misuse of USPS products

[justforfun6]

I have sold for nearly 20 years. I appreciate the USPS supplying us free boxes and other materials. I also shop on ebay. Lately I am finding seasoned sellers using the USPS padded   flat rate envelopes as padding inside first class packaging. I find this disturbing as in the end we as consumers we will be forced to bear the cost in higher rates, along with the fact it is a fraudulent use of government property.  Initially when they started suppling us with free shipping materials they gave us tape. People promptly ordered it for personal usage, so we no longer have the use of free priority tape. People turned the boxes inside out so they could use them without having to ship priority. Now they print the inside of the boxes to prevent that. The postal service gives us a discount on shipping prices by shipping through ebay. We should not be taking advantage of that by basically stealing from their kindness.  Times are difficult but that is not a reason to deliberately misuse products. When someone has over 30,000 feedback the excuse cannot be made they were unaware of this usage. Let`s keep ebay a respectable business.

[theteamsetguy]

Just checking to see what you learned at the seminar?

[theteamsetguy]

Like humans spitting in the ocean causes sea levels to rise?

[dhaga]

I agree with the OP. I recently returned a stack of unused padded priority mail envelops to USPS and they gladly took them in. One minor gripe I have is FedEx not allowing me to use recycled Priority mail Boxes but I guess it may be difficult for them to tell if the box is truly being recycled or if the box is a new one. 

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

This thread is getting a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain courteous and respectful.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[inhawaii]

I think we can ALL AGREE  packing/padding is not it's intended use.

I spoke to my local postmaster once about this issue. He down played it. He couldn't care less.

He said that using Priority Mail supplies as padding/packaging is fine as long as it's used "for" Priority Mail.

If you want to pack a vase using 25 Priority Mail padded flat rate envelopes and ship it Priority Mail, that's fine. 

I realize that this was this particular Postmaster's opinion and others Postmasters may disagree. 

[simba6]

Don't leave out how after they stopped giving out the free tape, people discovered you got a roll in every military care kit.  Then USPS got wise to that and cut the size of the included roll to only enough for a package or two. 

Then there were the shipping label sellers on eBay.  They "sold" you labels but in fact signed ups up with UPS or Fedex and the shipping company sent the labels. 

I say bring back the dunking stool for all of them.

[katzrul15]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I think we can ALL AGREE  packing/padding is not it's intended use.

I spoke to my local postmaster once about this issue. He down played it. He couldn't care less.

He said that using Priority Mail supplies as padding/packaging is fine as long as it's used "for" Priority Mail.

If you want to pack a vase using 25 Priority Mail padded flat rate envelopes and ship it Priority Mail, that's fine. 

I realize that this was this particular Postmaster's opinion and others Postmasters may disagree. 

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Agreed.  Stood in line once to show the postmaster the Priority materials abuse.  They did nothing.  Say it happens daily.

They have bigger issues to deal with and not a mechanism for them to engage, backtrack to the "offender" and address.

@justforfun6 

Each Buyer has 500 characters to express their displeasure for their order.  That is really all a Buyer can do - notatate in their feedback and/or choose a different seller on a go-forward basis.  If a Seller cuts corners with free USPS supplies, they probably cut corners in other areas of selling.  ymmv

[wrong66]

To me, a flagrant misuse of USPS products would be like using a Priority box and wrapping it in butcher paper in order to send it First Class, thus skirting USPS fees. Am I personally concerned that people are doing this? The answer is no. It's none of my business.

[american-photography]

It's no surprise why the USPS is losing money every year with a business model that gives away free product, has high labor/pension costs, and subsidizes expensive overseas shipments by undercharging the true actual cost (example charging the same low rate for a  package to Guam in the middle of the Pacific Ocean as across the U.S.).

The solution would be to charge people for using Priority-rate boxes and lower Priority shipping rates.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

It's fine to use as packing, as long as it's a Priority item.   

I hardly think mis-using a PM box rises to the level of tax fraud LOL.  Esp since the USPS does it all the time themselves.   I just don't understand caring so much about what others do, when the postal service themselves doesn't care.  I have other things to worry about. 

