Do you guys actually have little flags on your mailboxes? And the mail-man will pick mail up for sending from them?!
They do, at least for older routes. Newer ones have communal mailboxes, so the delivery guy only goes to that one place rather than twenty or so mailboxes. But that also has a slot for outgoing mail.
Do you guys actually have little flags on your mailboxes? And the mail-man will pick mail up for sending from them?!
Yes, and I don't think I could live without it. Not only does the postman come every day (except Sunday) to deliver my mail to the box and pick up any outgoing mail (pins) from the box, but if you make a request (for free) online -- he/she will get out of the truck and pick up bigger packages from your porch/door/whatever. Yesterday I had four boxes (maybe 20 pounds worth total) of stuff picked up from our front porch. What's more, buying/printing your postage online and having stuff picked up at your house is significantly cheaper than hauling it to the post office and having them do it at the counter (they give you a hefty online discount).
So you guys have to actually physically go to the post office to mail anything? Ick, I truly hate going to the post office -- somehow no matter what time of the day I go I end up in line behind seven old people buying stamps with pennies. They also want to stop and talk to the clerk about each penny as they go :x
Well if you buy a bunch of pre-paid satchels, you can mail things in your local community postal bin, they're located all around the place and these are what the mailman picks up every day. (Although in some parts of Australia, you might be travelling as far as the PO :P)
The usage is limited though, as they only come in set sizes and prices, they do however work great if you're selling games, dvds etc, I never went to the PO for that, 500g satchel was perfect.
Merchants can pay and print their labels online but as far as I'm aware, this isn't available to the general public yet. If it was, life would be much easier If you're not fussed about exact postage cost, you can slap $5 worth of stamps on a padded envelope and that should get your pin just about any where in Aus, not so great for International though and we have no way to declare the package for International postage online anyway.
If you get a nice post office staffer, they can send a padded mailer bag as a letter since its so thin and light and it costs like $4.50 from Aus > US. No tracking/insurance etc, but eh if its a generic pin, who cares.
Wow as a full time mail man this is a different conversation to read about on these forums. Pretty much what @Dmosinee said in his post is spot on, the only down fall to this is that is usually a lack of a tracking number. The number you get on the scan is the number for the customs form, and it really does differ from local post office to even your carrier if they scan and track this (ex. a lot of the $1 plastic phone cases you can buy off of Amazon or Ebay come from overseas, and if we try to scan any of that stuff, our scanners say nope, we still gotta try to document them. Thus tracking this internationally is kinda difficult unless you pay for the expensive stuff).
Also the flags on mail boxes is totally a thing, and its pretty necessary round here. People get paranoid about who's in their mail and such and were under pretty big rules not to take mail if they have a box that has a flag and it isn't up. Then again... people like to complain to us too over pretty much everything.
Everyone's favorite "Bag of Pinny", Proud member of The Pin Cushions, Prinny hat pinster.
My pins are right here!
Feel free to send me a trade request!
the only down fall to this is that is usually a lack of a tracking number
As I understand it this is true for most countries, but Canada (and more recently Australia!) have a nice little arrangement set up with USPS. I believe the specific name for it for USPS is E-DELCON, and it is some kind of reciprocal tracking/DC agreement with the postal services of Canada and Australia. What I know for sure though, is that the pins I ship to Australia do get tracking that works for $6.16 (assuming you can keep the weight under 2oz). Only caveat is that the USPS site only gives you detailed tracking info till it hits the boat/plane/whale -- after that you have to use the same number on the Australia Post website to see if it gets stolen by a dingo or something on the way to the recipient.
Then again... people like to complain to us too over pretty much everything.
Just going on record to say I've never had trouble outside of one damaged box. USPS has always been cheaper, quicker and less of a pain in my ass than trying to deal with UPS, FedEx or heaven forbid DHL. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO, DIFFUSION!
On the Hunt: Star Trek, Gold Overwatch, Glitch Check 'em:My Pins!
If you get a nice post office staffer, they can send a padded mailer bag as a letter since its so thin and light and it costs like $4.50 from Aus > US. No tracking/insurance etc, but eh if its a generic pin, who cares.
I had a pin shipped to me from within Australia and it ended with the sharp pin nearly flat as opposed to perpendicular.
Nothing a pair of decent pliers couldn't fix but annoying.
Yeah, if you mail it as a letter you run the risk of it getting brutalized in a high speed sorting machine. Same goes in the US -- you could chance it and try to send it as a letter for really cheap. It's risky though, and first class package isn't really that much more expensive ($1.93 for 3oz if you purchase online).
For basic pin trades, I'd still probably send as a letter if I lived in the kind of postal hell that you guys do. I just can't believe that those 500g satchels are the only real option -- the price is actually competitive with USPS first class internationl if you were actually sending 500g (17oz) of stuff. The main problem is just that they don't offer a 100g option at 1/5 the price.
