How to Ship a Print

Information on shipping, storing and repairing your art, plus your reviews on products for art collecting, making, storing, etc..
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jkw3000
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:41 pm

mfaith wrote:
woodrowgus wrote: Basket full o' tubes gets costly at the counter. Lots of $$ saved printing those labels at home.
How so? Don't they charge the same rate online as they would in person at the post office?
USPS online shipping label printing I think has a discount. Never used it myself because I'm atrocious at weighing tubes, but there's definitely a store price/online price difference on the site.
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mfaith
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:42 pm

jkw3000 wrote:
mfaith wrote:
woodrowgus wrote: Basket full o' tubes gets costly at the counter. Lots of $$ saved printing those labels at home.
How so? Don't they charge the same rate online as they would in person at the post office?
USPS online shipping label printing I think has a discount. Never used it myself because I'm atrocious at weighing tubes, but there's definitely a store price/online price difference on the site.
Good to know. I'll check that out next time I have something to send. Thanks
So it goes...
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skis007
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:45 pm

jkw3000 wrote:
mfaith wrote:
woodrowgus wrote: Basket full o' tubes gets costly at the counter. Lots of $$ saved printing those labels at home.
How so? Don't they charge the same rate online as they would in person at the post office?
USPS online shipping label printing I think has a discount. Never used it myself because I'm atrocious at weighing tubes, but there's definitely a store price/online price difference on the site.
Buy a scale from STaples or some office store. I use a food scale. Still works.
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woodrowgus
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:52 pm

I can't speak to your specific region but for me here are some examples from HI to the Mainland.

Large Flat-Rate Priority Box: $15.80 online vs. $17.45

2 - 3 lb. Priority tube : $13.52 online vs. $15.10

Adds up quick if you're shipping out by the basketful. Not to mention the time in line at the P.O.

Also helpful when it comes to keeping track of your shipping info, as it's all just an e-mail away, versus frantically looking for a receipt weeks later should any issues arise. I highly recommend it.
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halftonegraphics
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:10 pm

online shipping via USPS.com, eBay/PayPal, Endicia or stamps.com will get you a slight discount. it is known as 'commercial base pricing' and is normally about a buck or two of savings. there also is 'commercial base plus' pricing which is even better discounts and for those that ship certain volumes or are TRS via eBay. for both, you save a good chuck of change on international shipping.

as echo'd multiple times, always suggest buying a digital 5lb scale, a standard bathroom scale, and a thermal label printer. will save you a lot of time and cash.
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maden
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:13 pm

halftonegraphics wrote:a thermal label printer
Eh, I just use my regular old printer and 3M or Avery self adhesive labels.
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halftonegraphics
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:15 pm

maden wrote:
halftonegraphics wrote:a thermal label printer
Eh, I just use my regular old printer and 3M or Avery self adhesive labels.
yeah, depends on how many you do. biggest savings is on ink.
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maden
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Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:17 pm

Ehhh, Meritline pretty consistently offers ink for next to nothing. Just gotta stock up when the getting is good.
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bjornca
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Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:07 am

Read through a number of pages, but didn't see anything on my question. Curious what you guys use for insurance for shipping to the UK (higher priced prints). On USPS's website, it states a limit on insurance of $650, and Insurepost has a $1,000 limit. What do people do for prints with values above these?
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jjbehren
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Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:10 am

I've combo'd them up before, but didn't have to make a claim. Not sure if that's allowed, but also not sure how they'd know about it, really.
bjornca
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Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:27 am

jjbehren wrote:I've combo'd them up before, but didn't have to make a claim. Not sure if that's allowed, but also not sure how they'd know about it, really.
Curious if anyone has made a claim with this combo method or had any issues (ie. did each actually pay out, or do the providers think it's potentially a scam and someone is receiving insurance from multiple providers for the same damaged print, if as you point out, they are actually able to determine a claim was paid out from another provider).
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alittle
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Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:28 am

I've been wondering about that myself. Have to ship something over 1k to the UK soon, and would like to have full insurance.
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aldo
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Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:03 pm

I believe you have to use Global Express Guaranteed. That allows up to $2500 insurance.
bjornca
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Mon Jul 14, 2014 7:38 pm

aldo wrote:I believe you have to use Global Express Guaranteed. That allows up to $2500 insurance.
Hmm, wasn't providing that as an option online (only Priority Express). Will look into.
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Cinlabyrinth
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Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:24 am

Been a while since this was bumped. This along with a Kevin Tong video served as my guide when I was going to ship my very first print and I think it's been fairly successful.
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