1st Class Shipping?

[Hammerstorm]

I recently made a purchase on Ebay. Here is my story.

I was quoted shipping at $40 to which i thought was a bit steep but have found to be standard, given the contents of this package for this instance it don't bother me but then this...

A FEW DAYS LATER (My EBAY Short story)

quote:

"When I went to the post office the shipping was 40 bucks or I could have done a 1st class shipping for 15. Because the shipping was significantly cheaper once you receive the figure let me know and I will send you a money order for the difference"

Which got me to thinking...

1. What is 1st class shipping?

Is my package fully reclined Sipping Dom Pérignon from a crystal glass. Whilst reclined back, watching transformers the movie on it's own Personal 14-in screen. Awaiting Golden sesame chicken napped in citrus sauce with fried rice and peppers.

2.Why is 1st class cheaper than standard?

3.Wouldn't $40 in postage be considered 1st class?

4.What is Standard?

The End.

[DarkHyren]

Well it depends on where you are getting it shipped from, but first class normally refers to the US postal systems lowest cost postage.
Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but "1st class" actually means the cheap regular mail service.
1st class usually takes anything from 1 to 2 weeks, sometimes as much as a month if you are unlucky, to get to you from the US.

This "standard" of which you speak sounds more like "priority mail", which alot of US sellers do use as their main way of mailing things.
Priority mail normally takes less then a week.

[kup]

Good thing you had an honest seller there.

Some sellers charge you insane amounts of money for international shipping ($30-$50+) and then only send it 1st Class.

[dirge]

Yeah it's vanilla, untracked, good old Air Mail. Still quite a safe & reliable postage method (although not automatically insured).

[Skullcruncher]

Yeah it's vanilla, untracked, good old Air Mail. Still quite a safe & reliable postage method (although not automatically insured).

Yeah still pretty safe and reliable, I have found sometimes it takes a few days(4-5) to get here for smaller items but large boxes can take around 2 weeks.

Plus it depends how fast the seller is to the post office!

Any sellers that quote Priority but only send it first class should be hit up about it. I've opened many cases always to get the difference back. Minus a couple of dollars for handling of course.

[JuzMel]

Well it depends on where you are getting it shipped from, but first class normally refers to the US postal systems lowest cost postage.
Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but "1st class" actually means the cheap regular mail service.
1st class usually takes anything from 1 to 2 weeks, sometimes as much as a month if you are unlucky, to get to you from the US.

This "standard" of which you speak sounds more like "priority mail", which alot of US sellers do use as their main way of mailing things.
Priority mail normally takes less then a week.

Yeah + 1 to that if you're referring to the US method of shipping which we assume...

As funny as it sounds first class is the cheapest and not so reliable method which sometimes could take up to 3 weeks.

Standard Priority Mail is normally about a week or so. Then there's the super expensive Express Mail Intertional which is guranteed in 3 business days or something.

You can find more info here:
http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home_header&page=calculatepostage

Look on the left menu under Prices.

[jaydisc]

There used to be 2nd and 3rd class mail, so back in the day, 1st class used to be pretty good.

It's probably due for a name change.

[canofwhoopass_87]

My personal U.S shipping experiences

1. Express International: 5-7 days, have had three packages stuck in customs
2. Priority International: Almost always 8-10 days. Have had some delay issues, but mostly trouble free.
3. First Class - Always Always Always 10 days. Never had a problem. I actually feel safest when it ships this way, despite the lack of insurance and tracking capabilities.

So in conclusion, IMO USPS First Class is damn awesome for smaller packages. Cheap, easy and kicks ass. As jay pointed out though, a new name is in order.