Dropping parcels in post boxes

[thestuffofchris]

I have read on Canada Post's website, as well as these very boards, that you are able to drop your parcels into the big red post boxes instead of taking them to the post office (provided they fit, of course).

I take all my outgoing parcels to the post office which is (traffic depending) a 10-15 minute drive. Most of the parcels, however, are small and could easily fit in the post boxes, one of which is maybe a 2-3 minute walk away.

For those of you who have done this, how well has it worked out? Have you had any problems? Would you recommend it?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[tobyshitzu]

I put any I can force into the mail box in the mail box.  Canadian expedited ones with paypal labels, intl small packets covered with stamps.  Wish the opening was bigger so the rest could go in too.  Keep a ton of 24X20X15cm boxes around  that will fit.  Always baffled when people say they take even letter size items to the postal counter.  Was just thinking how Ive made the same nightly trek to the same mail box over 2,000 times

[ypdc_dennis]

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@thestuffofchris wrote:

I have read on Canada Post's website, as well as these very boards, that you are able to drop your parcels into the big red post boxes instead of taking them to the post office (provided they fit, of course).

I take all my outgoing parcels to the post office which is (traffic depending) a 10-15 minute drive. Most of the parcels, however, are small and could easily fit in the post boxes, one of which is maybe a 2-3 minute walk away.

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It depends on how safe you regard your local red box and what the pickup time for the box is.

My local red box is a 1-2 minute walk, fairly safe location, but official pickup is 1pm (although I have seen it being emptied as late as 4pm), Monday to Friday. The local postal outlet is about a 4-6 minute drive, cutoff is 4:30pm. Open Monday to Saturday.

My personal preference is to get my tracked stuff scanned when I drop off rather than wait for hit-and-miss scanning at the sorting facility. Plus small packet only has originate scanning available at the outlet. So those almost always go to the outlet.

Oversize lettermail only goes in the red box if it can meet the cutoff time and there are no tracked parcels to mail that day. Otherwise I'm off to the postal outlet late in the afternoon and the staff put oversize lettermail directly into the O/S bin -- which I think helps trim a little time off the sort process.

...

Also, depending on how much stuff you're mailing you can see about Canada Post picking the parcels up.

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[momcqueen]

I take everything inside to the authorized dealer postal counter.

Since I adopted this practise about three years ago, my rates of Items Not Received (INRs) dropped to less than one per cent. They had been significantly higher than other sellers were experiencing, and while they are other factors that changed between then and now, the postal counter as opposed to letterbox drop is among the top reasons I believe my INRs fell to nil.

And getting my acceptance scans on time is important to me since I have same-day shipping as my setting. There is no time to waste to wait around for an item to be scanned at the postal processing plant. I get it scanned when I hand it in. And done.

[femmefan1946]

I have a box with 9am pickup on the corner and another two blocks away with a 3 pm pickup.

The 3pm box is beside the high school.

In part because I have very few packages that I track, I use these almost exclusively.

And most of my trackable parcels also go in the box.

I've had the occasional package turn up in my mail a day later as underpaid, but no great problems with Not Delivered claims.

I strongly suspect that INR complaints depend more on the type of customer than on the actual shipping service and/or delivery date.

If I sold coins, dolls, horse tack, video games, or sneakers, I'd do a lot more tracking and take parcels to the PO, about a 15 minute walk from my house.

[tobyshitzu]

the times on the red mail boxes here got replaced with "daily collection", though I've known for years they didn't mean much by seeing the guy collecting hours before the cutoff time that was on them.  Of course I don't care anyway, if the weather is terrible Im not taking them until the next night anyway

[vintagenorth]

I have to drive to the post office each day, about 5 kms away. No red box nearby (closest one is outside the post office) and nothing other than a card will fit in the six inch wide slots on our very old mailboxes at the end of the road.

[thestuffofchris]

Thank you for the great feedback so far.

As it stands now, I take pretty much everything to the post office regardless of what it is, and I will likely continue to do so, but I would still be happy to hear from others who have experiences and/or opinions they would like to share.

