All Lost Art Press books now ship via USPS Priority Mail, which arrives anywhere in the United States in one to three business days.
From a practical standpoint, this means you can order Lost Art Press books up until Dec. 19 and be confident they will show up by Christmas.
Until today, we have shipped book orders via Media Mail, a less-expensive shipping method for books that is supposed to take eight business days for delivery. During the last seven years and 100,000 packages, we have seen slower and slower delivery times (up to 15 business days) for Media Mail and seen more lost and damaged packages.
So today we switched to priority mail for books and have raised some rates (but not all) by $1. Shirts and hats will, as always, will continue to be shipped by first-class mail or priority mail, whichever is less expensive for you.
In 2015 we will offer other shipping options and have opened negotiations with other shipping services. Our goal is to get your order to you as quickly as possible without damage or excess expense.
So if you have been eying “The Book of Plates” or “Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker!” but thought it was too late to order, think again.
— Christopher Schwarz
in the UK the Post Office installed a system that sorted letters and packages at 50,000 per minute cost millions of £. And then they gave that parcel to a postman on a bicycle. That’s were the whole system fails.
Glad to hear about the switch. My Book of Plates arrived with the carton very “beat-up”, the paper wrapping the book was torn across the width of the book, the custom box seems to have saved the day. However the packing tape that was used may have contributed to the problem it was detached over a significant portion on the carton, that seemed quite odd, perhaps the cartons were dusty? when the tape was applied?
LOVE the BOP
my Book of Plates was perfectly wrapped as were all my other purchases, but Calvin Cobb: Radio Woodworker arrived re-sealed by the post office – the tape they used failed to hold the ‘flaps’ together . Oddly the package that been opened (the tape LAP used was fine and attached) Maybe the USPS randomly opening packages – thankfully Chris and John wrap the books in a secondary wrapper. Personally I think with 100,000 + items shipped they do a great job! Personally I’d hate to lick all that parcel tape.
I have been using Priority Mail since I started shipping the saws, and the damage rate has been very little. In the main, they do a really good job and I am well pleased. Particularly shipping out of the country, the rates are much better than the others.
Lee (the saw guy)
This is great news. A thousand thanks and then some. The extra buck for reliable shipping is a bargain. Now, if only my Book of Plates would arrive. Seems to be lost somewhere between Indianapolis and Atlanta. Stupid post office.
Thanks for the move to Priority Mail. In my experience, Priority Mail gets much better treatment by the postal service than ordinary mail, and the price is quite reasonable.
Thanks also for the special box you used for the “Book of Plates”. I received mine in excellent condition. I also received the Calvin Cobb book, and look forward to reading it.
Your excursions into the historical details of craftsmanship are unique and much appreciated.
For a different excursion into the historical details of craftsmanship, consider looking at Meeting The Mona Lisa – The Latest In The Descendants Series in it, woodcarving craftsman Timothy Aze was called upon to recreate the Pozetto chair that the Mona Lisa model sat in for the portrait. Photographer Drew Gardner recreated the most famous portrait in history with the 15th great-granddaughters of the original Mona Lisa model. The painstaking detail involved in the project is quite interesting.
I forgot to mention: my library of Lost Art Press books is getting so large now, I think my next project will have to be a set of “Jefferson’s Bookcases” to keep them in. (From the June 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking.
Did the custom boxes cost more than $1? And, will free shipping still be offered on pre-orders?
The custom boxes cost anywhere from 70 cents to $2 depending on the number of boxes we order.
We hope to offer free shipping on pre-publication orders. At the same time, we really do not want to go out of business.
Shipping, boxes, tape, picking fees, labels and packing paper all cost more than we charge for shipping. So we lose money on each order so we stay competitive and reasonable. Right now we are taking it in the shorts paying for Priority. But it’s the right thing to do.
Hope that answers your question.
Understood. I was just curious about the economics of the boxes.
You are very good at explaining the reasoning behind your business decisions so that customers understand that you are not taking advantage of them, and most of us customers seem pretty respectful of those decisions. I would think that you could explain charging full price for shipping on the FAQ page equally as well. After all, it is the thing you have the least control over.
If you are worried about your business going to a larger retail distributors, that could be remedied with a private agreement. Fair does not always mean equal. They all seem like reasonable folks who wish to support you – and undercutting you and putting LAP out of business would only harm them.
Of course, I’m sure it’s not that simple. But, I think your customers’ support and respect for your products and business are, so there may be no reason to concentrate a cost that we would all be willing to share.
Thank you for your openness.
This means you can now easily ship to Canada! Shipping to Canada via USPS is a piece of cake. Right?!?