So I took a couple of boxes into the Post Office to get quotes for a couple fine buyers of my goods. Granted, I had them in official Priority Mail packaging, but getting a shipping quote for parcel post has never been an issue- until today. Now, maybe the guy I was dealing with had his panties in a bunch or something... but the first thing he started to do was snivel over the makeshift box I cobbled together using 2 Priority Mail boxes for 20th Anniversary Optimus. I told him I wante dthe cheapest shipping- parcel post. At first he didn't seem to comprehend that. So I added "I'll wrap it up". His eyes widened... "Well, if you wrap up this box without telling us, you might be able to get away with it. But, if we open it and discover you are using one of our boxes, the person you are shipping this to WILL have to pay the difference in shipping." Open it up? "Um..." I started to ask: "excuse me, but... open up?" Yeah, open up. Apparently, if you ship something Parcel Post, these guys reserve the right to open up and inspect your package. And with Priority Mail they don't. At least according to this walking talking USPS twit. What kind of BS is this? Now I have shipped a number of items and this is the 1st time I come across this. Seems to me that, if this is true, is a violation of the 4th Amendment. Has ayone else heard of this crap?
Don't use Priority boxes if you aren't shipping priority. Not that hard of a concept. By opening up, they probably mean checking under wrap paper to see if you are using Priority boxes, not open the package all the way. They know the size of their boxes & if they see a box wrapped that they think might be using theirs, they want to get the fee.
you might get away with wraping a priority box but if the paper wrap comes off or if they figure the size of the box is a priority boxthey will unwrap it. They will charge for priority and the person receiving the box will get charge the difference. Also misuse of priority box may be a violation of FEDERAL LAW. Priority boxes are solely use for Priority mail shipments.
If you use a priority mail box then you have to ship priority. Plain and simple. I've never heard about them reserving the right to open parcel items.
Not that I'd be condoning this, but I have received packages that upon opening them.....were priority mailing boxes flipped inside out.
This does not work anymore. They grew wise to it. The older boxes were blank on the inside and it worked, but the new ones have priority printing on the inside now, so you cannot get away with this. As far as opening up packages, they can do it based on the same thing as police using probable cause to enter or search someone without a warrant. They can just say that they had a reason to open the package and do it. I ship all of my stuff priority and on many occasions, have eaten of the shipping cost. There is a chain of packaging stores, called "The Packaging Store" (or even UHAUL has them) that sell bigger boxes, especially bigger than the ones available at the post office, for a few bucks that can fit bigger items and still be shipped. If you ship a lot, then you should find if there is one in your area and buy a bunch in advance to have some on hand at home and then you would have to figure that amount into your shipping, or just eat the cost. It is better than having a over stern postal employee turn you in for using their boxes in a wrong manner, although they are willing to just give them away by the thousands for free to anyone who wants them.
Well, that's always nice to know. However, I wish they'd be more diligent in their shipping. I have a package en route that was supposed to have gotten to me on 9/23. The tracking number says it processed through Texas......yesterday. And....its priority mail.
Shipping is always a killer. My most recent ebay item, the item was like $130, but the shipping was $190.
That. Is. Bullsh*t. So it doesn't matter if they give these boxes away (we paid for them with our taxes anyway), but who is gonna pony up for an atorney to see if their "probable cause" passes Constitutional muster? And UPS isn't any cheaper either. Dicks. I'll just have to get boxes from Wal Mart (I work there part time). Someone might get an Optimus in a Pomolive box.
Bitching aside, that brown paper is a great investment for anyone dealing with this shit, especially frequently. It costs like a dollar for a big tube, and it not only eliminates situations like this, but it can also make your package look better. In other words, the people who play football with it along the way will be less likely to think that it was shipped by a meth head. ... either that, or regular brown boxes without specific writing on them such as the ones that're to be used for specific mailing methods. These can be picked up for free at retailers who're about to crush them anyways, and again they're a great investment for people who intend to send a lot of things out. Not like this hasn't already been mentioned like 5 times already, but you know.
why dont you just charge the buyer for priority shipping? i dont see the problem. i always use priority and get the boxes and all labels and forms from usps.com
That's better than getting stuff in a box that says its supposed to be a surgery kit.......for a female part. Seeing the look on the mail carrier's face as she handed it to me was priceless.
Because if someone buys from me, I go out of my way to give them the best possible deal. Sometimes shipping can make-or-break a sale. I always wrap my stuff in brown paper, so it's not as if they'll see the box. And for those people who tell me to wrap the box- the 1st post already stated that I wrap the boxes. It's the whole we-reserve-the-right-to-open-parcels thing that bothers me. Which includes unwrapping the box!!!
i have found the only difference between first class and priority is like 3 bucks or dempends on the weight i guess, also i always ship with tracking and priority. i know you can do tracking with first class but it can take forever and have received boxes mangled.
My 1st post already stated that I wrap boxes. And my post immediately before yours stated that I'll get boxes from the store. Thanks- not only for not reading, but also for your condescending.
With smaller packages there's really little difference between priority and parcel especially if you buy the postage online. If you sell a lot you should buy a postage scale from ebay. It was easily the best investment that I made.
The only time I've ever heard of the USPS opening parcels is if something is sent media mail and they suspect a misuse of that service. As for priority boxes, often times it's just as cheap or cheaper to ship priority than parcel post depending on your zip code and the destination. As for parcel post items, I usually get my boxes from walmart late at night...they're free and a sharpie marker will cover up that pomolive box nicely.
Well, I'm sorry for giving that impression, but I honestly wasn't trying to be rude. If anything, I was speaking in general terms (citing the same examples that you & others had mentioned in the past) for the sake of furthering the points made by you & others, but I can see how my post could've been taken that way (I didn't credit or quote you, etc), and again, I'm sorry for the confusion. If it was because of the Methhead comment, that was just a joke. Also, and while you could always take a sharpie or something to the boxes as Optimus suggested, maybe it really is just a better idea not to use those boxes in general, especially if there's legal shit involved, rather than just possible confusion along the way. Again, I'm not saying this to be an asshole, but just that maybe with other options, using those boxes isn't the best idea.
I've never heard of the unwrapping, but my experience has always been that Parcel Post can't be in a Priority Mail box, so I just avoid the whole thing. Also, I make sure that the boxes I use have any markings on the outside taken care of as well. Generally, I do the same thing with the lowest shipping cost. I figure if the buyer wants Priority Mail, they'll say so and pay extra for it. Honestly, if it's only a few cents difference, I go ahead and buy the Priority Mailing. Tracking numbers are for me.
