It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box • Hacker News Board

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#171

Post by brewdad » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 6:33 AM UTC

deepspace wrote: post #51

Since I discovered the availability of anvils on Amazon, I have always wondered about the economics of shipping them. Right now, I can order a 66lb "Happybuy" anvil for $153 with free prime shipping. One assumes that the $153 includes the cost of shipping it all the way from China in the first place. For comparison, a similarly sized anvil from a reputable local dealer costs $949 plus tax and shipping at the lowest r…

My in-laws bought us a cast iron outdoor pizza oven one year from Amazon. It probably weighed close to 200 lbs and they had to ship it twice because the first guy dropped it off the back of the lift on the truck while unloading it at our house. I don't know how much Amazon actually spent on our free shipping but they certainly lost money on the deal.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#172

Post by ralph84 » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:07 AM UTC

jmyeet wrote: post #78

What many may not realize is that there's a thriving industry in sending passengers on planes for the sole purpose of them taking things from A to B. Years ago, you could get discounted flights to Europe where you couldn't check in any luggage. Why? That allowance was taken up by documents for various clients. This was usually quicker than any courier services at the time. I've had friends who worked in the oil and g…

About 10 years ago I worked for a vendor of PCIe cards that were mainly sold to OEMs as a component of systems with 6- or 7-figure price tags. One of our customers discovered a critical bug that required reprogramming an FPGA on the card to fix. There were hundreds of cards in inventory at the customer's contract manufacturer's locations in Singapore, Scotland, and Texas. They stopped all three production lines and demanded we send someone to the locations to reprogram all of the cards.

So I was on a redeye that night from California to Texas with a Shuttle Cube w/PCIe slot and an ESD wrist strap under my arm. After reprogramming all of the cards in Texas it was back to the airport to catch another overnight flight to Scotland. Then after doing those cards it was on to Singapore, but I did get to stay one night in a hotel in Scotland since the soonest flight was the next morning. After doing the Singapore cards it was one night in Singapore and then back to California. Around the world in 5 days.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#173

Post by kmonsen » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:08 AM UTC

rags2riches wrote: post #165

dawnerd wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likewise some airlines don't even require someone to fly. I knew someone that would ship very expensive camera gear to film productions directly with an airline. They would check the cases and send it off. Someone would just go and pick it up. Obviously only really works if you're not dealing with customs. https://www.deltacargo.com/Cargo/

I thought terrorists had done the "check your bag and don't board" thing enough for it to be disallowed. But maybe this story took place a long time ago?

Terrorists these days are willing to die with the plane so it’s not such a big deal anymore I guess.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#174

Post by ZeroGravitas » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:13 AM UTC

jmyeet wrote: post #78

What many may not realize is that there's a thriving industry in sending passengers on planes for the sole purpose of them taking things from A to B. Years ago, you could get discounted flights to Europe where you couldn't check in any luggage. Why? That allowance was taken up by documents for various clients. This was usually quicker than any courier services at the time. I've had friends who worked in the oil and g…

Somewhat related to the original topic and this flight tangent, apparently fresh flowers are delivered by plane due to the combination of lightness and requirements for fast delivery. They almost act like an anti-ballast, filling up space that is otherwise unused but without adding much weight.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#175

Post by beefield » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:20 AM UTC

alfalfasprout wrote: post #148

readingnews wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> And each day of non-operation cost hundreds of thousands of dollars... My close relative worked off shore for decades. Sometimes a down large production platform is a MILLION dollars an hour. Flying someone anywhere with a $250,000 part in their hands is nothing. There are entire industries built around "getting things to the rig/platform" faster.

I mean for something like this, a dedicated corporate jet makes sense. Might cost you $10k/flight hour but that's peanuts if every minute counts.

My understanding is that unless you actually keep a jet on standby (which has its own costs), it is surprisingly difficult to beat commercial airliners on speed if the clock starts ticking now. You can always board the next flight, but with private jets it takes time to a) find a free jet and b) prepare for the flight. Of course, the more non-standard journey you have, the more edge the private jet gets.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#176

Post by baq » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:24 AM UTC

jmyeet wrote: post #78

What many may not realize is that there's a thriving industry in sending passengers on planes for the sole purpose of them taking things from A to B. Years ago, you could get discounted flights to Europe where you couldn't check in any luggage. Why? That allowance was taken up by documents for various clients. This was usually quicker than any courier services at the time. I've had friends who worked in the oil and g…

My understanding is that this is routine in F1.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#177

Post by rawling » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:26 AM UTC

TMWNN wrote: post #38

bombcar wrote: post #9

The flat rate envelope used to be a bit cheaper than that small box - and the small box fits inside the envelope with a bit of work - no tape!

The USPS 1096L box ( https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/prior... >) fits perfectly inside the USPS padded flat rate envelope ( https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/prior... >). Great for giving an item slightly more protection.

Are those actually free? They recoup the cost when you post it?

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#178

Post by dawnerd » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:28 AM UTC

rags2riches wrote: post #165

dawnerd wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likewise some airlines don't even require someone to fly. I knew someone that would ship very expensive camera gear to film productions directly with an airline. They would check the cases and send it off. Someone would just go and pick it up. Obviously only really works if you're not dealing with customs. https://www.deltacargo.com/Cargo/

I thought terrorists had done the "check your bag and don't board" thing enough for it to be disallowed. But maybe this story took place a long time ago?

TSA has limits and they’re pretty strict with wanting to know what’s being shipped. You can’t even ship over a pound without being subject to background checks and approval.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#179

Post by ghshephard » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:33 AM UTC

jmyeet wrote: post #78

What many may not realize is that there's a thriving industry in sending passengers on planes for the sole purpose of them taking things from A to B. Years ago, you could get discounted flights to Europe where you couldn't check in any luggage. Why? That allowance was taken up by documents for various clients. This was usually quicker than any courier services at the time. I've had friends who worked in the oil and g…

Surprisingly - clearing customs in many countries can be done by a random person who is willing to take a trip out to the airport and just pay brokerage and customs fees directly. I was in Jamaica and had some telecom gear fedexed to me - I went to pick it up but didn’t have the appropriate tax ID number to do so - I was able to head to downtown Kingston, provide my passport, they gave me a TRN (kind of like a SSN) and I went back to customs, paid the $20 or so and voila - I had the device clearing customs in the same day. I often wonder if it’s that straightforward in other countries. I do know if you hire a customs broker, in say Mexico (which fedex can’t clear customs for you - unlike say Germany) - the customs broker will end up charging you $1500 in fees to clear a $1300 NUC.

Re: It is physically impossible to exceed the weight limit for a Small Flat Rate Box

#180

Post by jhugo » Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 7:38 AM UTC

ghshephard wrote: post #179

jmyeet wrote: post #78

What many may not realize is that there's a thriving industry in sending passengers on planes for the sole purpose of them taking things from A to B. Years ago, you could get discounted flights to Europe where you couldn't check in any luggage. Why? That allowance was taken up by documents for various clients. This was usually quicker than any courier services at the time. I've had friends who worked in the oil and g…

Surprisingly - clearing customs in many countries can be done by a random person who is willing to take a trip out to the airport and just pay brokerage and customs fees directly. I was in Jamaica and had some telecom gear fedexed to me - I went to pick it up but didn’t have the appropriate tax ID number to do so - I was able to head to downtown Kingston, provide my passport, they gave me a TRN (kind of like a SSN) a…

It is that straightforward in most countries — I've done this exact thing many times. You save a lot of money, but you can sometimes waste a lot of time, and if your shipment is at all complicated you need quite a bit of specialist knowledge (which is why the brokers exist).