Packing & Shipping: What not to do

[wastingtime101]

Dropped off packages at the post office and spotted seven med flat rate Priority boxes in the laundry hamper for prepaids - all with a massive gap like this:

I see this happen all the time. I've received many packages just like this, often with damaged goods.

The shipper didn't even put a piece of cardboard under the gap to protect the contents.

Not only are the contents more vulnerable to damage, but because the box is not sealed within the "normal folds" or "properly closed" (terms from the DMM), USPS can apply cost adjustments to those prepaid flat rates.

Your turn. Add a "what not to do" tip below.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Seller shipped 6 trade paperback books in a vinyl bag.

Two arrived with postal sticker saying Received without Contents, Received Unsealed.

Seller refunded promptly for the missing 4 books.

[a_c_green]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

The shipper didn't even put a piece of cardboard under the gap to protect the contents.

Not only are the contents more vulnerable to damage, but because the box is not sealed within the "normal folds" or "properly closed" (terms from the DMM), USPS can apply cost adjustments to those prepaid flat rates.

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Yikes...

Y'know, unless there was zero room left inside those boxes, it looks to me like a little pressing-together of the sides should have gotten those top flaps to meet in the middle. I don't know what the actual package weight was, but it might have been interesting to compare its cost to a standard weight-/zone-based Priority Mail box of similar size, or Ground Advantage in a plain brown box.

[wastingtime101]

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@a_c_green wrote:
Y'know, unless there was zero room left inside those boxes, it looks to me like a little pressing-together of the sides should have gotten those top flaps to meet in the middle. I don't know what the actual package weight was, but it might have been interesting to compare its cost to a standard weight-/zone-based Priority Mail box of similar size, or Ground Advantage in a plain brown box.

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At that post office, there are 2 main offenders. One is publishing company; I assume they're shipping promo copies of books most of the time and aren't concerned about damage.

The other is a local online seller that makes her own candles - glass jar candles that are definitely too wide for the boxes she uses. She used to ship in the RRA then switched to the Med Flt Rt when RRA was discontinued. I wonder about her rate of shipping damage. She'd definitely save money if she ordered Priority Box #4 (7x7x6) and used those instead with access to cubic rates. She'd also save if she invested in plain brown boxes and shipped GA.

[12345jamesstamps]

While waiting in line at post office...lady came in with a box that had wine written on it. I mentioned it to her you cannot use a box with any words of alcohol on it to mail. She said you can tell it's not wine because it's not heavy. She cussed me out and said let the clerk worry about it. Sure enough clerk told her and she was furious. We mention about using tape on the box to cover up all the words. She bought tape there and still was cussing about it doing it. Next time I won't say anything.

[ednasells]

boxes in your picture are not "medium flat rate priority mail boxes" they are #7 priority mail boxes

[a_c_green]

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@ednasells wrote:

boxes in your picture are not "medium flat rate priority mail boxes" they are #7 priority mail boxes

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The lower box on the left, under the one that takes up most of the photo, does have 'MEDIUM FLAT RATE BOX" visible at lower left, along its side, if you zoom in with a large monitor. I cannot see the sides of the others, but they appear to have identical graphics otherwise, in identical positions.

EDIT: Whoops, sorry, no... I see now that the upper right box has different graphics and is a bit bigger.

Odds are that all the boxes from the same shipper are probably all the same in the photo. It's definitely harder to obtain the non-Flat-Rate versions without on-line ordering, and if you're at the stage of ordering non-Flat-Rate PM boxes on-line, you probably already know their advantages over using Flat Rate packaging for everything.

[wastingtime101]

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@ednasells wrote:

boxes in your picture are not "medium flat rate priority mail boxes" they are #7 priority mail boxes

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You are mistaken @ednasells . The box all the way on the top right is box #7 and sealed all the way - that's from a different shipper.

All of the other Priority boxes, the ones that aren't sealed all the way, are med flat rates. Image is a bit blurred when I zoom in that much, but they're definitely MFRB.

[wastingtime101]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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I see now that the upper right box has different graphics and is a bit bigger.

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Yeah, box #7 on upper right was my package. It's one of a few personal packages I brought to the PO that afternoon after all my business packages had already shipped that morning. I plopped it on top of the other shipper's gapping med flat rates.

[wastingtime101]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I mentioned it to her you cannot use a box with any words of alcohol on it to mail. She said you can tell it's not wine because it's not heavy. She cussed me out and said let the clerk worry about it. [...] Next time I won't say anything.

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Yeah, I tend to avoid being helpful at the PO. Every other time I go to the PO there is someone screaming at the clerks or the manager and I don't need that to be me. 😁

Good tip to not use a box with alcohol or alcoholic markings on it. One could flip the box inside-out to make it work.

[bennotbill]

At least those items were in boxes.

I was in a shop when a young woman was buying a postage label for an eBay return. The item was a T shaped plastic thingy about a foot by a foot. I know that because she was trying to stick the label to it. The shop keeper had to explain to her you need to wrap it up put it in a box. That it couldn't be accepted just with the label stuck to it. She walked out not at all happy so I suppose someone got a neg.

[wastingtime101]

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@bennotbill wrote:

The item was a T shaped plastic thingy about a foot by a foot. I know that because she was trying to stick the label to it. 

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That's even worse than the package I got of a ceramic item in a box with no packing material. Just bouncing around from state to state in a box 6 times the size of the item.

[mtgraves7984]

Your turn. Add a "what not to do" tip below.

@wastingtime101 

You asked, so I went to a bookmarked post (from the last time I popped a gasket) and copied and pasted my part below. Read on... 

___________

I got an item yesterday (GA) that arrived in a black plastic bag with clear tape wrapped around and around and around it. 😑

It was a clothing item, so I was very careful to undo the mess by hand (afraid I'd snip it if I used scissors)... only to find the item secured in a brand-new USPS FR bubble mailer underneath the black taped-tight plastic with the GA label affixed to it.

I threw it (and a few bad words) across the room before I opened it. Misuse of USPS products is a huge pet peeve of mine. Thieves like that keep prices up for all of us. 

___________

- That seller left me good feedback. I obliged by leaving no feedback. 😶

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@mtgraves7984 wrote: ... only to find the item secured in a brand-new USPS FR bubble mailer underneath the black taped-tight plastic with the GA label affixed to it..... Misuse of USPS products is a huge pet peeve of mine....

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Same.  Last year I purchased a set of 3 salad plates which arrived via Ground Advantage; within the box, each plate was carefully packed in a flat rate bubble envelope.  The seller had used the sealing strip on the envelopes so they weren't easily re-used. She's lucky that she didn't ask me to leave feedback.

[mtgraves7984]

She's lucky that she didn't ask me to leave feedback.

@nobody*s_perfect 

Mine is just as lucky. 'Cause if she does... I will. 🔨