>>I have never seen anyone there do anything outside the regulations. And for the post office to
>>ignore a rule on their own website?
Again, the rule we are talking about DOES NOT APPLY on the USPS website. The USPS estimating calculator you are using deals only with RETAIL First Class Pkg purchased at the PO counter which is not online First Class Pkg Commercial where the rule does apply.
2018 USPS DMM 201.8.3
8.3 First-Class Package Service — Commercial Parcels
8.3.1 Weight
First-Class Package Service — Commercial parcels must weigh less than 16 ounces.
8.3.2 Size
The address side of the parcel must be large enough to contain all delivery and return address,
endorsement, postage, and label elements. A First-Class Package Service — Commercial parcel is:
a. A mailpiece that exceeds any one of the maximum dimensions for a flat (large envelope). See 4.0.
b. A flat-size mailpiece, regardless of thickness, that is rigid or nonrectangular.
c. A flat-size mailpiece that is not uniformly thick (has bumps, protrusions, or other
irregularities that cause the thickness to vary more than 1/4 inch).
d. A mailpiece that does not exceed 22 inches in length, or 18 inches in width,
or 15 inches in thickness.
I was mistaken about the non-machinable rule with the slightly larger allowable dimensions that I said applied to Retail FCP - that is a general commercial parcel rule that is overridden by the specific FCP rule above.
(see DMM 201.7.5.1b)
RETAIL FCP shipped at the counter does not have limits except the 108" Length+Girth limit as outlined in criterion "d." below:
2019 DMM 101.6.4
Retail Mail: Physical Standards for Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
6.4 Parcels
First-Class Package Service — Retail parcels are eligible for USPS Tracking and
Signature Confirmation service. A First-Class Package Service — Retail parcel is
the following:
a. A mailpiece that exceeds any one of the maximum dimensions for a flat
(large envelope). See 2.1.
b. A flat-size mailpiece, regardless of thickness, that is rigid or nonrectangular.
c. A flat-size mailpiece that is not uniformly thick under 2.4.
d. A mailpiece that does not exceed 108 inches in combined length and girth.
So forget about the USPS website - you are comparing apples and oranges when talking about Retail FCP counter postage there vs eBay or any other online commercial FCP labels that are subject to the commercial FCP rule.
I've always been uncertain of my interpretation of that passage in the DMM because USPS seems to ignore it, and label providers also did (not preventing/flagging creation of FCP labels that exceed the limits).
However, websites like stamps.com, Endicia, and other shipping blogs publish FAQS and shipping guides including those limits (which is their interpretation of the rules in the DMM and I assume corroborated by USPS)
https://support.shippingeasy.com/hc/en-us/articles/203085599-Package-Sizes-and-Dimensions-USPS-Domes...
https://www.stamps.com/usps/first-class-mail-classification-tool/
So either I've misinterpreted that commercial rule for years, USPS is moving towards enforcing it by nudging Postage providers to begin discouraging users from shipping pkgs that violate the rule by not allowing labels to be printed for those items, or the eBay programmers went overboard enforcing a nitpicky DMM rule that USPS still doesn't really care about.
No idea, and no ideas on how to find the truth except if eBay chimes in with something definitive that sounds like a legitimate explanation (as I've mentioned elsewhere - I'm done with trying to get real answers on technical issues from USPS)
The upshot I see is:
unless this is some sort of eBay glitch or I totally have it wrong (a glitch that happens to align perfectly with a USPS rule - unlikely), or an overzealous interpretation by a programmer, it is the new reality.
You will not be able to ship FCP with dimensions over 22x18x15 through eBay labels, unless you use the classic label flow (as long as it is available), or will have to use PayPal, Stamps, etc (until they make the change also - if they do), or ship at retail rates at the PO counter. [ @nobody*s_perfect Any thoughts? ]