I would push the pin post into something that could take some punishment from a sorting machine -- like half of a pink pearl eraser -- and just go with it. The rules actually say you're allowed to send stuff as thick as 22mm in a letter -- provided you're ok with it getting roughed up a little in the machine. No tracking but it's only $2.75AUD to the US -- at that price I would just consider the occasional mutilated pin part of the cost, and know that I was still coming out ahead vs $15-20 AUD per pin.
Hey team, I may have missed a previous post, but do we know when the poster is coming out? My Holiday pins arrived (and are delightful), and now I'm just waiting on a long tube full of brain squirrel satisfying poster.
Hey team, I may have missed a previous post, but do we know when the poster is coming out? My Holiday pins arrived (and are delightful), and now I'm just waiting on a long tube full of brain squirrel satisfying poster.
Already confirmed by Beker I believe that its coming out in a few weeks..
0
Options
BekerChild's Play Program DirectorSeattleRegistered User, Penny Arcade Staffregular
Hey team, I may have missed a previous post, but do we know when the poster is coming out? My Holiday pins arrived (and are delightful), and now I'm just waiting on a long tube full of brain squirrel satisfying poster.
Already confirmed by Beker I believe that its coming out in a few weeks..
Don't think I gave a time frame, but they will be along later.
Hey team, I may have missed a previous post, but do we know when the poster is coming out? My Holiday pins arrived (and are delightful), and now I'm just waiting on a long tube full of brain squirrel satisfying poster.
Already confirmed by Beker I believe that its coming out in a few weeks..
Don't think I gave a time frame, but they will be along later.
I'm in the midst of moving. Is there a way to change the shipping address for the poster? I'm pretty sure I should be receiving one.
Hey team, I may have missed a previous post, but do we know when the poster is coming out? My Holiday pins arrived (and are delightful), and now I'm just waiting on a long tube full of brain squirrel satisfying poster.
Already confirmed by Beker I believe that its coming out in a few weeks..
Don't think I gave a time frame, but they will be along later.
I'm in the midst of moving. Is there a way to change the shipping address for the poster? I'm pretty sure I should be receiving one.
You should talk to the actual merch guys at merch@penny-arcade.com
So I got my pin bag with my spares out a week ago to grab some for a trade, and I thought I heard a *tink* in my bin beside my desk. I had a quick look to make sure it wasn't a pin and didn't see anything. All my spares are on cards so it would have stood out, not to mention it was in the wrong place for any of the pins I was pulling out to fall into it.
I noticed I couldn't find the badge Beker gave me at PAX but I thought it might have been somewhere else. Long story short I dug through my bin today and found it at the bottom.
So I noticed on the packages I sent Fakay and Kam that I actually had a tracking ID number even though I didn't ask/pay for any type of tracking. I checked a receipt from last week and I also had a tracking ID for a package I just send to the US (without having paid for tracking).
I checked online and while I couldn't track the US package, I was able to follow the local packages online using the number. Is this a new thing Aus Post are doing? A receipt from 2 weeks ago didn't have it.
So I noticed on the packages I sent Fakay and Kam that I actually had a tracking ID number even though I didn't ask/pay for any type of tracking. I checked a receipt from last week and I also had a tracking ID for a package I just send to the US (without having paid for tracking).
I checked online and while I couldn't track the US package, I was able to follow the local packages online using the number. Is this a new thing Aus Post are doing? A receipt from 2 weeks ago didn't have it.
In the us you can track some packages until they hit customs without paying. Maybe this is similar?
Even more the more you know: If you're talking about USPS first class mail to Australia (and Canada via E-DELCON), that tracking number that works on the USPS site till it hits the ocean also works on the Aus Post site after it crosses. In this way you can get true stop by stop tracking from the US to Aus for just the price of first class international, $6.16 for 2 ounces.
Fish, did you try the number to the US on both the Aus Post and USPS websites? I'd be interested to see if you guys have a similar arrangement going in this direction.
So thanks to @El_Funko, I have everything for 2014 aside from Naughty Dog. Someone please tell me that it'll show up at PAX South. Even if you don't know. Just someone lie to me!
So thanks to @El_Funko, I have everything for 2014 aside from Naughty Dog. Someone please tell me that it'll show up at PAX South. Even if you don't know. Just someone lie to me!
If you give me your DLC I will confirm that the Naughty Dog Pin will indeed be available at South.
If anyone I sent cards to are wondering why they were crappy printed out ones I found on imgur, it's because the ones I ordered from Chainsawsuit only arrived today. Next year I guess!
Since after pax and halloween, ive sort of been less interested in pins, didnt really care for the xmas set but got them just to finish '2 full years' i thought maybe ill consider quitting after this....then they announce this pin, which sounds freaking awesome and.....
hmm......just thought of something...That 'suprise' that Brian alluded to us... could it possibly be early access to this pin? maybe we get to buy it a couple of hours before the public?
