USPS Collectioin Box Blues

[wa.pl8s]

Hello.

Sorry I don't have a question, just an observation/rant that I would like to share with other eBay shippers.

My niche on eBay is selling license plates so when I go to ship them I simply drop them into my nearest post office's drive-up blue collection box.

Well, not anymore.

The big blue collection box with its 4-inch mouth is now ONLY to  be used for letters! <see photo>

So now they want me to walk inside,  juggling my prepaid flats, and to put them on the counter hoping they don't get stolen.  This little PO does not have an inside drop box so it's a pain maneuvering my way around the line as I get the stink-eye thinking I'm cutting in line.

No, I will drive the extra 10 minutes to another PO that does in fact have an inside drop box.  That PO even has a kiosk where you can scan in your own packages, get a receipt,  and then put them in the drop box.

I wouldn't be surprised if the letters only collection box eventually gets removed altogether when they find out how few people  will now utilize it.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Can you schedule a pickup through usps.com?   This is available for most addresses.

[itscalledapostingid]

I just put packages in my mailbox and put the flag up. I haven't been to a post office in over ten years.

[simba6]

They are getting more fussy and raising prices.  I suppose they only want to deliver junk mail. 

I just give them to the carrier or put them in my mail box if they fit.

[wa.pl8s]

My carrier usually comes pretty early in the morning before bidders have even paid.  But when I can catch him i hand him the packages. 

I think a solution is to just  get a locked mail box as I can put items in it without lifting the flag and alerting thieves.

[7198dave]

I know a few places that have blue boxes and not just at the post office. You can always search blue box locations on google. My post office is too far away, I have three places nearby that have these blue boxes. 

[walwalwill]

I'm surprised they only just started doing this.

Remember the photos from the last election with ballots spilling out of the blue boxes? Most, if not all, of those were due to someone clogging the chute with a package or padded mailer that they shoved in.

It wasn't the first time, but it was a tipping point for a lot of POs--even those not affected by the ballot issue.

So. I guess... Be glad that you got an extra year and a half more than a few other parts of the country?

My guess is something caused them to the make the change now. Too many folks not following the anonymous mail rules, a clogged chute, something that made them decide now to shut it down.

[titipeo]

The other side to this is that those mailboxes have not changed in a long time, they are indeed designed mostly for letters and flats.  USPS has added different level of services, but they have not made the package drop off automated, unless it fits in the drop box. 

My local PO has 3 boxes outside, one is for express items only, the other 2 are for all else that fits in them. Then on the lobby, they have a self service kiosk, with its own drop box that has a large sized revolving drum, as well as a separate drop for letters/flats, and smaller parcels. The only reason I see a clerk is only to ensure that the item gets scanned ASAP.  

[chapeau-noir]

I don't see the problem.  Go inside and drop off your packages.

[buyologist-3]

In my part of the woods, thieves put something sticky on, let's say a belt, and drop one end into the Blue Box and go 'fishing'. That cost us $450.00 and neither the post office nor insurer made good on it.  To this day.  Maybe it's a good thing for you to go a different way!  These days are creating a totally different brand of people.  Not everyone, of course, but enough that it pays to go the extra mile.  I sleep better now! 

[soh.maryl]

Since stealing from a postal box is a Federal offense, hard to understand why any thieves would want to just risk fishing around, not knowing what they will get.  Not only a "totally different brand of people", but perhaps a totally lower IQ situation.  

[a_c_green]

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@wa.pl8s wrote:

The big blue collection box with its 4-inch mouth is now ONLY to  be used for letters! <see photo>

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Aside from the problem of some idiot stuffing 30 padded envelopes into it until it chokes, I was told by one of the clerks at my place that the people emptying the outside drop boxes don't carry scanners and thus cannot do an Acceptance scan on barcoded mail. (Yes, I did say, "Well, get them one!")

Mainly, though, I think it is indeed an overstuffing issue. Those boxes were designed back in the day, for a different load of mail. People did not print package postage at home. The most drop-off mail they could generate without setting foot in a post office would be stamped envelopes, for which these boxes would do just fine. They were never intended for pre-paid padded envelopes or small packages, as the average household would never generate any.

[chapeau-noir]

Before my post office got knocked down (with almost no notice) it had two of those very large blue boxes outside - the worker emptying them would roll out a cart in one hand and carry a scanner in the other - they just scanned packages as they pulled out the mail - once I was waiting for a bus and observed one worker, and he was scanning a LOT of small packages and it too him quite a while to empty the box.  I can totally see where over-stuffing would be a problem - once I couldn't get my small pile of Christmas Cards even to fit into the box - had to come back.

[tools*]

Were the Postal Service not run by a disciple of the FM, sitting in front of each post office would be a small box with a tiny slot for the 7 or so stamped letters mailed each day, as well as a very large box with an appropriately-sized door just for prepaid parcels. But it isn't an organization big on innovation.

[lesegouts]

This is not new. It is related to terrorism via parcel. In my hamlet of 5k people there is only one mail box left. . Otherwise you have to go to the p.o.