Apparently everyone loves tape. We get so much tape on oil sample containers that we should be in the used-tape business. But you know what doesn’t work very well? Scotch tape. Don’t do it. It’s really not any good. Our apologies to the Scotch tape people. Now electrical tape…that’s tape we can respect.

No. You can send it in any package that won’t leak. Notice the key words here: won’t leak. Any clean and dry container with a screw-on cap should be okay. Bad choices for the mail include Tupperware, film canisters, pickle jars, and aspirin bottles. Believe me, nothing ruins my day like opening a sample and getting oil all over my clothes.

Sure, send it UPS or FedEx. Postage will cost a little more, but it might be worth it.

Give it at least a month. They don’t actually get lost very often, and they do usually find their way here eventually. Sometimes they go to another lab and then to us. Sometimes they get held up in quarantine while the post office figures out whether it’s hazardous. (For the record, it’s not: You can print off a letter that explains so here.) And sometimes, we think the pony must die en route to Indiana.

Knock yourself out.

Feel free. They are pretty good about delivering. Be sure to check your tracking number. You’d be amazed at the number of people who don’t take this simple step before calling us.

Trust me. We don’t make money unless we run your sample, so we don’t have any reason to leave them sitting around in back somewhere. If you receive more kits from us, then we either got your sample or we got your online payment. We automatically send a couple kits when we put you into the system. Sometimes your new kits arrive before the mail delivers your sample to us.

Chances are we don’t have it yet. We do a pretty good job keeping up, unless there was a holiday or something and we’re just inundated with samples. If tracking says it’s here, then it’s probably in line for testing. It’s also possible it’s done, but the email went to spam. If it’s not there, you should create an account online to view your reports. You will need your customer number to do that. It’s located in the lower right corner of the pre-printed oil slips that are in your kits. (If the slips are generic, then call or email us for your customer number.)