Posts
They do, at least for older routes. Newer ones have communal mailboxes, so the delivery guy only goes to that one place rather than twenty or so mailboxes. But that also has a slot for outgoing mail.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
Pinny Pals Lanyard
Check 'em: My Pins!
Yes, and I don't think I could live without it. Not only does the postman come every day (except Sunday) to deliver my mail to the box and pick up any outgoing mail (pins) from the box, but if you make a request (for free) online -- he/she will get out of the truck and pick up bigger packages from your porch/door/whatever. Yesterday I had four boxes (maybe 20 pounds worth total) of stuff picked up from our front porch. What's more, buying/printing your postage online and having stuff picked up at your house is significantly cheaper than hauling it to the post office and having them do it at the counter (they give you a hefty online discount).
So you guys have to actually physically go to the post office to mail anything? Ick, I truly hate going to the post office -- somehow no matter what time of the day I go I end up in line behind seven old people buying stamps with pennies. They also want to stop and talk to the clerk about each penny as they go :x
http://pinmash.info - Two pins enter, one pins leaves... then the other pin leaves with a lower Elo rating
Everything, and yes.
Pinny Pals Lanyard
The usage is limited though, as they only come in set sizes and prices, they do however work great if you're selling games, dvds etc, I never went to the PO for that, 500g satchel was perfect.
Merchants can pay and print their labels online but as far as I'm aware, this isn't available to the general public yet. If it was, life would be much easier
Basically, none of it is ideal for pin trading
http://pinmash.info - Head-To-Head battle of pins! Choose the most desirable.
http://pinnywise.com - iOS pin collection tracking app.
----
My Delicious Pins For Trade
Also the flags on mail boxes is totally a thing, and its pretty necessary round here. People get paranoid about who's in their mail and such and were under pretty big rules not to take mail if they have a box that has a flag and it isn't up. Then again... people like to complain to us too over pretty much everything.
My pins are right here!
Feel free to send me a trade request!
Not me, I love the USPS. Just look at how good we have it compared to these Aussies :P I only complain about other USPS customers.
http://pinmash.info - Two pins enter, one pins leaves... then the other pin leaves with a lower Elo rating
Check 'em: My Pins!
#sorrynotsorry
:P
Pinny Pals Lanyard
I had a pin shipped to me from within Australia and it ended with the sharp pin nearly flat as opposed to perpendicular.
Nothing a pair of decent pliers couldn't fix but annoying.
Each pin must be loved and valued
"Damn fine pins!"
http://pinmash.info - Two pins enter, one pins leaves... then the other pin leaves with a lower Elo rating
I'll make sure to send them as packages then..le sigh back to $20 a pin....curse you Auspost!
I would push the pin post into something that could take some punishment from a sorting machine -- like half of a pink pearl eraser -- and just go with it. The rules actually say you're allowed to send stuff as thick as 22mm in a letter -- provided you're ok with it getting roughed up a little in the machine. No tracking but it's only $2.75AUD to the US -- at that price I would just consider the occasional mutilated pin part of the cost, and know that I was still coming out ahead vs $15-20 AUD per pin.
http://pinmash.info - Two pins enter, one pins leaves... then the other pin leaves with a lower Elo rating
Great idea! I've got some of that and will try next time.
"Damn fine pins!"
Always looking to trade.
Trade me pins! - https://pinnypals.com/pals/TheAggroCraig
Already confirmed by Beker I believe that its coming out in a few weeks..
Don't think I gave a time frame, but they will be along later.
I'm in the midst of moving. Is there a way to change the shipping address for the poster? I'm pretty sure I should be receiving one.
You should talk to the actual merch guys at merch@penny-arcade.com
I noticed I couldn't find the badge Beker gave me at PAX but I thought it might have been somewhere else. Long story short I dug through my bin today and found it at the bottom.
A good story well told.
Pinny Pals Lanyard
[X]PAXsouth 2015
[X]PAXaus 2015
[?]PAXeast 2016 ???
I checked online and while I couldn't track the US package, I was able to follow the local packages online using the number. Is this a new thing Aus Post are doing? A receipt from 2 weeks ago didn't have it.
Pinny Pals Lanyard
In the us you can track some packages until they hit customs without paying. Maybe this is similar?
Trade me pins! - https://pinnypals.com/pals/TheAggroCraig
The more you know!
Fish, did you try the number to the US on both the Aus Post and USPS websites? I'd be interested to see if you guys have a similar arrangement going in this direction.
http://pinmash.info - Two pins enter, one pins leaves... then the other pin leaves with a lower Elo rating
Pinny Pals Lanyard
Always looking to trade.
If you give me your DLC I will confirm that the Naughty Dog Pin will indeed be available at South.
Pinny Pals Lanyard
2015 PAX Prime Omeganaut (I will forever hate Katamari)
Can't wait, gotta remember to keep checking the store on that day.
he wasnt talking about the mafia....its so clear now, ITS THE SQUIRRELS
Pinny Pals Lanyard
Pinny Pals Lanyard