posted on April 25, 2001 04:47:04 PM
I know this must sound like a really stupid stupid question, but is girth the absolute longest outside measurement of a box, or is it the shortest?
In other words, the USPS has a 108" restriction for air shipments to Canada. I have a box that is 84" around if I measure the two longest measurements, plus the two sides, then I add the longest measurement again and get 112".
Is this correct? If not, how do I properly measure, and if it is correct, when they say max, does that mean they won't take it at all?
posted on April 25, 2001 05:05:09 PM
The girth is measuring AROUND the box. To get the total for the max allowed, measure around the box and add to that the length of the box.
PS..the length runs perpendicular to where you measure around the box. (In other words the length is the longer area and the part you measure around is opposite that)
[ edited by sharkbaby on Apr 25, 2001 05:07 PM ]
So if I understand you I measure basically the "shortest" area first and then add the longest measurement or the length to it? My box is 29" long, 14" high and 14" wide. My girth would be 56", I would add 29" and that would be 85"? If so, yeah!!!!!!!! If not, I'm in biggggg trouble, can't use a smaller box.
posted on April 25, 2001 05:46:56 PM
right 14 x 4 plus the length of 29 ...
sorry babe!
PS...If it is oversized, some countries you can still send to by paying an additional fee. I just did a bunch at the shop that were going to the UK and 3 out of 8 were oversized, but for a surcharge we were still able to send them. Varies by country.
[ edited by sharkbaby on Apr 25, 2001 05:49 PM ]
posted on April 25, 2001 05:59:30 PM
Thanx everybody! I feel much better now even if it is oversized, I may still be able to get it my customer! Guess I should check out that stuff before I decide to sell!
posted on April 25, 2001 06:10:17 PM
Oh, lemme tell ya! Many is the time that I have set out to sell something only to realize later that it is virtually impossible to package efficiently! Or, so heavy that the shipping would be too much..
I hope you see this, but I just went to the USPS website and used the Postal explorer. There's a picture there! Anyway, it shows a box that is 20" long but only 6" x 6", kind of sounds like a long box you were talking about and it shows the measurement around the shortest part REGARDLESS of how the label is placed, so sounds like your postal clerk may not have the correct info.
If you go to USPS.com, use the postal explorer and type in the word girth in the search box, click on the first thing that comes up and on page four there will be pictures. I printed it out and am going to take it with me tomorrow, I'll let you all know what happens.
>Girth is measured according to label placement. Most people place their shipping lables running the same direction as the longest side of the box
Your PO Clerk is wrong. How the label is on on the box doesn't matter, and if they charged you "oversize" because of this, you should make them dig out the rule book and show you.
I thought you had to to take a test to be a postal clerk, and I *thought* it was a hard test...But, the clerk in our PO who knows the rules the best is a Viet Nam Vet, who probably got extra points on the exam.
How some of the rest of them passed I'll never know, but when they come out with stuff like this, I go home, print screen shots off the USPS web page, and go back and insist they show me in the rule book. The book has differed once with the website. The Clerks have been wrong several times.
posted on April 26, 2001 09:56:23 AM new
*LOL* Thanks for the info guys - Hey, for once the PO errors in MY favor! The dude actually had me peel the label, reset it and charged me about 6 bucks less for shipping because now it was not oversized! Next time, I did it myself and he didn't blink an eye. Guess nobody told him yet.
Sometimes we catch a break, eh? I'll remember this if they get a new clerk though.
~Nan http://www.enchantedhen.com
