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.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@resonantfish wrote:

I re-use Priority packaging I can't use again as external packaging as filler for other boxes. I don't see a problem with that. If they're going to bash a box beyonds all recognition, or create ungodly tears in envelopes, I may as well use it again.

These packages aren't free; we're already paying for them with the price of Priority shipping, and the insurance claims that USPS refuses to pay out after their gross negligence. You can't pretend that this is some benevolent, wonderful organization that deserves our worship and respect; it's a very flawed business. Until they compensate me for the $100 of mine that they broke and lost this year, I'm going to take it back out of them in my own way.

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Seriously? How old are you? That sounds like something my 10 year old would have used as an excuse many years ago! 

[espresso_warehouse]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

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@espresso_warehouse wrote:

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If you have some kind of evidence that misusing free packaging is considered a crime, please present it. Posting code about vandalizing mailboxes isn't really doing it.

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Ask and ye shall receive - link below the copied portion. :

Can I Use Priority Mail Express® Service or Priority Mail® Service Envelopes for Other Mail?

If any Priority Mail Express service or Priority Mail service packaging or packaging supplies e.g., Priority Mail tape to seal a USPS Retail Ground® package, are used on any other class of mail, the applicable Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail price will be charged..

• Misuse may be a violation of federal law.
• Turning the packaging inside out to conceal the Priority Mail / Priority Mail Express insignia is specific misuse that is not allowed.

Any matter mailed in these free boxes is charged the appropriate Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail price, regardless of how the packaging is reconfigured (including being turned inside out, cut, shrunk, enlarged, etc.) or how the markings are obliterated.

Mail dropped in a Collection Box receptacle using inappropriate packaging (including, for example, mailing Priority Mail items in an Priority Mail Express box) is either:

• Sent on as insufficient postage mail OR
• Returned to the sender.

Treatment of this mail is decided by the Post Office™ facility handling the mailpiece.

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/How-do-I-Use-or-Reuse-Boxes-Properly

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I'm hoping this is a joke. Because that doesn't say the word crime nor criminal. It clearly says violation.

Parking violations aren't crimes either. You heard it here first.

If you want to try and convince Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to put together a grand jury, maybe you all can get some indictments against small time eBay sellers accused of the not-crime of misusing packaging.

As far as I know nobody has even been cited with a violation. So maybe a more logical place to start would be citing someone with a violation for that. But a postmaster was already on this thread and cast doubt on whether they would ever bother.

[nickelsanddimes2015]

My post office offered and gave me around 20 huge boxes of the bubble mailers because they were going to throw them away for being "flawed" and were told to destroy them and not use anymore and told me to do whatever I wanted with them so I took them and use them as packaging materials. I have also received several cases of Priority tape for the same reason. I'm sure several sellers on here have had the same thing happen to them as we build a great relationship with our post office since we see them every day.

[espresso_warehouse]

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@nickelsanddimes2015 wrote:

My post office offered and gave me around 20 huge boxes of the bubble mailers because they were going to throw them away for being "flawed" and were told to destroy them and not use anymore and told me to do whatever I wanted with them so I took them and use them as packaging materials. I have also received several cases of Priority tape for the same reason. I'm sure several sellers on here have had the same thing happen to them as we build a great relationship with our post office since we see them every day.

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Exactly. This is why it is important not to make accusations without investigation.

[Anonymous]

It's amazing to me how some people get in a tizzy about this. War is going on, gas and  items in store are sky high, the govt and post office have been ripping us off for years, Covid causes death, homelessness is high, people can't pay rent or mortgages, we are loosing all our savings, crime is nuts. Please find something else to worry about.

[espresso_warehouse]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It's amazing to me how some people get in a tizzy about this. War is going on, gas and  items in store are sky high, the govt and post office have been ripping us off for years, Covid causes death, homelessness is high, people can't pay rent or mortgages, we are loosing all our savings, crime is nuts. Please find something else to worry about.

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You've misdirected this. I don't think people should be having a cow over misuse of packaging. I think people need to relax and have a laugh. Especially considering.

[justforfun6]

that is very interesting. i know different post offices handle their day to day work differently. i have had the opposite experience for the most part. 1 time at least 15 years ago i was given some #13 boxes that were being discontinued.  they were a great size. generally the 2 post offices i use have asked me for the priority boxes because they are never sent to them even when requested. since i seldom go to the post office because the postal carriers pick up my packages i have not had much interaction with them.  these are isolated instances. and when you are told to do as you wish by all means do so. I venture to say this is not something that occurs frequently.  still not a go ahead reason to use at our own discretion because it's free and convenient . regardless of the non consequences when the stated terms for use say  one thing it does not make it ok to use for anything we want.  i just find it disheartening when i order so little, but frequently find on smaller first class mail items people are using the unused PFRE as packing material.  to me that is a bad business model. 

[lesegouts]

And the buyer will have to pay it upon arrival. They will not be pleased...

[lesegouts]

Loved the C boxes. Tried to get more when they were discontinued. No luck.

[bashort]

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@lesegouts wrote:

Loved the C boxes. Tried to get more when they were discontinued. No luck.

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I got I think 25 when they came out and I think I ended up burning 24 of them.

There was a very narrow window where they made sense to use, the item had to be close to the max weight allowed or regular priority was cheaper. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

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@jda04121 wrote:

Years ago I had a stack of USPS envelopes I could not use anymore. The PO did not want to take them. 

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I had a lot of priority packaging that I couldn't use and my local post office was more than happy to take it for their customers. 

They told me they're only allowed to stock flat rate packaging so when customers are willing and able to supply them with other types of priority boxes and envelopes, they love it.

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We took a stack of the board game boxes to them at the holidays.  USPS would not take them. 

Unfortunately, they are stacked on the warehouse floor, soon to hit a recycling bin.

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I supposed it could be a matter of space restrictions. If the postal location is small, they may not have room to store or display your boxes for customer use. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@wrong66 wrote:

 Am I personally concerned that people are doing this? The answer is no. It's none of my business.

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First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

[glgenterprise]

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@bashort wrote:

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@lesegouts wrote:

Loved the C boxes. Tried to get more when they were discontinued. No luck.

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I got I think 25 when they came out and I think I ended up burning 24 of them.

There was a very narrow window where they made sense to use, the item had to be close to the max weight allowed or regular priority was cheaper. 

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I didn't love the C boxes when they were attached to a specific rate, but once USPS did not offer regional rate C anymore, they became just another regular priority box and I used every one that I had - with the advantage that I could cut it down without issue.

I probably had 20 of them when the rate went away, and used every single one of them.

[baantiques]

I see it too.  Mostly what I see is Priority boxes being used to ship First Class.  They used to deliver those postage due but I see it so much now that I don't think they are checking any more.   I mostly use priority mail boxes for other methods when the boxes have already been used.  Sometimes I have shipped FedEx or UPS using Priority boxes, but only after I carefully packed it up only to find the USPS cost was 2x.  I try to be careful and check ahead of time but sometimes I'm in a rush and forget.

[wrong66]

Oh, please!