jaetee

Based on weight, a Blackstone analysis bottle that weighs in at just under 5oz should cost $2.85 to mail, so I put six first class stamps on the container... (shipping from FL to IL)

Have any of you guys who've mailed in UOA to Blackstone used stamps like that? I am wondering if the shape of the container is cause of USPS to upcharge.

I would go to the post office, but I have a conf call in 15 mins and was going to just let it go in tomorrow's mail pickup.

TonyTwoBags

there's a UOA thread specific to Blackstone

jaetee

Thanks TTB... I posted there as well, but then I got impatient and had the bright idea to just call Blackstone and ask them.

After a very short conversation I learned that six stamps will get the "old" sample kit to them... and that they are now sending out new sample kits out to their customers which include prepaid postage and USPS tracking bar codes.

They did this because they have had many customers get push back from postal workers once the detail is given that oil is in the container.

JayG

I have used 1st class mail many times
It can take as long as a couple of week to get there

extanker

write on the envelope that you are the owner of this porsche and they will not charge you ....it is built by and for the gods......that will teach the peons

stasha

Never had any trouble sending a sample thru the mail, and I have used maybe 6 different post offices.

HOWEVER, it took forever for Blackstone to "find and process" my last sample I sent in JAN 2017!
I strongly suspect that after 3 or so weeks and my badgering, they looked at my last oil sample records, then at my recent mileage, and then fabricated a report to appease me!
I think they lost the sample and invented a report that would be commensurate with past results and present mileage. (They claimed that ther backlog was a result of the overwhelming number of samples received over the Xmas holidays.)
This happened in the beginning of January 2017.

The fact that they JUST started paying postage WITH A TRACKING NUMBER tells me that they "coincidentally" determined that they needed a better system to follow their samples.
I think they had some sort of catastrophic administrative failure in their company, and that they scrambled to cover it up.
Of course, it will never be confessed -- or proven.

Yes, I once was a Biochemistry researcher at a university, and YES, I am very aware of fabrications in laboratory results -- a very very real occurrence even in an Academic setting, where reputation is one's ONLY drive, and producing results is the ONLY determinant of one's reputation .
It is an easier assumption that where business is concerned, the drive for integrity in lab results is easily overcome by the drive for $$.

A suspicion will constantly lurk, so I will never use Blackstone again.
There are several UOA labs in the country that you can use. Even though the same human behavior factor would still be in play in any lab, once one's confidence is broken, no amount of promises and retractions can build a bridge over the gap.

Over the years, I have seen several similar opinions about Blackstone posted on these forums, and I have had enough of my personal doubt to now believe those negative opinions.

Spinout

I've got a dozen of the old square plastic container sample kits in my garage. Should I dispose of these and request the new prepaid kits?

jaetee

I would...

jaetee

That's tough... My first UOA from them was back in September, I believe. It took them almost a month to send me results.

LexVan

I stopped using the US Mail for these sample kits. Takes too long from Chicago to Fort Wayne, IN. Sometimes over a week. I now use (the past few years) UPS. Gets there in 1-2 days.

jayzbird

For comparisons sake, I've sent ~ 10 samples to Blackstone in recent years, all with stamps and dropped in mailbox at home or work in CA. Never had a problem with the post office, and always have gotten results back within a couple weeks (often less).

Slakker

I've had good luck sending them FedEx 2-day. It's get the sample put in their priority queue and I get the results within a day. It's not the most cost effective way to do it but it's a drop in the bucket on our FedEx bill.

targa996

no issues for me - regular mail

jaetee

I took my sample bottle to the post office, they weighed it and verified that 6 first class stamps is indeed enough postage.

They also added a sticker for me and gave me a free tracking number.

Hope to have my UOA of 6yr old Motul oil (removed from my new-to-me car) soon. Curios to hear what they have to say about such old oil!

I replaced the motul with Liqui-Moly 10w-40 synthetic, A40 spec.