How can I mail this book without standing in line at the post office?

Why do you need to mail it?

@XOIIO Because it was requested via this book swap site.

@MyNewtBoobs Ahh, thats a shame, too bad you can’t just send a PDF

Not sure what else, maybe check the UPS shipping rates, you usually just drop it off at the UPS branch although I don’t really know much about mailing either

Go here. You can do the whole thing pretty much online, now. Voila!

@augustlan I tried that. But I’m so confused as to what to do there. I need step-by-step instructions. Hell, when I went to price the postage, they told me it’d be more than $15! So clearly, I’m doing something wrong.

Will the book fit into one of the ‘flat rate’ boxes they have? If so, that’s the way to go… it’s way cheaper.

Why do you need to avoid going to the post office? I find it a lot easier than trying to do it online, and you usually end up spending less that way

I do all of my mailing at the local grocery store. They provide the flat rate priority mail envelope, the shipping label, and the postage. Plus they don’t add any fees like those post and parcel type places do and there is a rarely a line.

Go to Office Depot. Hardly any lines (at least at my local place) and they send packages through USPS there. Flat rate envelopes (should fit a paperback, at least) go for $4–5. That’s pretty much it.

There’s no way to go any cheaper, honestly, as far as shipping goes.

Call UPS or FedEx. They’re cheaper than the post office and will come to your house to pick it up.

Please go to the post office! My lovely local post office is about to close because people are avoiding using it. Soon mail will be obsolete, and that will be so sad. Is ten minutes of chatting with neighbors so bad? Let’s help the post office workers keep their jobs!

@sliceswiththings Chatting with neighbors? Not really how my post office works. Going to the post office is, among other things, horribly inconvenient. It’d be great if I knew how to mail things without taking 3 hours out of my day during work hours to do it.

If it is a book then you can send it via “media mail.” Look up the rates on the USPS website. They should have them listed by weight. I think that it should cost about 3.50 to send your book. Just put it in an envelope with a bunch of stamps and write “media mail” on it before sending.

Media mail will make it cheap. I go to the post office website and use their mailing options to plug in the weight and size of my package (estimating is OK) and select that I want to send it media mail. Its under “create a shipping label.’ I wrap the book in bubble wrap and either a brown envelope or brown paper and send it, either by putting the flag up on my own mailbox or by dropping it in any mailbox around town. Its easy peasy!

@klutzaroo And you can do that, even if it’s over 13 oz?

@klutzaroo K, on the page where you select the type of label (Express mail, Priority Mail® Padded Flat Rate Envelope, etc) they don’t have media mail as an option.

Media mail, up to 70 pounds. Its $2.82 for two pounds. I’ve done it before so I’m not quite sure where you’re going wrong. I can’t access it because I don’t remember my password right now to “send” something. If nothing else, you might just want to go to the post office since its only going to cost you less than $3 if you go.

@klutzaroo So when I got to that link, I click on Calculate Postage on the right. Which then has no media mail options.

@klutzaroo And, when I got to print a shipping label, there’s no media mail options, so I can’t do online postage for media mail (that I can see).

Or, if you have a bunch of stamps at home, just make your life easier by putting (approximately – going over and not under) enough stamps on it to cover the USPS media mail rate for the weight of your book and send it on its way. It might not be exact, but it will save you the hassle of a trip to the PO. See http://www.usps.com/prices/media-mail-prices.htm