 4:30:58 GMT
Another way to get air out of ziploc or other plastic bags is to suck it out with a vacuum cleaner hose--you hold the end in the bag, sealed around the hose by your hand and turn the vacuum on--mind you don't suck the squares into the vacuum, lol. Use a weak vacuum or one with a lower power level. But a friend did that vacuum thing when mailing her daughter a snowmachine suit (super bulky) and the thing shrank down so flat she was able to mail it in a regular bubble envelope for very little. Mind you she did include a warning to her daughter to stand back when she opened it at the other end, lol. I gather it expanded a LOT. Thanks for the idea of rolling them in a #5, I really shall try that!
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