Getting purchases home

UPS is in the common area of the Silver and Blue halls.  I know Chris Bojanower has used that route to get packages to Utah.

UPS is a bit pricey, but conveniently located right there at the York fairgrounds.

Falling back to my biker days, last couple of times I have gone to Staples bought a box, tape and packing peanuts and taken them to USPS. I also use some of the old clothes I already wore to pad them and mail it all back.

Cheaper overall but less convenient. I also bought  really big suitcase that I can carry some items home in (and has less clothes than when I arrived-see above)

When I went to Alaska in my younger days I took an extra duffel bag and put it in my suitcase. When packing for the trip home  put most of my clothes in the duffel and packed my souvenirs in the suitcase wrapped in worn clothing, nothing got busted and I went on 3 different airlines on the way home.

Jerry

At one York, I purchased an MTH RS3 without a box for a good price. I was flying out of Balt/Wash and actually missed my plane because of it.

The engine showed up in my luggage (I only had carry on) and of course I was pulled aside. The bigger shots came with bomb detection equipment and studied it long enough for me to miss my flight. They also would not let me touch it or take it apart for fear I was a suicide bomber. Finally they called in the biggest shot and more intelligent heads prevailed.

It cost me a fee to get on the next flight which I got returned by the airline after a long series of explanations and their checking out my story.

As said above, I used the UPS gals there on the Fairgrounds.

This thread takes me back to the good, old days (and they REALLY were), when flying was an almost enjoyable experience.  Because I worked for a newspaper, I flew a lot between Hawaii and the mainland, and I can't begin to tell you the number of trains--LGB and O gauge in particular--that I just carried on the plane and had stowed away in the flight attendant's closet by pretty and helpful young ladies.  No hassle; no worries.

I also used to be active in archery, and on several occasions was able to carry on bows and other archery equipment I had purchased in California.

My, how times have changed!  

But if I had to fly anywhere from York these days, I would certainly make use of the on-site UPS service at the fairgrounds.  Can't even imagine doing otherwise.

Ah yes Allan, the good old days of air travel:

I used to fly a lot in the early 80s and I always enjoyed it, fast forward to a few years ago and the air travel I took was horrible, like being on a Trailways bus with wings!

I remember in '83 my buddies and me flew to Alaska for a couple weeks on vacation and out of Seattle the flight to Anchorage was only half full and the stewardesses let us walk around the cabin and sit where ever we wanted to.

Jerry

Yep. UPS indeed.

One of the first things I noticed when walking over to the Silver Hall from the Orange was the UPS truck parked and waiting right out front.

I live in SoCal and have been fortunate to attend my share of "Yorks".  I've sent back trains from the Blue/Silver Halls UPS counter (expensive, but convenient), from Office Depot via UPS (inconvenient, but cheaper), and from the WEIS postal unit near the Fairgrounds (more or less convenient).  However, I just heard on Saturday, 10/19, that there's a full-service FedEx outlet within several miles of the Fairgrounds - really positive reviews.  Next time...FEDEX.

You never want to take your packages to a UPS store. That's a UPS store at the meet. You want to take them directly to UPS. You pay twice as much or more taking them to a UPS store. They are privately owned and can charge anything they want.

Not true Eddie:

The UPS Store pricing for non-UPS products

Although The UPS Store provides UPS shipping at regular UPS rates, The UPS Store has been sometimes criticized for providing United States Postal Service (USPS) services at prices higher than consumers would have paid for the same services directly from the postal service. The UPS Store allows individuals to ship via USPS at varying rates that are not the retail rates the post office charges; this is viewed as more of a convenience fee (akin to paying a slightly higher price for groceries at a convenience store). USPS rules allow third-party stores to charge extra costs that they deem necessary.

Only if it gets shipped by USPS do they charge different rates and as stated above it is more for convenience. Now if you're shipping from Office Depot or Staples it is more expensive across the board learned that the hard way last Christmas.

Jerry

Not true Jerry, I tested our local UPS store several years ago. I took a large package to the store. They measured it, said it was extra large so it would be a higher rate, and gave me bull about going to Arizona from Maine. said it would be $57.00. I said thanks, and took it to UPS. the charge was $17.00. i never went back again. You know what, I am going to test them again this week, & get back on with the results.

Just ran my own numbersfrom UPS and the UPS Store in NewFreedom:

Ship from New Freedom Pa. 17349 to Baltimore 21224

My box 15lb 24"x10"x10"

UPS ground   $17.03

UPS store in New Freedom $17.03

UPS Store:

Estimated Costs by Service

UPS:

Not sure where your place got their numbers.

Jerry

I was wondering how to get purchases out the door.  Assuming you buy more than an armful... Do they have shopping carts or do you make multiple trips to your car?  

Multiple trips.

As an aside, while on vacation with my wife, we visited an outdoor antique show, and made a purchase. Since we were flying, we shipped the goods home via US Mail. The shipping cost almost as much as the purchase price. There were a number of other items that I would have probably purchased if I was traveling by car and wouldn't need to ship.
It's my impression that USPS rates are going up again shortly,

I have had mixed experiences with UPS.  Some pricing was normal some were steeply higher, depending on the location used.  Depends on the actual ownership of that particular location.

I solved this dilemna.  I opened a FedEx account and now just walk into any Kinko's/FedEx location and the shipping is charged directly to my account. 

While traveling to the opposite coast recently I made purchases, went to K/FE and just entered my account number.  The cost this way is actually discounted from the normal reasonable price.  Plus many FedEx stores are open for 24 hours.

i just go over to the Office Depot and buy tape, boxes and bubble wrap. Close them up and head up to the FEDEX on 83. The shipping is about the same as UPS, but the price for packing it up, is so much less. The folks at the fairgrounds really hit you on the packing charges. I used to spend a couple of hundred bucks each York for boxes and packing, now I just do it myself.

No shopping carts allowed.  I have seen folks make multiple trips to the car.  I have never done that though. *wink*

Then there;s the double suitcase caper....  After shipping (see me post above) by various means, I've now started taking two suitcases to York.  One used for necessities.  One empty - to be filled with trains.  Not secure, granted, but it works especially if it's a carry-on size.

UPS at York, so long as you are not shipping to one of their REMOTE regions. the convenience is worth it.

Oct 2013 was my 1st York and I didn't plan on buying a lot as I had to fly back to CA. I did see the UPS station, but decided to take my few items on the plane with me as carry-ons. A Pecos River brass Hudson, a couple cabooses, and some MTH Yard Tower Lights. No problems other than that engine was heavy to lug around the airports. Security did a double check on the cabooses, but didn't look twice at the brass engine with electronics in it.

I think if I were to go again, I would plan on shipping the stuff from the UPS booth. It's cost a lot to ship to CA anyway, and the added convenience of doing it there at York is worth it to me.

For taking things home......especially if home is a L O N G ways away as in going from York back to Florida, talk to, or see the thread about Gary Noel.  He told us (at our Thurdays' at Fridays) of how he drove a minivan F U L L of Atlas track and switches back home.   The vehicle was so packed he had little room to sit in the drivers seat.

And this all started, more or less, with him getting his Grandson Brice a MTH starter set.