Can you use USPS priority mail boxes when shipping with USPS Ground Advantage?

[phoenix_kicksaz]

Are you able to ship USPS Ground packages with the free USPS priority mail boxes?

[kingyahoo2]

Wow, that point was lost on me. First Class was always under a pound, then it was replaced by Ground Advantage under a pound. Suddenly Ground Advantage can be used up to 70 pounds. I always use Priority Mail Boxes over a pound. Guess I have some adjusting to do, and maybe a couple bills will come in the mail.

[wastingtime101]

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@kingyahoo2 wrote:

Wow, that point was lost on me. First Class was always under a pound, then it was replaced by Ground Advantage under a pound. Suddenly Ground Advantage can be used up to 70 pounds. I always use Priority Mail Boxes over a pound. Guess I have some adjusting to do, and maybe a couple bills will come in the mail.

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Ground Advantage weight limit has been 70 lbs since day 1 of its launch - July 9 2023 @kingyahoo2 

[kingyahoo2]

Wow, that totally slipped by me unnoticed. Thanks for the info. Fortunately I don't ship packages over a pound very often, and sometimes I don't use Priority Mail boxes to do so. I doubt I sent 3 or 4 in the unacceptable manner. But all of my listings over a pound I listed as Priority Mail only, for sure. Are buyers offered a choice of GA or PM automatically? That would be why I didn't notice it.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@kingyahoo2 wrote: ... all of my listings over a pound I listed as Priority Mail only, for sure. Are buyers offered a choice of GA or PM automatically? ....

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No; buyers can only choose a shipping method that the seller has chosen to offer in the listing. If your listings are set up with Priority Mail, then your buyers will not have the option to chose Ground Advantage.  And you should not ship via Ground Advantage, since that would be a downgrade in service level.

 USPS invented the service name "Ground Advantage" last year; it's merely the merger of the services formerly known as First Class package (weight limit 15.99 ounces online, 13 ounces retail), Parcel Select Ground (weight limit 70 pounds), and Retail Ground (weight limit 70 pounds). 

[wastingtime101]

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@kingyahoo2 wrote:

Fortunately I don't ship packages over a pound very often, and sometimes I don't use Priority Mail boxes to do so. I doubt I sent 3 or 4 in the unacceptable manner.

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What is "the unacceptable manner" @kingyahoo2 ?

You do not have to use Priority packaging to ship using Priority service.

But if you do use Priority packaging, then you have to ship Priority service.

[kingyahoo2]

Unacceptable  - I mean I shipped GA in a PM box.  I had no idea. I never even looked at the label. It's two pounds, it's PM, always been that way. Until it wasn't. I looked at my last  10 months listings, I think I shipped two in PM boxes with GA labels.  I always complied with weight, of course. Though over the year I have RECEIVED some severely overweight packages that no one questioned. 20 some years ago someone shipped me a desktop PC, Media Mail, and no problem at all.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@kingyahoo2 wrote: ... I think I shipped two in PM boxes with GA labels.  ... I have RECEIVED some severely overweight packages that no one questioned. ....

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Since 2017, USPS has had special equipment at their sorting centers, to detect underpaid or overpaid online postage labels, and to automatically adjust the sender's account. So those "severely overweight" packages probably were caught and the Postage Due was charged to the sender. The same system will probably detect your underpaid packages that were sent in Priority Mail boxes with Ground Advantage postage.  This automated system saves a lot of aggravation for USPS staff and package recipients.

https://link.usps.com/2017/10/05/what-is-apv/

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/ebay-shipping-partners/avoid-extra-postage-costs....

[wastingtime101]

Those APV charges are usually applied within 2-4 weeks (latest I experienced was 6 weeks). So if the seller is looking over orders from past 10 months they may have skated on the misuse of Priority boxes - or they were charged cost adjustments but didn't see the messages.

[extrabook]

What about for Ground Advantage Returns? The seller sent me the item in a priority mail envelope, but the return postage is Ground Advantage Return (no weight or zone listed). I would guess you can't use the Priority Mail envelope.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Returns/Seller-gave-me-a-USPS-Ground-Advantage-Returns-label-But-he-ha...