USPS Shop - Forgot the photo!

November 24, 2016 12:41AM

So I've been doing the USPS shops and really like them. However, today I went to take the photo of the package, got distracted, and didn't think about it again till I was driving away from the post office. I still have till Saturday to complete the shop and it's my mistake, so I can go back on Friday to redo it if needed. I really don't want to though because it is a bit of a drive, though with the bonus I won't be losing money, just won't be making as much, and I've wasted the shipping fee that would've been reimbursed.

Has anyone else done this? If so, did they accept it? I know most companies will accept little mistakes like this but knock points off your rating. I've only been working for this company for a couple months though so I'm not sure what they do. I rarely make mistakes like this but it happens even to the best of us every now and then.

I have written the scheduler to ask but given it's the holidays, I doubt she'll respond within the timeframe needed to report the shop.

What would you do?

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November 24, 2016 01:59AM

Re do. This is a MSC requirement not the Client. or Throw yourself on the mercy of the receipt. It does have a To and From zipcodes.

November 24, 2016 04:06AM

Yep, you're right. I went back and looked at the requirements and it says it will be rejected without the photo.

I'll go back and do it again on Friday but you can bet I won't ever forget the photo again.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2016 04:42AM by MarionS.

November 24, 2016 04:27AM

I've gotten in the habit of taking a photo of the box right after I package the item, and then I will set a metal ruler down the longest side of the box and take a photo too. It's just a personal habit, but it keeps me in the mindset of snap, snap, snap .

MegglesKat

November 24, 2016 04:32PM

@clinen11 wrote:

then I will set a metal ruler down the longest side of the box and take a photo too.

Ha! I do the ruler thing, too! I take the photo with the ruler alongside the box, so the MSC can see that it is not larger than 12", and use that photo when I enter my report....thought I was the only one!!

November 25, 2016 05:53PM

I, too, would redo. You are right, you won't forget to retake it in the future. I've had a couple of shops (not USPS) recently where I totally spaced and forgot to get a receipt. Thankfully they were shops that I could redo later in the day. I was frustrated and I ended up making zero dollars, however, my shops didn't get rejected and I learned good lessons. I am less likely to forget to request receipts in the future.

November 27, 2016 09:22PM

Do you think any new USPS shops will be available in December? Or, is this project wrapped up for the year (except the leftover locations currently on the board)? Thanks.

November 28, 2016 02:57AM

Last year they dried up after the first week in December in my area.

@JL-Baltimore wrote:

Do you think any new USPS shops will be available in December? Or, is this project wrapped up for the year (except the leftover locations currently on the board)? Thanks.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2016 02:58AM by KathyG.

November 28, 2016 03:30AM

That might be a good thing because I've been having trouble finding boxes and it will probably only get worse with the holidays. It seems as though the office supply store is the only place I can find one that doesn't have writing on the top (like 100% recyclable, or the brand), and they don't have any of the smaller boxes, just the 12 x 12 x 9 and I just bought the last two.

November 28, 2016 04:48PM

I've always wondered about the requirement for having no markings on the box. It seems like generic stuff like the brand or 100% recycled should not interfere with the shop. I usually cover those items with the label if they are on top of the box, but I wish the guidelines were more clear on that issue. By markings do they mean generic box printing stuff, or do they mean other types of markings that a sender might typically add such as "Fragile," "Rush" or "Personal."

November 28, 2016 05:09PM

Since they are willing to pay for the purchase of new boxes, I have to assume that they want clean, fresh boxes. I view this as giving USPS no excuses to refuse or slow down delivery of the package. If I get a box into the house in good condition where the labels can be removed or covered, I am willing to use that. If they are taped together with advertising tape that doesn't come off readily or if they have advertising printed on the box (like the Amazon smile or the all over pattern of Staples boxes) I won't reuse them. I don't worry about the box specifications that sometimes are printed on the bottom of the box, but I do want blank sides and a blank top.

November 28, 2016 06:15PM

Honestly, I would use the boxes I've found other places even with brand stampings or whatever, but in every case I've found that it's impossible to cover whatever is printed on the top of the box with a label. I bought one and tried it. Ended up having to go back to the office supply store. It just wasn't working. The "100% recycled" went nearly all the way across the top and on both flaps. Very frustrating even if I was just mailing something on my own because I would have to cover the entire top.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2016 06:16PM by MarionS.

November 28, 2016 06:35PM

While I am all in favor of recycling I would never purchase a box that advertised that as extensively as you have indicated. I would rather recycle boxes that come into the house on a more regular basis. I find that a paring knife works very well to encourage off labels and tape that have been applied to otherwise useful boxes. It takes a few minutes but is the ultimate in recycling. Where the cardboard surface may now be rough and absorbent I can place a label or fresh tape. I have been known to put a small empty box in the microwave with a wet paper towel for about 10-20 seconds because the heat and humidity will soften the adhesives used on the label and tapes to assist in removal. (This works with the self-adhesive postage stamps as well.)

November 28, 2016 06:40PM

Great idea, Flash! I started out using boxes from home but getting the labels off began to be way too time consuming and it was easier just to go buy one. I did try a hairdryer on the used boxes and it still didn't work but if I can fit it in the microwave I may try that.

