I figured now would be a good time to write a rant about the USPS. Now I'm not trying to offend anyone here who works for them, but the company itself sucks. First of all- monopoly. Nothing else left to be said there really. Besides that they raise prices every 6 months it feels like. I can never send a package now without it costing $8 or more it seems. Priority flat rate boxes can be a good deal, but they are trying to phase out most other forms of mailing that would be a cheaper option.

The thing that really gets me though is their ridiculous policies and pricing. For instance... Today I went to mail a package that weighed 12 ounces. It was going to an international country- not important which one, but it isn't a sketchy country... SO I had been weighing my options for a few days. The initial problem was that the prices listed online at usps.com NEVER quite matched up with what you get at the PO in person. There was always some catch or hitch that would change things. Besides, the usps website is ANYTHING but easy to find the information you want to find. There are still things that I cannot find on the website, but anyway... my first thought (because USPS has trained me so well) is a Priority flat rate box. Now immediately I knew that might not work because I needed to insure the package for $1200 and you can't insure Priority FLAT RATE boxes internationally. WTF?? So at that point I think about sending it either priority flat rate REGISTERED, or first class REGISTERED. Now here's the thing about that which I recently found-

Registered mail travels safely (supposedly) since it is kept separate and usually in locked areas. Now the problems start internationally. Any country outside the US can treat these packages (and any for that matter) however they want. So once that precious registered package touches down in a foreign country, all bets are off. One worker at the PO said she had heard that Portugal for instance just piles it all together and hopes for the best. This would all be fine IF you could get any money back if lost or damaged... YOU BASICALLY CAN'T! WTF??? Sending mail registered for ANY amount (in my case $1200) doesn't mean jack. Registered mail has a MAXIMUM indemnity limit (international at least) of about $45! So I lose my $1200 package and I get back $45. No go. Besides, first class registered for $1200 was around $30. WTF?

So I go to my next options- Priority (non-flat rate) and Express. Both would be insured rather than registered since for some reason you can't register these... Anyway. Both would now ship by weight and country code, etc. Priority came out to about $40 with the $1200 insurance and Express came to... $38. WTF?? It was cheaper to send the package Express with insurance than it was for priority. This company is so screwed up in their pricing and policy it isn't even funny. So finally I decided to just do the Express mail but it doesn't end there!

The thing about insurance on foreign packages that I never knew until recently is that no matter what amount you insure it for, there will STILL be a maximum indemnity limit on INSURED packages as well! WTF? Now I understand once it is in another country it becomes their package, not the USPS's but it still makes no sense! I insured my package for $1200 but the MAXIMUM I could get back is only between $700-800! WHY on earth should I pay for $1200 worth of insurance then?? If I insured it for less, the maximum indemnity limit goes down, that's why. They might as well just SAY that they are about to rape me instead of getting sneaky about it. They don't just TELL you this stuff up front either, you've got to really dig.

Now after all was said and done I'm still happy my package is guaranteed to get there by Monday and I at least will get SOME cash back if damaged, but MAN that company sucks. Shipping with them within the US is great as long as you insure it, but international- they really screw you.