Does this package weigh 0.98 lb or 1.02 lb?

[bitsofsiliconvalley]

It's not a common occurrence but it's a recurring one: a package weighs in so close to a boundary between rates that I have to wonder whether it's really over the limit... or whether a slightly miscalibrated USPS scale will make the package handlers think it's over.

I don't have a specific question here. I wonder what your experiences have been, and how you deal with the problem.

I sometimes note the weight of a package that's close to a limit, and re-weigh it at the post office for comparison. The idea is to collect the information required to calculate a package's "real" weight from my measured weight. But I use two different scales and mail at two different post offices, so there are four possibilities to account for, and I've never gotten it together enough to prepare tables of weights.

[zzydny]

This is something I've thought about and something that I deal with a lot because many of my sales are sent by First Class; those extra fractions of an ounce can matter.

So I discussed it with the workers at my local PO and this is what they tell me:   If something is on the borderline, round up.  If I have a package that is 1.9 ounces before I add the label and seal with tape, I round up to 3 ounces.

Same is true for larger packages.  When it comes to weight, no matter what, always round up.  But when it comes to inches, you can round down if the difference is less than half an inch.

[partial*eclipse]

Whenever I have a question like that, I try to reduce the package weight.  Usually there's a flap that can be trimmed just enough.  Especially when the higher weight would cost so much more (i.e., .98 lb = 15.99-ounce First Class vs 1.02 lb = 2-pound Priority).

[fern*wood]

I've been known to trim a box flap or two, but if it still bothers me, I just go up a pound to be safe and move on.

[zzydny]

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

Whenever I have a question like that, I try to reduce the package weight.  Usually there's a flap that can be trimmed just enough.  Especially when the higher weight would cost so much more (i.e., .98 lb = 15.99-ounce First Class vs 1.02 lb = 2-pound Priority).

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Smart thinking.  If I'm wrapping a box, I can also usually adjust the packing materials or trim the box size to lower the weight.  But when I'm dealing with First Class items, there's generally no weight to lose.  Interesting how different it is to work with various package weights and requirements.

[bitsofsiliconvalley]

I used to spend a lot of time trimming flaps, but I gave it up. I could easily spend 15 minutes trying to trim 0.02 lb from a package, fall just short, and end up with nothing to show for my effort but a messy looking package. In doubtful cases I round up. When that pushes me over the line from First Class to Priority, or from First Class Package International to Priority International -- it's painful, but less painful than the trimming exercise.

I'm fortunate because the items I sell rarely fall near those limits. They almost always weigh less than 14 ounces, or well over a pound but less than three pounds. Thus I almost always get payment for an appropriate class of service, and I only have to absorb the difference between one weight range and the next. That could change, though, and there's the occasional combined shipping package that could end up weighing anything.

[fern*wood]

I guess I'm quicker with the scissors---can't imagine it taking 15 minutes.

[goingdancing]

I've done a lot of trimming, too. That can be very helpful for small amounts. I've also spent an hour+ cutting down & RE-MAKING a box because I hadn't realized that the box I'd intended to use put me into an entirely new postage category due to the dimensions, not the weight. Something like, from $9 up to $40. I'm now VERY careful to enter box dimensions on the high side when I list.

[partial*eclipse]

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goingdancing wrote: .... I'm now VERY careful to enter box dimensions on the high side when I list.

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The thresholds are (1) Priority Mail going to Zones 5 - 9 that has a volume more than 1 cubic foot (1728 cubic inches) is charged a "dimensional weight"; (2) other Priority Mail and all Parcel Select and Retail Ground pay the "balloon" rate if the length-plus-girth is over 84 inches.

If you're within those two thresholds, then the exact measurements don't matter.  For the Priority Mail dimensional rate, the dimensions matter a LOT.

[deep-garnet-red]

Are you saying your scale is off by over half an ounce? That's quite a bit.

[sidemouse]

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@deep-garnet-red wrote:

Are you saying your scale is off by over half an ounce? That's quite a bit.

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The Post Office's might be.

[bitsofsiliconvalley]

I'm saying that it's reasonable to assume that the errors in my scale and the USPS scale could add up to as much as 2% (or 3%, if you insist). For a one pound package that would be about 0.5 ounce. For a heavier package it could be more.

I really don't know what standards of precision these scales meet, or what the effects are of age and of variations in temperature and humidity. The numbers are based entirely on gut feel, and on what I've observed by weighing some packages on different scales.

[deep-garnet-red]

That's an interesting question. I am sure there are federal guidelines in place to regulate how often the scales are calibrated.  I'm not going to dig to look them up. 

[green-night]

That certainly is an interesting question.  The town office of weights and measures here inspects retail calibration (gas, etc), however, who checks to the PO scales calibration?     Or do they police themselves? 

[swappart]

The easiest answer to this is to avoid having the item weighed at acceptance. Obviously, we have to have an acceptance scan, so what I do is use a SCAN form. The direct link to the bulk shipping tool is below, and it allows printing a SCAN form even for a single item. You will occasionally encounter clerks who don't know how to do a scan form, but then you just ask that they get someone to show them how. If you ship multiple packages, you should be doing it this way anyway. It makes your job and theirs easier, and they will love you for it. As a precaution, always get a receipt and keep it because sometimes a shipment will not show as getting an acceptance scan, while others on the same form will. It's a rare occurrence, but it happens, and the receipt is your proof that you shipped on time.

http://shiptrack.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BulkShippingLabelLoader&SCSold=true