November 28, 2016 06:50PM

Another thought for you. Poly mailers are now allowable for at least the regular shops. I picked up a box of 100 10 x 13 from Amazon for about $8. If I don't have a box I can use one of the poly mailers. They are nice because I can write the addresses with my Sharpie marker before stuffing them. Most of my shops I am sending 'care packages' to my son and it is easy enough to shove a pound and a half of stuff in the envelope, seal it, take my photo and be on my way. Meanwhile the box of white bags can be out of the way in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet rather than having a stack of knocked down boxes behind the file cabinet. Each time I use a bag I recycle the photo of the bill for 100 at $7.99 and charge a whopping big 8 cents for the bag used.

November 28, 2016 06:54PM

I like the idea of using the poly mailers, and would prefer that, but all my packages go to food banks because I have no one to send a package to otherwise (at least for the most part). I don't know what I could send to the food banks that would work in a mailer.

November 28, 2016 07:51PM

@MarionS wrote:

I don't know what I could send to the food banks that would work in a mailer.

Rice, dry beans, almost any dried staple in a bag. Realize that you will have almost no weight from the bag (a box adds an ounce or two) and plan accordingly to meet your weight. You could wrap the bag(s) in a few folds of newspaper (or old bubble wrap if you have some around from packages you have received) to disguise better what was being sent.

November 28, 2016 10:09PM

I forgot to take one photo last month. I submitted it anyway and in place of the photo, I scanned in a note apologizing for failing to take the photo. Then I crossed my fingers. Happy to say it was approved and I was paid! I wouldn't make a habit out of doing it though.

November 29, 2016 02:38AM

I keep a stash of broken down boxes in my cabinet with my craft supplies. When I'm getting ready to do a shop. I turn them inside out and hot glue the seam back together

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

November 29, 2016 11:28PM

All the new boxes I buy have some markings on them. The last ones I purchased had fragile preprinted on the sides (Target) that I covered up with whiteout. I don't bother covering the dimensions but do try to cover the brand (I buy boxes mostly from Walmart) with the label.

I was using polly mailers but too many times the postal worker would offer me a flat rate box/poly mailer that would be cheaper to put my package in. I always made excuses but its less hassle to use a box that doesn't fit in any of their flat rate options.

November 30, 2016 06:59AM

When we answer the questions, isn't one of them "perishable"?

November 30, 2016 07:35AM

@MarionS wrote:

I like the idea of using the poly mailers, and would prefer that, but all my packages go to food banks because I have no one to send a package to otherwise (at least for the most part). I don't know what I could send to the food banks that would work in a mailer.

One pound bag of rice. Forgot the beans.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2016 07:45AM by 2stepps.

November 30, 2016 02:06PM

I was guessing that no markings meant not reusing a box for somewhere else, like a paper box or one that had food in it picked up from Aldi. I would think that the recycled notation on the new box would meet the requirements. I've never seen a new box that didn't have some kind of print on it.

December 03, 2016 03:54AM

I just use brown wrapping paper to cover a box that's marked up. Then I take the cost of the wrapping paper and the cost of the strapping tape as a "general" expense for my "business" on my federal tax return.

December 03, 2016 05:01AM

@msmsmshopper wrote:

I was guessing that no markings meant not reusing a box for somewhere else, like a paper box or one that had food in it picked up from Aldi. I would think that the recycled notation on the new box would meet the requirements. I've never seen a new box that didn't have some kind of print on it.

I agree. My problem is that there's so much on the top of the box that I have to attach a label, and even then it works but I don't think it works very well because there's just too much going on.

I thought about the brown paper too but if I can just go purchase a box, write the address directly on it, and be done and reimbursed, I'd much prefer it.

I've found Walgreens has some white ones that are a perfect. They are a little more expensive but not by that much.

December 03, 2016 06:05PM

I read on the forum that someone refolded their boxes inside out. I'm using that technique next time. I do keep a bag of mailing supplies in my car so I'm ready to mail whatever needs to go out and can pick up shops on the way home from work. I got most of my tape recently when I did some of the hazmat shops and bought tape instead of stamps that day. It inches me along for a few more months of shops.

December 03, 2016 08:10PM

@wwin wrote:

All the new boxes I buy have some markings on them. The last ones I purchased had fragile preprinted on the sides (Target) that I covered up with whiteout. I don't bother covering the dimensions but do try to cover the brand (I buy boxes mostly from Walmart) with the label.

I buy the white boxes at Target. They only have to/from on the top. My photo only shows the top.

Staples also has boxes for $0.75 if you buy 5 at a time.

I don't venture into Wal-Mart, ever. Black Friday videos just reminded me why. Not my peeps.

December 03, 2016 08:14PM

I buy my 11x11x11 boxes at Walmart for .39 cents a piece and I print out my labels on a 8 1/2 x 11 paper and fold it to fit the top of the box. More Walmart snobbery is hilarious. Many well to do peeps and wonderful families shop at Walmart. The videos showing black friday and peeps in their underwear are anomalies.

December 04, 2016 12:21PM

I receive a lot of boxes here, and I take the shipped box and open it up and reverse it so the printed is inside.
After packing it, I take my photo and I have a number nearby if I pack more than two in one day.
I haven't seen December shops for many years, but I try to get most of my mailings out in November, then use one box for leftover packages that need to be mailed to the grands...

December 04, 2016 12:25PM

I just use that packing tape I got on other USPS shops. No hot glue.

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