[pocomocomputing]

I only bring packages using a tracking service like Expedited Parcel or Tracked Packet to the post office to get the acceptance scan. Otherwise non-tracked services like Lettermail, Letter-post, Light Packet, Small Packet all get put in the corner red box if they fit. I have have very few INR claims (3-4 in 8 years, with two Lettermail in Canada in the past couple of years sold to experienced sellers with high feedback in Canada which made me wonder if I was being taken). I was surprised at such a low loss rate.

Especially since I use "discount" postage stamps for most of the packages in the past 6 years. I was always afraid that the colorful stamps on the package would make them more noticeable and be more prone to theft. I even used stamps on international shipments to Europe (East and West), Australia, South Korea, Japan.

[hit_the_icebox]

I have just taken over the shipping in the store and realized we have a couple red boxes outside the Metro in our mall. Inow drop everything that is standard postage (bubble and photo mailers) there and have had no issues.

However, anything that needs to be "beeped in" (I say that because it makes the PO ladies laugh) I haul into the actual PO. I do that because we post in our feedback the day the item is shipped along with a thank you and I can't tell you the number of times people have messaged or emailed complaining they check the number and it's not in the system so I MUST be scamming them! I'd rather get them to the PO and have the receipt to scan and send if I have to instead of waiting for the sorting facility to do it.

[recped]

I use the box outside the local postal outlet. The driver that picks up from the boxes is a different driver than the one that picks up inside.

he driver who picks up from the boxes is finished shortly after 5:00pm and then goes directly to the sort facility (Mississauga in my case). The driver that picks up from the outlet continues to drive around to other outlets and probably doesn't get back to the sort facility for a few hours.

In any event it all ends up in the same place and within a few hours so I don't think it makes much difference either way. 90% of what I put in the box is LetterMail so scans are not part of the issue. Most of the items I send via Expedited are slightly too big to go in the box.

[ricarmic]

I am not 100% sure, but 99.9% of the way to being able to say I've never used a red box!

One must remember I've grown up in and remained in a rural community.

It would almost be an insult to the PM to sneak in and out of the PO without saying hello!

Plus of course the 1 or 2 or 5 other villagers that happen to collide with my timing.....

Unfortunately it means my PO visit can be anywhere from 5 to 50 minutes when one includes the "overhead" of chitter chatter....

[thestuffofchris]

Just a quick update: I dropped an Expedited Parcel into the red box earlier this afternoon at about 12:30 PM, collection was at 5:00 PM, and it was scanned at the sort facility at 8:24 PM.

My usual process is to head to the postal outlet at Shopper's, which I normally can't get to until after 6:00 PM, collection there is at 7:00 PM, and then the parcels are scanned at the sort facility around 9:00 PM.

The processing times are similar yet utilizing the red box was a heck of a lot more convenient for me, both in terms of when in the day I could take it and how long it took to drop it off.

I'm satisfied.

[olderbetterever]

I don't use the red box near my home as my items are always have tracking numbers.

My red box has irregular services, there is sometimes no delivery or collection, especially on Friday. 

Going to the nearby outlet can have my item scanned and obtain a receipt indicating my package is dropped off there. Another secure measure for claims if any is lost, so far no lost package at all.

[dippyegggames]

Hey im confused how do you drop non tracked items in the mailbox? Small yes but with what on it a regular stamp???

[pjcdn2005]

Stamps or a postal label that you bought online and then printed.  Not all labels have tracking.

[femmefan1946]

Start here:

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/farLetter?execution=e3s1

That should give you the price you put on the package.

There are restrictions about what is considered a "letter or document" but a scofflaw like me who uses the postbox has noticed that Canada Post is flexible about this, but the counter clerks are not.

The only really important part is that your "letterpost" parcels should not be more than 2cm thick. Your parcel will be going through machinery that will eat anything thicker.

And use metric measurements -- Canada Post went metric in 1974 and everything else is guesswork.

With parcel mail, you can use postage stamps or print out a label at home.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e5s1

With the printed label, the acceptance postmark will be added at the terminal.

You may get a small discount on home printed labels.

Do you have a Small Business Solution number already?

Or use postage stamps, which can be purchased on eBay at substantial discounts.

• When I need tracking I use mostly stamps, take the parcel to the PO, buy a label to make up the difference in postage and get the barcode tracking there.

Shipping is the hardest part of selling online.

[kh-leslie]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies.  Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thanks for understanding!