eBay

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

Occasionally I have to cut up a USPS flat rate box to modify it for a product I sell. I print a label using the weight and size of the item, using Priority Mail rate, NOT the flat rate that would apply had the package not been altered.

I have one post office (out of two) repeatedly return packages like this.

Any ideas on how to get them to follow their own procedures?

rock.star · ‎08-30-2017

Flat rate boxs can only be used with flat rate shipping and cannot be modified.

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

@rock.star wrote:
Flat rate boxs can only be used with flat rate shipping and cannot be modified.

that's not correct.

If an FRE or FRB is presented at the office of mailing and the customer has manipulated or reconstructed it, the container is accepted using weight and zone — not the Flat Rate price. A customer is not required to repackage an item unless the contents are fragile and would be at risk of damage during processing and transit.

you got a helpful vote above so obviously a lot of people don't know this, including my local post office! lol

duchess-at-speakeasy · ‎08-30-2017

What this really means is that you will be charged the HIGHER rate based on weight and zone. You will not be charged the lesser rate.

There are plenty of weight-based Priority Mail boxes to choose from -- there's no need to modify an FRB.

~~C~~

My Glass Duchess
Quoting Mom: In polite society, "hey" is for horses.

yuzuha · ‎08-30-2017

@duchess-at-speakeasy wrote:

There are plenty of weight-based Priority Mail boxes to choose from -- there's no need to modify an FRB.

There's also no need to use a specific Priority Mail box, either. Any old box will do if you're doing weight-based Priority shipping.

klassic*kids · ‎08-30-2017

I rarely use a box -- I am a clothes seller and 95% of my items go in poly bags. -- however, occasionally I do sell something like a winter boot. For these cases I buy rolls of of brown wrapping paper (looks like brown paper bag) and cover a large FR box. I would think you'd be able to cover your makeshift box with this paper as well. Check out your local dollar store for the paper -- sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't -- but when they do have it I stock up!

I actually have a children's halloween costume with a huge wingspan that I haven't list yet becaue I have no idea how I will ship it. It is much wider than a large FR box. I might have to reconstruct some boxes as well -- apprehensive on how to go about this,

Happy 2018! May this upcoming year be a prosperous one!

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

@duchess-at-speakeasy wrote:
What this really means is that you will be charged the HIGHER rate based on weight and zone. You will not be charged the lesser rate.

There are plenty of weight-based Priority Mail boxes to choose from -- there's no need to modify an FRB.

~~C~~

that's not what it REALLY means...not sure how you got THAT out of fairly clear policy (the container is accepted using weight and zone — not the Flat Rate price).

While i realize I could order 10 large priority boxes (minimum order) and cut one up since they ONLY carry FRE/FRBs in the post office, that is pretty wasteful, no? it's not like there is something SPECIAL about flat rate boxes that makes them more valuable than other boxes.

And sure I could use my own ratty used boxes, but that doesn't make much of an impression...

postingid2017 · ‎08-30-2017

IDK if you should do that as I have had my postal clerks advise other customers not to do that. As with the OP, the pkg would either be refused or returned. This was before they really started to crack down as they are now.

I may sound like a meanie, however, do not be surprised if they either refuse or return the pkg(s) to you.

postingid2017 · ‎08-30-2017

@e-cheddar wrote:
@rock.star wrote:
Flat rate boxs can only be used with flat rate shipping and cannot be modified.
that's not correct.

If an FRE or FRB is presented at the office of mailing and the customer has manipulated or reconstructed it, the container is accepted using weight and zone — not the Flat Rate price. A customer is not required to repackage an item unless the contents are fragile and would be at risk of damage during processing and transit.

you got a helpful vote above so obviously a lot of people don't know this, including my local post office! lol

If the above was true, then your pkg's would not have been returned. Abuse/Misuse is part of the reason for the increases in prices, the availability of tape. When the boxes are no longer free, then maybe you might realize the cost involved that innocent shippers would have to bear.

and @rock.star I just gave him/her their 3rd helpful 😉

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

@postingid2017 wrote:
IDK if you should do that as I have had my postal clerks advise other customers not to do that. As with the OP, the pkg would either be refused or returned. This was before they really started to crack down as they are now.

I may sound like a meanie, however, do not be surprised if they either refuse or return the pkg(s) to you.

right now i'm just avoiding the post office that does this...the other post office I use NEVER gives me a hassle...just not optimal because the troublesome post office is near the UPS store, which I visit every other day or so....

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

@postingid2017 wrote:
@e-cheddar wrote:
@rock.star wrote:
Flat rate boxs can only be used with flat rate shipping and cannot be modified.
that's not correct.

If an FRE or FRB is presented at the office of mailing and the customer has manipulated or reconstructed it, the container is accepted using weight and zone — not the Flat Rate price. A customer is not required to repackage an item unless the contents are fragile and would be at risk of damage during processing and transit.

you got a helpful vote above so obviously a lot of people don't know this, including my local post office! lol
If the above was true, then your pkg's would not have been returned. Abuse/Misuse is part of the reason for the increases in prices, the availability of tape. When the boxes are no longer free, then maybe you might realize the cost involved that innocent shippers would have to bear.

and @rock.star I just gave him/her their 3rd helpful 😉

weird how the incorrect answers get helpfuls around here! lol

the above IS true...i got it directly from USPS website and it's from 2016 ...understand that is more costly for the post office to have me order 10 boxes delivered to my door by a mail lady with back problems already...the reason some have been returned is because that post office doesn't understand it's own policies (very common).

yuzuha · ‎08-30-2017

@e-cheddar wrote:
And sure I could use my own ratty used boxes, but that doesn't make much of an impression...

Funny, 95% of the boxes I use are used. I haven't had a single buyer complain yet.

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

@yuzuha wrote:
@e-cheddar wrote:
And sure I could use my own ratty used boxes, but that doesn't make much of an impression...
Funny, 95% of the boxes I use are used. I haven't had a single buyer complain yet.

I simply don't have that many used boxes around here. I just prefer a nice clean new box...i don't complain either when I get something in a carpy used box, but it DOES strike me as kinda gross. one i had looked like it had a steak inside that leaked. I worry about cockroach eggs, etc. too when someone sends me a used box....besides that, used boxes are rarely as sturdy as ones that havent been through the postal service already.

yuzuha · ‎08-30-2017

@e-cheddar wrote:

I worry about cockroach eggs, etc. too when someone sends me a used box....

... why? Most used boxes aren't gross, they're just an Amazon box or whatever that's been repurposed. A used box isn't going to be gross unless it had something gross in it or was stored in questionable conditions, and in that case I think most sellers have the good sense to toss it rather than reuse it. I only reuse boxes that are clean and structurally intact; anything too banged up goes right into the recycling.

e-cheddar · ‎08-30-2017

again, used boxes are not as strong as a new box, and most used boxes don't seem as strong even when they were new when compared to the quality of priority boxes...Amazon boxes are particularly flimsy and rarely arrived undamaged.

priority boxes are there for free for us to use...if you prefer used boxes, go for it. Like i said, I don't have that many used boxes around here and im not going begging at grocery stores when I can get priority boxes for free from the post office....i had 25 items to ship a few weeks back--did not have 25 used boxes sitting around...i save used boxes for sure in a pinch, but I just don't have that many of the correct size and I don't have the space to save every possible size of used boxes...