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Not allowed to use recycled boxes at USPS ?
Summary: cornhuskerdan reported a newly observed restriction at a post office in Charlotte, North Carolina, where recycled boxes with any previous writing, labels, or company names are not allowed for shipping, despite covering previous labels. This appears to be enforced through unofficial signage and was a surprise, as no such guidance is found on official USPS or eBay websites. cornhuskerdan managed to ship the boxes without issue at another post office. eburtonlab provided links to USPS guidelines on box reuse for further reference.
A post office I frequently use in Charlotte North Carolina now has signs on the counter saying you cannot use recycled boxes for shipping. ( these signs were not official USPS signage, but rather they were printed in large font on a 8 x 10 ) Apparently the boxes cannot have any writing on them ( not only partial labels but even company names ) I have always used blank white labels to cover any previous label or bar code. I was told today by a USPS desk clerk that the boxes can't be "ratty". When I questioned her definition of "ratty", she said the boxes cannot be dirty. "So it's an appearance issue ?" No, it has to do with having previous labels on the box EVEN IF I COVERED THEM with a blank white label. Another customer's box was rejected because it had a company name on it.
I haven't seen anything on the USPS or Ebay website about this issue, other than making sure previous labels are removed or not visible.
Has anyone in Ebay land experienced anything like this recently?
I took the two "offending" boxes to a post office a few miles away and shipped them no problem.
eburtonlab
Mentor3 weeks ago · Edited@cornhuskerdan
Here is what USPS says about reusing boxes:
https://faq.usps.com/s/article/How-do-I-Use-or-Reuse-Boxes-Properly
https://about.usps.com/notices/not128/not128_003.htm
https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c2_010.htm