Place to Mail Stuff on Washington Ave.?

brownie · July 2006

I think someone mentioned a Mailboxes Etc.-like place on Washington in the past. Can anyone fill me in as to where it is?

thanks!

whyfi · July 2006

F. B. Enterprises - corner of Washington and Prospect across from Crown Fried Chicken.

sweet tea · July 2006

here's a thread about it: http://64.21.158.241/~brooklyn/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2450&highlight=mail&sid=a367642d23a5bd8d7b22d03938c52cc1

it's awesome. i am a new convert. i will never -- and i say this with great, great joy -- go back to the fulton post office.

but it's not open on the weekends.

emily · July 2006

Wow, how did I miss this before? I spent what felt like half of Thursday at the post office in Park Slope trying to mail some Amazon/eBay sales (not that PS is any better than the Fulton place). Does it cost much more than the P.O.? Amazon doesn't give a very generous shipping allowance...

alafairnadia · July 2006

sweet tea wrote: here's a thread about it: http://64.21.158.241/~brooklyn/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2450&highlight=mail&sid=a367642d23a5bd8d7b22d03938c52cc1

it's awesome. i am a new convert. i will never -- and i say this with great, great joy -- go back to the fulton post office.

but it's not open on the weekends.

yeah, I'd totally use it .. if it were open later. or earlier. or on weekends. but it's not. so no love from me.

whyfi · July 2006

EmilyM wrote: Wow, how did I miss this before?

It's not surprising - I walked by scores of times before I found out that it was a mailing/shipping business. I remember wondering about the jazz jams for months before I knew...

As far as pricing, I would expect that it's about the same as the PO; most (all?) of the packages are shipped via USPS. If I remember right, I shipped a motherboard (pretty light, not much more than a lb, incl. packaging) to CA, 3 day, insured for $120 - I think that it was 6-7 bucks.

jml · July 2006

The guy who runs it is really nice, and it's very convenient. BUT, he's a bit dishonest about sending things certified mail. I went in a few months ago to mail a tax form and asked him to send it my certified mail. What the place on flatbush will do is to take the mail down to the actual post office, have the receipt stamped by the post office, then bring it back for me to pick up the next day. This way it has an actual official Post Office stamp.

When I filled out the forms at FB, he took them and stamped them with his own stamp that said FB enterprises. This was not an actual certified mail stamp. Frankly, I was too lazy to take the mail down to the post office myself and have it properly stamped, and I prefer not to go into the place on Flatbush. But still, he was passing this off as certified (using post office forms) when it wasn't.

sweet tea · July 2006

i think he charges a dollar or two to receive packages for you, and probably a similar amount to mail them?

i mailed a large (like 2.5 x 3.5 feet), reasonably heavy framed photo insured for $850 for around 20 bucks.

and really, almost any price is worth avoiding fulton station.

whyfi · July 2006

jml wrote: The guy who runs it is really nice, and it's very convenient. BUT, he's a bit dishonest about sending things certified mail. I went in a few months ago to mail a tax form and asked him to send it my certified mail. What the place on flatbush will do is to take the mail down to the actual post office, have the receipt stamped by the post office, then bring it back for me to pick up the next day. This way it has an actual official Post Office stamp.

When I filled out the forms at FB, he took them and stamped them with his own stamp that said FB enterprises. This was not an actual certified mail stamp. Frankly, I was too lazy to take the mail down to the post office myself and have it properly stamped, and I prefer not to go into the place on Flatbush. But still, he was passing this off as certified (using post office forms) when it wasn't.

They're stamped by the postman when he picks them up in the afternoon - if you want that reciept, you have to go back for it.

jml · July 2006

That's good to know - he never told me that.

elitt · July 2006

Subject: Re: Place to Mail Stuff on Washington Ave.?

Wilkinson (sp?) on Vanderbilt just North of St. Marks is a fine place too.

brownie wrote: I think someone mentioned a Mailboxes Etc.-like place on Washington in the past. Can anyone fill me in as to where it is?

thanks!

emily · July 2006

I just got back from dropping off a few things at FB. His padded mailers were a little more expensive than at the stationery store on Flatbush, but as far as I can tell, he charged me no, or almost no, markup on the postage cost. So it was only about $1 more per package than it is to go to the stationery store and then wait in line forever in Park Slope. I definitely like this way better! It took about 10 minutes, including walking there and back.

