Sending Cigars in the UK

[MrMaduro]

Hi All,

Just wondering how you guys are sending your cigars around the country?

More so relating to singles or a couple of smokes as opposed to boxes.

I've just sent an 8" x 4" Jiffy with a bit of bubble wrap in there with a single cigar inside two zip lock bags. This cost ?4.30 1st class, signed for.

It's a 50RG stick, and with the jiffy and a bit of padding, this made it too thick to go as a letter even though it only weighed 53grams, so it's now classed as a parcel.

I think it would be worthwhile if we can all put some ideas in to get the costs down, and come up with a 'standard' package we can all use for sending smokes. I've seen various posts about 'tubes' etc but the sizes of these means they're still classed as parcels.

We need something that can take a 50RG smoke which does not require additional protection which keeps the thickness of the package below 25mm (1" for the ol folks! ) for it to be classed as a large letter.

IMO I'm not too concerned about RH levels being maticulously maintained while sending a smoke. A day or 2 in a sealed package isn't going to do it any harm as it's going to end up straight back in the Humi at the other end.

I'm going to be having a think about it so if anyone whats to chip in with ideas, shout away!

[mightyred]

I send mine in bubblewrap inside a jiffy bag and then in a box..work supplies

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

[cigarmo]

I agree royal fail is a rip off. But it is the easiest to use. My Hermes can send a parcel for around ?2.00 a big parcel, but you have to print out a label and take it to a drop off point.

Yes I know I am a lazy git

[TonyN]

Why not send them in tubes if you have some spare instead of the bubble wrap then stick the tubes in a jiffy bag already padded

[PeeJay]

I double bag all mine, small jiffy in a larger jiffy, even to the USA. It provides enough protection and I just suck it up if it's a little too thick for large letter. I should add that I buy the envelopes by the box for another enterprise which makes them much cheaper.

[Sean]

Humi pouch and a padded envelope i use and is normally around the ?2.20 mark for signed for

[Wigan]

I double bag all mine, small jiffy in a larger jiffy, even to the USA. It provides enough protection and I just suck it up if it's a little too thick for large letter. I should add that I buy the envelopes by the box for another enterprise which makes them much cheaper.

Think I have a 2 packages from you PeeJay in that format and I was planning on copying it as they have been in tip top condition.
Was going to ask where you got the 2 sizes of bag from as they looked brand new. I have already sent on the 2 lots of double bags I got from you to other members so in need of more

[mattyhall22]

I tend to use signed for second class delivery it isn't that much slower :-)

[MrMaduro]

I tend to use signed for second class delivery it isn't that much slower :-)

Signed for 2nd is still ?3.80... I know it might seem a little petty but it's just frustrating that the package I sent was about 3mm too bloody thick to be a 'Large Letter' and cost ?2.03 for 1st class instead of ?4.30!

I think I might have cracked it though. Been thinking of ways to safely package a smoke this evening and keep it at a max 25mm thick. Will post up when I've sorted it!

I think it's worth it as let's say your going to send out 15 ish smokes on the Birthday bomb rotor, a few on the cigar pass and a few various other bombs, say maybe 20 25 packages a year that's around ?50 saved in postage. That's an extra box split to smoke every year!

[SilentBOb]

I stole my technique off groundhog.

Cut up some cardboard strips the length of the sticks, whack them in a ziplock and tape the cardboard around them multiple times (if its difficult to get in then you're doing it right) jiffy envelope and send

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[mattyhall22]

That's the method I use :-)

[MrMaduro]

I stole my technique off groundhog.

Cut up some cardboard strips the length of the sticks, whack them in a ziplock and tape the cardboard around them multiple times (if its difficult to get in then you're doing it right) jiffy envelope and send

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Sounds protected enough, but I imagine still too thick to pass as a 'large letter'...

I wanted something cheap and easy to do and I think I've sorted it... Here goes!

I found some stiff cardboard and cut some strips the same width as the diamter of the cigar (in this case a HdMEp2). I needed two strips about an inch longer than the total length of the cigar and two strips about an inch wider than the width of the cigar.

uploadfromtaptalk1416525303761.jpg

I then cut some slots in these pieces at each of the ends, the length and with of the cigar I am packing. The slots only go half way into the strips so I could then assemble them together like this...

uploadfromtaptalk1416525464447.jpg

uploadfromtaptalk1416525489838.jpg

As you can see, it fits the cigar nice and snug.

I then placed this in a ziplock bag and cut two additional pieces of card, this time from an old cereal box, to fit inside the ziplock back, above and below the cigar...

uploadfromtaptalk1416525788307.jpg

Now the cigar is sealed up and has a decent amount of protection I no longer need a Jiffy bag and can go for a regular A5 envelope.

uploadfromtaptalk1416525876328.jpg

Just for good measure, I replicated the Post Office's letter size gauge (25mm slot) and tested it. It passes through a treat!

uploadfromtaptalk1416526038833.jpg

I'm pretty happy that it's enough protection, so I think this is how I'm going to do it from now on.




Sent from Tapa Tapa land

[Simon-JG-hr]

I agree royal fail is a rip off. But it is the easiest to use. My Hermes can send a parcel for around ?2.00 a big parcel, but you have to print out a label and take it to a drop off point.

Yes I know I am a lazy git

Wow, just looked at the MyHermes site! Hadn't come across them before. Straight into my bookmarks!

[Sean]

Never thought to use myhermes are they any good

[cigarmo]

Use them for work stuff seem ok