BTW, they are sold at many thrift shops & also on Ebay, all the time.  I have more of an issue with that, but again the USPS, doesn't really care.  I tried once to report fraud, was talking to the Postmaster of the city it happened in, this was fraud about someone who opened a package, then marked it refused & sent it back to me.  You think they cared?  He told me basically 'it's a 3 page form to report, you really wanna waste your time filling it out'?   I guarantee you that every single day, across the country, multiple postal employees are misusing supplies on behalf of their customers, it's just not something I'm going to worry about.  

ETA:  I should add, I've never done it.   I have used the PFREs as packing in Priority packages on rare occasions, but that's allowed.  

[farmalljr]

Well, I've cited the USPS regulation and the criminal code. You can't do much more than that. If no one wants to listen, ok. I don't have to worry about anyone coming after me about it. 

My suggestion to those of us who catch other sellers using the supplies improperly, just start leaving negative FB for the sellers not following the rules. I bet they will pay attention when negative feedback hits them. Maybe then a few cents saved won't seem so good. As a buyer if you are unhappy, you should say so. How is a seller going to improve without feedback?

[glgenterprise]

Let's try it this way:

The post office produces priority flat rate padded envelopes. This production is not free. You order a supply of these envelopes. The post office has not incurred additional expense getting them to you. They've done this with the expectation that you will use those envelopes to ship packages and they will receive $9 in gross revenue for that envelope that they have money invested in providing to you.

But wait, you've ordered them with the sole intention of using them for internal padding. So the post office will get no income from those specific envelopes. Why exactly should the post office continue to supply those products for free for your misuse of them? Your local postmaster may not really care, but I promise, there is a department in the post office that very much cares and tracks how much loss they are incurring from the misuse of priority mail products. At some point that number will tip far enough into the red and the free supplies will end.

It's the reason that USPS no longer provides priority tape. It's the reason that media mail is subject to inspection. Misuse is stealing, no matter how you try to justify it.

[espresso_warehouse]

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@farmalljr wrote:

Well, I've cited the USPS regulation and the criminal code. You can't do much more than that. If no one wants to listen, ok. I don't have to worry about anyone coming after me about it. 

My suggestion to those of us who catch other sellers using the supplies improperly, just start leaving negative FB for the sellers not following the rules. I bet they will pay attention when negative feedback hits them. Maybe then a few cents saved won't seem so good. As a buyer if you are unhappy, you should say so. How is a seller going to improve without feedback?

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If you have any evidence that people are being charged, let alone convicted in a criminal court for using priority envelopes as padding please present it. Other than that, the claim it's a criminal offense are unfounded and absurd.

I would be surprised if you could find one single case of anyone facing any kind of consequences for this beyond being charged for the postage. As others have pointed out the post office just does not care at all.

Is it ethical to take free envelopes from the post office and misuse them? No. But who are you to judge whether or not this packaging was used previously and is being recycled. Plenty of ways to remove a label and you'd need to prove in court that the envelope was not previously used.

[oldwestgold]

I normally try not to be a Karen and tell people what to do. It's not our job to police how others use USPS packaging, and this is from a retired Postmaster of 33 years. And let's face it, UPS, FedEx or the USPS don't have employees running around trying to catch people abusing their free products. It isn't good financial sense. 20 years ago I had a Finance Postal Inspector tell me that they don't have the manpower to investigate anything under $25,000. I can't imagine what the threshold is today.

And I specifically hate people telling me how to run my business, as one person just did yesterday via eBay messaging. They didn't like how I listed an item and made all kinds of nonsense claims and as of this typing are still sending messages.

Stay in your lane is sage advice. Don't worry about what others do. You wouldn't pull over a car acting as a policeman if you saw someone run a stop sign. Nope. That's for the PD to do. And besides all of that, I have more important things to do than watch what and how others handle their personal and business affairs.

Stay in your lane. That's how I drive.

[fern*wood]

Plenty of crimes go unpunished...doesn't make them any less crimey.   That's a reason many use to keep on doing things that are wrong, so why keep using that argument as if it justifies the behavior.