As my first choice of cup was declined at the post store for being breakable, I set off to find a plastic cup that will fit the demands of our local post store manager.  This turned out to be not an easy task. It seams that most plastic cups where either too small for all the postage stickers, or came in a set of four. Eventually I chose one of the cups we used at home, hoping no one will miss it.

Here is the before:

And the after:

And here it is at the post counter, all ready to go, and no, not the local post store where I was still not up to their harsh standards, but at the main branch, where they are big and confident enough to accommodate strange request, although not professional enough not to whisper and giggle about it:

Not only that I was able to send it, but I already got the news that it made its way unharmed to its destination. I never told it to the people at the post store, but each time I go there I have this superior feeling.

And as I promised in this post header, not just one cup but two. The second cup is the one that was sent to me, and was waiting for me in the mailbox one day.

It was very clever choosing a cup that you can put all the information under the plastic, knowing it will be protected from the elements. And it was decorated all over with postage stamps.

I asked Aline, who sent me the cup if she had any problems, her answer was:

it was pretty easy, the postman just asked me if i wanted to send it like that and when i said yes, he said ‘thats unique’ and happily sent it!

D.

2 ladies from the US, Betsy and Aline, answered my call to exchange cups in the mail. As you remember, we will each attempt to send an unwrapped cup in the mail. All postage and address details will be written or glued to the cup itself.

Here are the requirements of the swap as published on Swap-bot:

“Pick a cup and decorate it. Put a stamp, and don’t forget to leave a place for the address. You do not, I repeat, DO NOT wrap it. You stick what ever postage needed straight on the cup (or maybe in it), and write the address on it. Document the final project and the process of sending the cup. The documentation is for in case the cup will not arrive, as this is a risky swap. If you do not get your cup, contact your partner and they will send you the documentation. We will not give rating of 1 on this swap, as too much hang on the post people. Be ready to the option that you will not get a cup, and might end with just the pictures sent be Email.

You may wrap your cup only in the event that the post office clerk will not agree to accept it, and I would suggest you try sending it from another branch first. Try to document this as well.”

I started by going to the post office to find out what size of stickers will be used, to make sure I leave enough space for the stickers, and how much space do I have left empty for the address and any decorating I want to make.

Then I decided a tall cup will be the best choice. Here it is with all the stickers that I got from the post office:

After writing the address and putting the stickers on, there was a very small space left. I draw on it this small mailman bringing a cup:

Fabian, the nice guy at my local post shop charged me $13.5 to send the cup, and while I was taking a picture his supervisor went by to tell me I cannot send it like this, as it might brake and hurt someone, or damage other mail items.  My payment was refunded, and I took the cup and tried my luck in a second post shop, just to get the same answer.

And as I was taking a picture of the post shop entrance for the documentation, a security guard approached me and asked me not to take any photos within the mall. However, she had a look at the one I took and said it is fine, and that I do not need to delete it.

After that I bought a yummy cake, and decided that instead of giving up and wrapping my cup, I will start again, but this time with a plastic cup.

I’ll be sure to keep you posted (no pun intended) on my progress.

D.