prusik · July 2006

EmilyM wrote: and then wait in line forever in Park Slope

Don't get me started on the Van Brunt Station in PS... They've taken to selectively returning my mail to the sender complete with a yellow sticker that reads
RETURN TO SENDER
ATTEMPTED - NOT KNOWN
UNABLE TO FORWARD.
It's happened twice with bank statements (and the bank tried to stiff me with a $15 "returned mail" charge both times) and just last month with the invoice for my parking spot (these folks were smart enough to get in touch with me and ask what the deal was, so I now have the evidence). I can only guess at how many other things have been similarly mishandled. I've lived in the same house for over 8 years, we're the only occupants - its not like there's any real room for confusion there. I complained through the USPS website - they claim to have forwarded the complaint to Van Brunt. That was a week ago and I've heard... diddly.

alafairnadia · July 2006

prusik wrote: [quote=EmilyM]and then wait in line forever in Park Slope

Don't get me started on the Van Brunt Station in PS... They've taken to selectively returning my mail to the sender complete with a yellow sticker that reads
RETURN TO SENDER
ATTEMPTED - NOT KNOWN
UNABLE TO FORWARD.
It's happened twice with bank statements (and the bank tried to stiff me with a $15 "returned mail" charge both times) and just last month with the invoice for my parking spot (these folks were smart enough to get in touch with me and ask what the deal was, so I now have the evidence). I can only guess at how many other things have been similarly mishandled. I've lived in the same house for over 8 years, we're the only occupants - its not like there's any real room for confusion there. I complained through the USPS website - they claim to have forwarded the complaint to Van Brunt. That was a week ago and I've heard... diddly.

try calling the 1-888 number (or 800?) for the USPS.

last year, someone, in a fit of stupidity, sent me a package at home, rather than to my office. I wasn't there to receive it and got one of the ominous "you have a package" slips. I knew there was no way I was going to that stupid post office, so I signed the back of the slip and put it in my mailbox. it was there the next day. so I taped it to the outside of my mailbox. that stayed there two days. finally, i called the toll free number to the USPS and recited all of the info off the slip, and also complained that the mail carrier was just being a lazy piece of crap. they faxed something to the post office and my package was waiting for me the next day. the toll-free number USPS lady also filed a complaint against that particular station.

whyfi · July 2006

alafairnadia wrote: last year, someone, in a fit of stupidity, sent me a package at home, rather than to my office. I wasn't there to receive it and got one of the ominous "you have a package" slips. I knew there was no way I was going to that stupid post office, so I signed the back of the slip and put it in my mailbox. it was there the next day. so I taped it to the outside of my mailbox. that stayed there two days.

This happened to me just last week - fortunately, I can slip over to the PO during the daytime, when it's not so damn busy, but still...

prusik · July 2006

alafairnadia wrote: last year, someone, in a fit of stupidity, sent me a package at home, rather than to my office. I wasn't there to receive it and got one of the ominous "you have a package" slips.

Oh yeah, that brings to mind another of my Van Brunt favorite stories. While standing on liner to mail something I could see through the window to the shelves where they keep all the packages waiting for pick up. As luck would have it my last name just happens to be one of those that you can see right in front of you (this wouldn't have happened if I was in the A thu M section of the alphabet). So I see a package with my last name on it, and once I'd done with the rest of my transacting got on the pink slip line and asked if that package was, by chance, for me. It was - my inquiry as to why I never got a pink slip was met with a disinterested shrug. :x

prusik · July 2006

alafairnadia wrote: last year, someone, in a fit of stupidity, sent me a package at home, rather than to my office. I wasn't there to receive it and got one of the ominous "you have a package" slips.

Oh yeah, that brings to mind another of my Van Brunt favorite stories. While standing on liner to mail something I could see through the window to the shelves where they keep all the packages waiting for pick up. As luck would have it my last name just happens to be one of those that you can see right in front of you (this wouldn't have happened if I was in the A thu M section of the alphabet). So I see a package with my last name on it, and once I'd done with the rest of my transacting got on the pink slip line and asked if that package was, by chance, for me. It was - my inquiry as to why I never got a pink slip was met with a disinterested shrug. :x

alafairnadia · July 2006

WhyFi wrote: [quote=alafairnadia]last year, someone, in a fit of stupidity, sent me a package at home, rather than to my office. I wasn't there to receive it and got one of the ominous "you have a package" slips. I knew there was no way I was going to that stupid post office, so I signed the back of the slip and put it in my mailbox. it was there the next day. so I taped it to the outside of my mailbox. that stayed there two days.

This happened to me just last week - fortunately, I can slip over to the PO during the daytime, when it's not so damn busy, but still...

it's really irritating. it makes it difficult for me to pass the mail carriers on the street when I see them and not immediately launch into a tirade about inefficiency and poor service and the downfall of american values, etc.

my building doesn't have a regular mail carrier, either, so I don't even have a clear target for my wrath. it's gotten to the point now where I expect all of my mail to be crushed, crumpled or somehow destroyed.

Place to Mail Stuff on Washington Ave.?

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories