I re-use a lot of boxes. Some of them are old priority USPS boxes that I turn inside-out if I can't find anything else. I also make sure to wrap these up in brown bags for good measure. I've never encountered a problem with this method. However, if I were you, I wouldn't have made the mistake of mentioning this to a USPS employee. I would've done all of the rigging and wrapping beforehand so that I'd avoid having such a conversation. You kind of outed yourself in mentioning the whole wrapping part.
^ This! Most USPS employees that I run into don't even bother to check if they see the box all brown on the outside. For the most part, if your post office is anything like mine, there's a machine you can use to get a shipping quote/pay for postage without having to wait in line. I've learned to use that instead of talking to someone who had their cornflakes peed in that very morning.
I keep every box members here sent me for buying stuff, and when I sell stuff, I use those same boxes.
I go to the smaller post offices most of the time. The types with 1 or 2 employees that have funky hours. They bend the rules quite a bit and are less "by the book" so to speak. The bigger facilities are a pain in the ass when you try to exploit loopholes, understandably so.
Fine, It's additionally fraudulent behavior. Either way, the post office, considering how much money they are currently bleeding, should move the entire system to prepay for these boxes. Edit: Somehow I missed your statement that it was fraud. My fault and I wouldn't have responded to your post had I seen that.
I had a box shipped from Locustreign that he had gotten from ORIO. Found ORIO's address under the customs label. I forget who I sent it off to, a buyer in my Junkion thread. Pretty funny when you think about it.
I only ship priority. Easily trackable worldwide. No box hassles. They'll pick up the boxes at my house instead of me going to the PO. Faster to ship.
It is that hard to comprehend because most of these crybabies look at "fraud" as something that only the likes of Bernie Madoff commit. "Stealing" doesn't have huge implications. Like "stealing" people's pens at work. No big deal, nothing of value. The word "fraud" as it stands implies high value and the sense of moral high ground that most of said crybabies have will NOT under ANY circumstances let them commit something as heinous as fraud. Seriously, I've talked to people that think the crime of speeding (yes, it is a crime, but due to the sheer frequency of it, nobody attaches that label to it) and the crime of murder (yeah, we all agree that's a crime) are on the same page because *gasp* they're both against the law. And of course, we have the "stikin it to the gubment" card where it's "ok" to rip off the government because they're the government and why the fuck not? USPS does not take tax dollars. They're not allowed to run entirely like a business, but they are the only government organization that does not receive handouts (did they get a bailout in the last 2 weeks? I haven't heard anything). They provide the boxes so people can use the services. The cost is built into the cost of the service. Think of it as going to McDonald's and getting a cheeseburger. You pay for the cheeseburger, but to facilitate the whole ordeal, you also get it wrapped (or in a box), in a bag, with a receipt, from an employee, then you can either eat it there (with the lights ON, I might add) or take off in that fancy drive-thru window. You paid for the burger, but you also paid for other things to facilitate delivery of the burger. Not the best example, I know, but it gets the point across. It's all a matter of labeling and connotations of words. And from experience, the people on the "highest" moral ground tend to be the ones most willing to screw the government and big business. tl;dr people are idiots.
Side note here: there is actually a USPS Priority box that will fit one carded deluxe class TF and still be *just* under 1 lb, meaning its $5 (or so) to ship anywhere in the US. I think its # is 1092 or O-1092, I can check when I get home. Most post offices have the slightly longer 1095 boxes which end up being 1lb 2 ounces with a carded fig in them. 1lb rate from me (VA) to the east coast is $4.95, to the west coast is like $5.85. Go one ounce over 1lb and you get the 2 lb rate, within the east coast it only rises to $6, but to California it jumps to like $9.50. So using the smaller 1092 box is awesome. Anyone who sells/trades alot should check 'em out. (I'll double check later and post again if I've got the box #s wrong)
you're not even supposed to use outer box they send you the priority boxes in, had to use black marker to cover up all the usps inventory numbers once. but yeah op is to blame
The fact that the op'ed outed himself to the USPS employee shows that it was it was unintentional. He didn't know about the implicit agreement, thought the box was free, but wraps them up to avoid misunderstandings. In summary, USPS provides certain supplies that are to be used only for priority shipping. a) Priority lableled boxes which you can get at the post office or they will deliver to your house. b) Priority labeled wrapping tapes. They no longer deliver this to your house but always have a supply on hand to use at the post office. c) International packing slip. I'm starting to get mixed messages from the post office on this one. d) Going even farther. Not only is the box initially only supposed to be used for priority shipping, any re-use of a box has to be for priority also. From a double-use point of view this is bullshit but I can understand the US protecting their postal service and it can also be argued that it helps keep the shipping cost lower since the USPS won't have to police and prove new vs reuse box shipping.
I guess I need to recycle the one Priority mail box I have kept around now. Well, that's one more piece of cardboard out of the house. Should amke the wife happy, lol.
Which is total BS in my opinion. You weigh by the oz but charge by the lb? Always rounding up instead of to the nearest whole? $5.10 to charge a 1lb item, and then $7.30 to ship a 1lb 1 oz item? Stick it, USPS. Of course it all depends on which post office you take it to, and who's working that day. I ship everything at the 1lb rate by my house, but the one by work always returns to sender. Anyways, as you were. Sorry to derail.
No, I didn't think it was an issue. Apparently, none of the other postal workers I have "outed" myself to thought it was an issue either. From now on, I'll continue to wrap boxes- as I usually have- and I'll get discarded boxes from Wally World. Maybe then, people here won't consider me the scourge of humanity- even worse than a scalper. But as a side note, about the US Postal service being a Government Sponsored monopoly: Are they government subsidized? Others here say no; the service does not pay taxes, including property tax on its 38,000 facilities; does not pay vehicle registration fees, and can borrow at subsidized interest rates from the U.S. Treasury. And they do borrow… which is how they get away with claiming that they are "not subsidized". So lets cut the crap; they are subsidized.
Ah, so on top of being slow as mole asses USPS can now open up packages and potentially lose/break the contents. I actually just recently recieved a package from the US missing a part. I wonder if they opened it.
Might be easier to just use unmarked boxes or make your own in future. I tend to grab boxes from supermarkets when someone is filling shelves. Some are the perfect size for mailing, but if not I'll still take them and just cut them down to whatever size I need. I can get a nice custom fit with my home made 'Frankenboxes'. Failing that, and I don't know if they still make the stuff, but I used to use this brown parcel material that was like a huge sticker sheet roll. Basically you cut off what you need, peel off the backing and then wrap the parcel as normal but it sticks to the box by itself. No way anyone could open the brown 'paper' and sneak any peeks at the box underneath. Was also great for knowing if anyone might've tampered with the parcel in transit. Waterproof too since the sticky layer was plastic-backed between it and the brown top layer. And the brown top layer had a matt finish for ease of writing on. Wish I could find some more as it was awesome stuff, even though it cost a little more than normal brown mailing paper.
I hope my posts weren't misunderstood. I never intended to put you out there as a "scourge of humanity." Just merely pointing out the facts. I'm going with the benefit of a doubt that you never had the ill intention of knowingly committing fraud.
