Passports!!!

WOW!!!
 
WORD TO THE WISER, WORD TO YOUR MOTHER, WORD TO ANYONE THAT WILL LISTEN:
 
Whatever you do, DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT, get your photos taken at the Post Office when you go in to get yourself a Passport or a Passport Card.
 
I went in to the Springfield, Missouri Post Office today to get my Passport Card and due to the fact that I was in a hurry I mistakenly forgot to ask how much they charged to take and process photos for the Passport.  Wrong move, bonehead! 
 
When I was writing out the check the nice lady behind the counter said, "That will be $149.85, Sir. 
 
"WHAT THE, HUUUUUUUHHHHHHH!!!!????!!!!", I screamed in my head!!!!
 
I wanted to scream out loud!  I wanted to throw a few things.  I wanted the nice lady behind the counter to suffer a horrible, agonizing death... 
 
Well, Okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but holy cripes!  And, on top of that indignity, I had to pay another $57.35 to expedite the Passport's arrival. 
 
Oh JOY!!
 
SO...   If you find yourself needing a Passport or a Passport Card to go hunting or anywhere for that matter make darn certain that you go to Wal-Mart or Walgreens to get your photos taken or you will be paying out the Wazoo at the Post Office!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve 
 
 

Holy Crap!!! $150.00 for a passport photo / card. Did that "nice lady" do something a little extra for you behind that counter????? That is outrageous. I went to a local camera store in a mall that took my picture for my passport and my CCP and I think it only ran like $10.00 dollars. You must of felt like you just got mugged when you walked out of there, sorry to hear about this Steve.

Caveat emptor, (let the buyer beware)!!!

Martin

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Steve,
 You must have been getting your passport for the first time for it to cost you that much. Mine was almost 2 bills for me to get it and get it expidited. That would be the only reason for it to be so much.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

Steve -- didja happen to pick up any bargains on $700 hammers or $1,700 toilet seats while you were there?

(Question: Wuz that the total for all the passport details AND the fotos? Or wuz it merely for the fotos their ownselfs? As Gary mentioned, I'm guessin' it wuz the grand total ... still ... over $50 for two little pix frum a digital camera seems excessive to me ... I base that estimate on whut it cost us for our Passports and pix a few years ago ... of course -- gloat, gloat -- we ordered 'em about four months in advance ... seems as if the paperwork and all wuz about $90 or so (?) and the pix were $10-12 @ a camera store-type place ... )

Another word of advice: Do NOT let your passport expire! It costs fairly little to merely renew in a timely manner, compared to the overall price tag for a new one startin' from scratch. Even if y'all think there will never, ever be another need for one becuz you're too old to travel outside the USofA ... there might be surprises in your future ... mebbe your kids will decide to give you a Cruise as a special anniversary gift ... when Son #1 earned a cruise @ Hawai'i, I wuz rather outraged to learn that they needed Passports ... (WHATCHU MEAN YOU GOTTA HAVE A PASSPORT TO VISIT ANOTHER STATE?!?!?!?!) ... (cruise line wuz NOT of USofA registry, and therefore had to make at least one port of call in/to another "country" ... hence, the need for documentation ...

Also ... a Passport is a handy means of providing a second (or third?) "government issued" photo ID ... yes, we get put into another gummint file, but they can do that anyway ... I've used mine a couple of times for that purpose ... (of course a Concealed Carry permit is nice to have, as well, for this same purpose ... I've had three "background checks" on me, in less than six months, for various reasons/needs ... not sayin' any of these could've been avoided with either of those IDs, but IMHO, it's nice to be able to prove who y'are ... and ... who yer NOT.)

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

I think mine was around $110 but, I had my picture done at WalMart. Just the picture was less than $10. It took less than 3 week to get everything back.

I ended up paying around $125 to get my passport card for this hunt with Steve.  I had to have an internet company get an original of my birth certificate as all I had was paperwork showing I was born, LOL!  I got two at $10 a piece, so with the processing fee from Indiana that came to $46.  Then I got two photos at a pharmacy in town for $8 and I thought that was high!  Then I had to pay the County Clerk $25 to handle the paperwork and another check to the State Department that took the total well over $100 and that was just for the card, not the book that is a lot more!  I will make sure and keep it current!!!

Mike Stephenson
aka Topgun----30-06

Yeah, Wish I had that problem! What a way to be forced to get a passport

"It is better to rule than serve"

Just read about the photos for the CCW license. I was lucky since I renewed my DL three months before I got my CCW permit the state was actually able to use my DL picture. Now I have the same crappy picture on two licenses to show how ugly I really am .

"It is better to rule than serve"

Let's put it this way guys, I'm expecting a complementary jar of Vaseline to be sent to me in the mail courtesy of the Springfield, Missouri Post Office any day now.  What a hose job!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

ORIGINAL: TheExtremeArcher

Let's put it this way guys, I'm expecting a complementary jar of Vaseline to be sent to me in the mail courtesy of the Springfield, Missouri Post Office any day now.  What a hose job!

Take care and Good Hunting!

Best Afield,

Steve

Pretty funny!!!

Next time you go to that post office be sure to wear your zipper on the other side of your pants!!!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

I s'pose I can figger out why (not), but our CC license system is not aligned with the DMV, so they couldn't use that foto ...

I actually fergit where I got the pic I used for it ... all I hadda do wuz resize one I had in my files and print out two copies of it on a 1" x 1.25" size and include 'em with my application ... all it really cost me wuz my time and a couple scraps of foto paper on my home printer ...

Um ... mebbe that's whut's holdin' up them deliverin' my CCP to me ... bad foto!

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

Update... Update... Update!!


I checked the status of my "Passport Card" online and when I looked over the Status Information I find out that I applied for a Passport Book instead of a Card, and that is why the initial cost was so high.

Well, I personally did NOT put an "X" on the Passport Book selection, I put an "X" on the Passport Card selection -- I just checked a copy of my application -- but the lady at the Post Office signed me up for a Passport Book.  Sooooooooo...  I guess I'm getting a Passport Book even though I wanted the cheaper Passport Card.

Here's the official word from the Government:
 
"Thank you for submitting your application for a U.S. Passport Book!  It is currently being processed."
 
Ahhh.... Heck... I can never get the right order at McDonalds, Wendy's, Arby's, Pizza Hut, etc., either so why should I expect the Post Office to be any different!! 

Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

Just more of the overpaid, underworked gov class not doing their job. Sorry Steve, hope it comes soon. I personally have never seen the passport card. I have always just gotten the book since I travel so many places throughout the world. Guess they need a place to put their country stamp.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

Now ya can get all those pretty stampings from each country.......

Old Cowboys never die, they just keep riding the Range.

This will make you laugh!
 
Straight from the Passport Information Center:
 
 
We have finished processing your passport, and it has been mailed to you.
You paid for overnight delivery.
 
This means you should receive your passport on or about 05/01/2009.
 
 
Now, since it's the 28th of April today, and it clearly states that I "paid for overnight delivery" shouldn't I receive the Passport Book on April 29th not May 1st????
 
Hmmmmmm.....
 
LOL!!!!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

That would mean, our tax dollars at work lol.

Sounds normal, for government work, lol.....

Old Cowboys never die, they just keep riding the Range.

Glad to see your on top of things Steve
 
That still sounds high I think paid ten bucks at the county recorders office for a copy of my birth certificate and 125 bucks at the post office for the passport photo and I also got the book 

apparently you didn't specify WHICH night you wanted it to be over - so they have to cover a lot of them!

I hope you enjoy your book

Overnight from a gov agency?  You have got to be kidding me...............................Sorry Steve.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member