Customer Reviews

Royal RC40 40-Pound Shipping Scale

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Folks, I'm only reviewing this because of the problems people are complaining about with the computer interface. This is used for downloading the latest rates to you scales. It couldn't be any easier if you read the instructions.

Here is the trick... you MUST... I mean ABSOLUTELY MUST have the scale plugged into the wall on the AC adapter and have batteries installed or it will NEVER work.

The next trick is that it takes just a few seconds to download the rates to your computer and then you will need to download (normally this would be called upload) them to your scales.

This is the next TRICK. It takes minutes to download to your scales. Just leave it alone, ignore it and go watch TV for a while until it finishes.

It works EVERY SINGLE TIME... if you follow those two bits of advice, i.e., battery and AC power, then when downloading to scale expect it to take minutes... at least 10 minutes.

I'll tell ya' folks, I wasn't sure if this product was going to be good or not, from the reviews above.....so I bought it anyway and got it the next day, which was a pleasant surprise. There was no need for customer support. This was easier to set up than a bowl of cereal. If you follow the directions to the letter, then you shouldn't have a problem. It helps if you read them through first to familiarize yourself with the steps. It has a lot of great features whether your computer is on or not. In other words, it's only dependent on your computer for downloading the rates, which takes very little time if you have a P4 (highly recommended) with 1.3Mhz or better. The whole set up took about 10-15 minutes with download and updating. For a more accurate weighing, I recommend using the pound & ounce function (e.g. 2lbs 12.6 oz). This makes things a lot easier than getting quotes over the phone or online from 4 different mailing services. The extra features like insurance, etc are real nice additions for more accurate pricing. I highly recommend this scale that sends a lot of small to medium weight packages. Oh, one more thing...if you're business depends on weight to the 1/1000 of a gram or ounce or whatever, then don't buy a scale used for mailing packages. Get a chemistry or food scale with pinpoint accuracy. You might pay more, but you'll make it back in your profit margining. Good luck all and happy buying!!!

Scale a little difficult to set up. Had problem with downloading rates from internet. Called for support help. Phone number in instr. manual was wrong,not toll free, long wait to talk with someone. Gave me another phone number. No one answers and no way to leave message at second phone number. Called back first number said he couldn't help me. Very frustrating. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Finally got it set up. Very complicated for mailing regular daily letters. Must push several buttons to get weight and postage for one letter. After you get postage for one letter you have to push five buttons to get back to the starting point. Tried pushing buttons as suggested, it does not work. I am sending this scale back. Mainly due to lack of support in getting familiar with the use of this product.

The scale is a nice scale, is accurate and does the rate calculation well for a variety of shippers, but the rate update over the internet really stinks. Most of the time the service never responds at all and almost all the rest of the time it responds intially and then just sits there trying to download rates forever. This is a repeatable failure on multiple computers from multiple locations. Just a word of caution, although the built in rate feature is great, you may never actually be able to update the rates.

The scale performs its basic function well enough, which is weighing packages. I've even weighed packages over 40 lbs successfully. But it's very annoying to use. Actually finding a rate on the scale, if you can get them downloaded successfully, requires pushing a number of buttons in the right order. Plus you can't alter the rates to match any discounts you might have gotten from the shipper. I quickly gave up on trying to use it to find rates -- the web is faster and more accurate. A major annoyance for me is that you can't set it to stay on until you shut it off. It will shut off after one minute of non-use, and you can't change that. Good if you use batteries, but I have mine connected to an AC adapter, so I'd like it to stay on until I shut it off. Finally, it looks like software downloads for these are no more.... Oh well, at least it does weigh accurately and is still working.

Anybody who got theirs to update should consider themselves lucky. If you like making multiple calls to Indian call centers to receive worthless advice, buy this scale. If you want to waste money on replacement serial cables, buy this scale. If like repeating the same process over and over and receiving the same lame error message, buy this scale. If you enjoy wasting hours of your time, by all means buy this scale. YES I know how to read and follow directions, and YES I know what I'm doing around computers. IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!

lawsouth from Birmingham, AL is somewhat right. I experienced the failed updater but I chalked that up to just poor software. Instead, I went directly to the Royal site, downloaded and installed the NEW version in a different directory, and all worked great. It updated rate info and pushed it to the scale. What an awesome unit for less than a hundred bucks!

Instruction manual is straightforward. Easy to connect to Royal's internet site. Using a 56k dialup service, download took around 30 minutes. Pros: Rate change updates from internet are free. You are automatically notified when rates change. Scale is battery (2 nine volt) or ac adapter powered. Can weigh packages up to 40 pounds. LCD display is easy to read. Wide variety of features which you can use or ignore. Takes less than a minute from Power Up to having the shipping price. Cons: none.

Sorry Sam. Your tips don't work... Even with the batteries installed and wall power connected.. BTW. the manual states that only the wall charger needs to be installed. They just dont want you to use just the batteries.

I found that updating the software worked fine but updating postal rate is, at the moment, impossible. I also notice that Royal does not make the RC40 anymore. Hummm, could this be the cause? Anyway I will be calling tech support (800-272-6229) to see what they have to say.

Hello India!

My RC40 successfully downloaded the latest software update from the company site. However, the scales then stopped working. Royal provides a customer support phone number (non-toll free), where I waited on hold a long time for a person and then was transfered to another person's voice mail. Royal's site also offers an an email address (...) where Royal promises to respond to your email within "two to three weeks." However, a customer service rep did return my call within one day, and told me to return the product to the place I bought it. I also checked prices and was not able to find any similar machine at a competitive price. And so I have increased my rating of the product to 3 stars on account of low price. But it is a good idea to buy an extended warranty at original purchase in case you have to return it.