USPS Priortity mail boxes reusable?

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sobiecam

sobiecam

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Are these flat rate boxes reusable from the USPS or are they a one time use sort of thing, I wanted to know so I could save me, and some people, money on shipping crap
 
the box is included in the flat shipping rate, might as well get a fresh box.
 
yea, i go to the post office all the time, and ask for a bunch of each, and they give me like 10 of each size for free
 
yeah man, they are free for taking. I only use for flat rate shipping though.

if you cover all the markings on the box it should be fine to reuse for shipping in whatever why you want.
 
Plik said:
the box is included in the flat shipping rate, might as well get a fresh box.
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X2 you are just paying for the same box twice.If you cover the box with brown paper so it dosn,t show that it is a flat rate box.The shipping will be cheaper to send it priority mail but witch the weight.That is the only good about priortity boxes. Mark
 
For what it is worth all mail classes get handled the same, except for Express mail. Retired from the PO a few years ago. Most mail gets, at least stuff going by air, transported by FedEx. The PO loads Pods that are flown by FedEx. Sure, this is probably not what you are going to hear from the window clerk, but it is the truth. http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/2006/pr06_048.htm does not mention parcel post but trust me, it gets moved with first class/priority mail, space permitting...might want to read here also http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/cs06/chp4_004.html , at least the first full paragraph.
 
According to this, it's illegal

http://consumerist.com/2008/05/dont-reuse-that-usps-priority-box-its-illegal.html

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16072154/detail.html

I have taken them apart, turned them inside out

Recently I tried to look for a box to "turn inside out", and THEY ARE MARKED ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOX!!!!

(How's that for being "green?"

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67Dart273 said:
According to this, it's illegal

http://consumerist.com/2008/05/dont-reuse-that-usps-priority-box-its-illegal.html

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16072154/detail.html

I have taken them apart, turned them inside out

Recently I tried to look for a box to "turn inside out", and THEY ARE MARKED ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOX!!!!

(How's that for being "green?"
Click to expand...

It cost us more money for the post office to have the boxes printed on the inside. They had no choice since some were inverting the box and using it at other shippers.
Some say we will loose our post office eventually. I think we will regret it later too. Like the old saying "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone".
 
RedFish said:
It cost us more money for the post office to have the boxes printed on the inside. They had no choice since some were inverting the box and using it at other shippers..
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EXPLAIN TO ME why using a box which I or someone else ALREADY PAID FOR is any business of the USPS?

If the box is reusable, it is far more "green" than so called "recycling"

If I'm NOT shipping USPS, or NOT using priority mail, I need a box, do I not? Are these boxes not already paid for?

This would be the same thing as if Folger's coffee told me I cannot use a coffee can for a nut bucket!!!!
 
well the post office will mail you free flat rate boxes. so people were getting them and turning them inside out and not using them for flat rate shipping. Id have to guess thats why they put the inside lettering.

they should have just stopped giving damn boxes out for free. wouldn't that have been easier than printing inside the boxes?
 
67Dart273 said:
EXPLAIN TO ME why using a box which I or someone else ALREADY PAID FOR is any business of the USPS?

If the box is reusable, it is far more "green" than so called "recycling"

If I'm NOT shipping USPS, or NOT using priority mail, I need a box, do I not? Are these boxes not already paid for?

This would be the same thing as if Folger's coffee told me I cannot use a coffee can for a nut bucket!!!!
Click to expand...

He means people were taking Priority Mail boxes before (which were free) and turning them inside out to use for regular shipping purposes. They started printing on the inside so people could no longer get free boxes on the USPS's dime.
 
SirDan said:
well the post office will mail you free flat rate boxes. so people were getting them and turning them inside out and not using them for flat rate shipping. Id have to guess thats why they put the inside lettering.

they should have just stopped giving damn boxes out for free. wouldn't that have been easier than printing inside the boxes?
Click to expand...
Don't try to apply logic to the Post Office, worked there for close to 20 years and never could grasp some of the nonsense that went on. A big part of the problem is most of the sorting is done by automated machinery. Basicly, everything is read by OCR type of equipment. So any type that is on the package is bound to send the package/mail into the reject shoot of whatever machine it is running on. And any piece of mail that needs to be worked by the PO costs them money. One DBCS, a type of sorting machine, can handle over 30,000 pieces of mail an hour, with just 2 clerks running it. No way 2 clerks are going to process that much by hand. Same applies to packages, most areas have a Processing center that has an area dedicated to handling just packages. They use a machine http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/cs09/CSPO_09_033.htm called the APPS machine. It works off of Character reading. If a package runs thru the machine and even a small piece of a previously used box has a readable address it might make the machine mis-sort it. Then this package has to be worked by hand. So when the PO decided to print on the inside of the box the intention was not to keep you from reusing the box, but to help itself avoid a Mis-sent package, which effects both the scores http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub100/pub100_056.htm and the bottom line of the PO. The PO uses this scoreing system for several things. One of which used to be http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/elm/html/elmc4_006.htm . EAS employees are management. So by a certain region having higher scores management in that area would get a raise. Now the scores are being used as a tracking device. If the SW Region has an EXFC rating, of say 97%, it means that 97% of it's first class mail is being delivered on time, overnight for local mail and 2-3 days for non-local. The PO has shifted it's goals. Used to be moving the mail was it's priority, now it is just trying to save itself. Times are a changing in the PO. And change is not always good. Used to be, if you were hurt off the job, they would just put you in a light duty job and leave you be. If you were hurt on the job, they would put you in a limited duty job. You would still get your 40 hours either way. Now, at least where I retired from, if you are hurt off the job they tell you just to stay home. On the job, you run the risk of getting dumped in the "Reassessment Program" http://www.postalmag.com/nationalreassessmentprocess.htm .This happens to you, basicly you will be losing your job. Sorry for the length.....
 
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