Magazine

[Fatboy 18]

Still nothing in the UK

[Bruce H.]

Any members who have not received this latest magazine issue by now should provide their membership numbers here and I will give it to a person that can check the list used to mail magazines.

If for some reason a member is not on the list, that needs to be addressed, and if they're on the list and have not received the magazine then that is another kind of investigation.

Thank you.


Kurt #203
Mike #4055
500ram #2040
RCVIPER #2065

[500RAM]

500ram #2040

[James]

Still waiting on my magazines, too.

James #3665

[Bruce H.]

Any members who have not received this latest magazine issue by now should provide their membership numbers here and I will give it to a person that can check the list used to mail magazines.

If for some reason a member is not on the list, that needs to be addressed, and if they're on the list and have not received the magazine then that is another kind of investigation.

Thank you.

Fatboy 18
Cost4133 #3895
Stevert, yours arrive?
Kurt #203
Bruce H. #1620
Mike #4055
500ram #2040
James #3665

I've given this list of those missing magazines to our VP to have tracked. If anyone on this list has now received theirs please let me know right away to save time tracking. Thank you.

[Fatboy 18]

None of the UK 2021 members have there magazines.

[Bruce H.]

None of the UK 2021 members have there magazines.

How current is that intel?

[sonicbloo]

How current is that intel?

Very current! Mine hasn't arrived, I'm not aware of any UK magazines arriving #2357

[Bruce H.]

Very current! Mine hasn't arrived, I'm not aware of any UK magazines arriving #2357

Thanks, will have all checked.

[stevert]

I got mine actually

[Fatboy 18]

Any international members and past members got theirs yet?
Nothing here yet?

[Bruce H.]

Any international members and past members got theirs yet?
Nothing here yet?

Yes to both. Missing magazines are being looked into currently.

Anyone who hasn't received theirs should add their name and member # here to be checked out.

Some really long and unexplained delays in postal service are being experienced as indicated by some in the same region receiving their quickly and others 3 weeks later. Crazy.

[RCVIPER]

I haven't received mine yet.. and I'm in California.

Member #2065

[Fatboy 18]

I haven't received mine yet.. and I'm in California.

Member #2065

Well there's no hope for us then lol

[sonicbloo]

Mine arrived today in the UK, thanks for your help Bruce

[Fatboy 18]

Mine arrived today in the UK, thanks for your help Bruce

Wow, nothing here yet.

[Bruce H.]

Mine arrived today in the UK, thanks for your help Bruce

Excellent! No one can take any credit for that at this end though, it's just the crazy workings of the postal service. I still haven't received mine yet in Canada, while other not far from me have.

[stevert]

I did get mine Bruce

[viperguy69]

Alright, I need to give this until 2 February and then I will start the next steps... Why you may ask? Because I received the final invoice this past week; the international shipping cost killed us ($4,778.58 or about $23.89/mag) compared to the entire US shipping cost ($2,749.74 or about $1.83/mag). I understand that the shipping weight for the internationals, coming it at about 1lb each, is what drove the price through the roof.

Just another reason why we now requiring all invoices in advance before the first magazine gets printing and before the first magazine gets mailing.

By the cost of it, you would think it was shipped with some sort of priority and/or tracking.

Bruce I am tracking the list you sent me on the DriveViper e-mail.

[J TNT]

Hopefully by offering a digital option and pricing options for both hard and electronic copies you can mitigate the expenses Wes.

[Fatboy 18]

I presume by international members you are including Canada in that? I don't think even UPS or fed Ex would charge over 4k for 24 magazines.

[viperguy69]

I presume by international members you are including Canada in that? I don't think even UPS or fed Ex would charge over 4k for 24 magazines.

It includes anyone outside the United States.

The more detailed break-out is as follows:

1) Domestic US = $2469.74 - USPS
2) Domestic US = $ 280.00 - UPS (Looking into this one a little more as I need to understand why?)
3) Canada .......= $2833.90
4) International = $1944.68
...............Total = $7528.32 for a total shipping Fee (there were 1925 total printed magazines)

[viperguy69]

Here is some of the responses provided to shipping complaints from USPS:

Domestic Shipping Excuses!

New delivery changes, which started Oct. 1, lengthen the delivery time for about 30% of its volume. That means that letters, parcels and magazine subscriptions traveling longer distances. Delivery times depend on where the piece is going, the type of mail piece, as well as the time of year and workload of the postal service. USPS has struggled with poor delivery performance over the past year, facing a huge boost in packages and staffing issues due to the coronavirus pandemic. First Class mail is delivered faster by the USPS than Bulk or Standard mail:

- First Class Mail can be pre-sorted to qualify for a discounted bulk mail rates, but a minimum of 500 pieces are required - this was too pricey for us, so not really an option.

- Standard Mail. Bulk (Standard) mail is generally delivered by the USPS in 2-5 days locally and 1 – 4 weeks nationally - This is the rate that cost domestic shipments to be less than $1.85 per magazine.


International Shipping Excuses!

Also with the new changes, USPS commitments were also affect by how long international shipments take and USPS is working hard to uphold international services, though notably, USPS has suspended Priority Mail Express International guarantees and extended their Service Commitments.

Typically, Priority Mail International shipments take 6-10 business days for delivery, while First Class International shipments take anywhere from 1-4 weeks. This is, of course, in addition to any extra customs processing times in the country of origin and destination.

In times like these, you’ll need to factor in at least 1-2 extra weeks of transit time for international shipments. The reasoning here is as follows:

USPS uses commercial airlines to transport international packages. With the extreme drop in international travel, it’s taking way longer for shipments to make it onto planes for transport overseas

There are only 5 international service centers, located in New York, Miami, Chicago, and San Fransisco. All of these facilities are super backed up, given the volume of shipments currently being processed for transport

Delivery times in destination countries are slow, due to the effects of the Coronavirus on their own postal services. Route suspensions in a number of countries also heavily affect the ability of postal workers to deliver shipments like normal


Not that any of this helps anybody who has yet to receive their magazine... just providing you what we are getting in response to some of our questions.

[Bruce H.]

Thanks for all your work on this Wes. The extra weight caused by combining 2 magazine issues unexpectedly and dramatically increased mailing costs. I hope you know exactly what weight the mag needs to stay under in the future to qualify for the lowest rates.

[ViperSRT]

We received our last magazine finally here in Florida. Though the delay was due to our mail being delivered to Michigan and then forwarded in batch by my son. Since he was here in Florida also through the 15th the long delay was expected.

It seems like there would be significant savings in having the thick paper only for the cover and maybe a center insert. Not sure what value the really thick bond has, and as can be seen with the postage costs, the added weight has more cost than the paper alone.