USPS Used Boxes - Client requirements making us too neat?
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I simply cut a brown paper bag and re-wrap as needed. I mailed three in the last two days for which I simply covered the top (where all the markings were) and wrote new addresses.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
I have noticed the opposite in my market...most people's boxes look brand new to me. Some have miles of post office tape on them. My boxes do not look new at all with the exception of no markings...but there are obvious rough and much thinner spots where a label has been ripped off.These are obvious in my pics of the box/envelope too and none have been rejected.
I am not at all paranoid about my reused looking boxes. But perhaps it is the economy here where many people in Los Angeles seem to feel they make too much money per hour to spend their time reusing an older box.
I am not at all paranoid about my reused looking boxes. But perhaps it is the economy here where many people in Los Angeles seem to feel they make too much money per hour to spend their time reusing an older box.
Sometimes we read too much in theses specifics. It is easier to ship a package/box when it does not have a lot of unnecessary writing on it. It is the same thing when the Client/ MSC tells us how to dress when shopping certain shops. If we used common sense when shipping packages then we aren't drawing attention to us or our package.
The people in Los Angeles is no more human than the rest of us.
If we still have to take picture of the box, then make sure it is the neat side you have put your "TO and FROM" on.. .
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2017 09:15PM by sojo917.
The people in Los Angeles is no more human than the rest of us.
If we still have to take picture of the box, then make sure it is the neat side you have put your "TO and FROM" on.. .
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2017 09:15PM by sojo917.
@AZwolfman wrote:
I wonder if the neatly sealed, always within the size range, clean new boxes with no markings other than the addresses, are actually alerting the USPS clerks that we may be shoppers. Maybe the client should have us use old boxes with a few Amazon smiles left on the sides.
I use new boxes, and judging by the performances of the clerks, they are not tipped off.
I agree. I think it is overkill. Everytime I get a package, it is either blacked out where codes were. Or it has the name of the company on it (like Zappos for example). In fact a family member and I have a game going of always re-using the box they send me on a return package I send them....we scratch out the prior info and we leave a note inside indicating what it was from/how long ago etc. I can't believe in this day and age, with ecology so important, that we are killing all these trees. Ridiculous! But I will be a good soldier, I mean good shopper!
@sojo917 wrote:
The people in Los Angeles is no more human than the rest of us.
If we still have to take picture of the box, then make sure it is the neat side you have put your "TO and FROM" on.. .
Not sure what you mean by that statement about Los Angeles. I was just including the name of the city to point out where I am and what my experience is in this city and not to say Angelenos have a different standard. I mostly see new packaging while I am waiting in line. I personally reuse everything and wish everyone else did too in Los Angeles and elsewhere. I have no idea where the op AZWolfman is from but AZ (Arizona?)seems to feel out of place with a new box there. Not so here. In fact my millennial kids and their peers (from my small number of acquaintances) seem to often think it is a waste of good time to fiddle around with something old to reuse it rather than just ordering a new one on Amazon. Not to say they are not fans of protecting the environment.
I think this discussion shows we all have spent a little too much time queue up at the post office contemplating these things. Some of my boxes look new some meet the requirements but look pretty beat up none of them seem to phase the clerks.
I've been turning used boxes inside out for quite some time.
LOL - I use poly liners! I re-ship 1-1/2# paper to my daughter. Pick it up later, stick in a new liner and reship to her again, and again. In turn she gets free Netflix.
Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.
I avoid things like paper or books without something bulky included. That way I don't have to answer questions/ explain why I don't want ship media mail or use a cheaper flat rate priority envelope that easily fits the paper/books. Yes, I could come up with some excuse but it's just extra work for me.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2017 06:08AM by wwin.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2017 06:08AM by wwin.
My favorite is two boxes of spaghetti to mimic the laptop battery
But doesn't it make noise? How to you keep the noodles from moving inside of the box and making a rattling sound?
No one has ever asked/noticed. I do pack bubble wrap around them.
Yeah, but bubble wrap won't stop noodles from rattling inside their individual packaging. Glad no one noticed!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2017 03:15PM by JASFLALMT.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2017 03:15PM by JASFLALMT.
They arent paying that close attention and it is loud at our locations. I also use padded mailers so you really wont hear unless you are shaking it hard.
Yes, and I guess since lithium batteries are prone to combustion they won't be doing that, LOL.
@COMystery wrote:
LOL - I use poly liners! I re-ship 1-1/2# paper to my daughter. Pick it up later, stick in a new liner and reship to her again, and again. In turn she gets free Netflix.
Polymailers.
The reason for no markings is that sometimes markings will indicate what is inside the box. Also markings can have barcodes from previous shipments that can mess up the current shipment.
I wrapped a box carefully with paper from a bag and got chewed out by the post office clerk who told me they tend to tear off that paper on boxes. I also tried my hand at spray-painting the outside of boxes with a can of rustoleum and telling the clerk it was a special gift. The clerk loved the idea and the MS company chewed me out. Sometimes ya can't win.
Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain
I have a black marker with a tip about an inch wide that I use to black out markings on boxes when I am shipping for myself and not for a shop. That means there are now new markings on the box. I wonder why the client does not want this.
I also got questioned as to why I seem to send the packages to the same zipcode time after time. I said that I send little gifts to my " 9 year old niece" on a regular basis. I don't see that it's any of their business who I send the package to as long as I do things as per instructions.
Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain
Was it the MS or the PO who recognized the same address repeated?
I would think neither would care.
I would think neither would care.
@Cettie wrote:
I also got questioned as to why I seem to send the packages to the same zipcode time after time. I said that I send little gifts to my " 9 year old niece" on a regular basis. I don't see that it's any of their business who I send the package to as long as I do things as per instructions.
@Cettie wrote:
I wrapped a box carefully with paper from a bag and got chewed out by the post office clerk who told me they tend to tear off that paper on boxes. I also tried my hand at spray-painting the outside of boxes with a can of rustoleum and telling the clerk it was a special gift. The clerk loved the idea and the MS company chewed me out. Sometimes ya can't win.
Just turn the box inside out!
I have a shipping buddy and we mail the same box back and forth. My technique is to cover the top and part of the sides with clear tape first. Then I use a piece of paper to write the address and return info and cover all the paper with a second layer of tape. All of the post office stickers will come off the tape fairly well vs coming off of the cardboard. When I get one from my buddy, I add a new piece of paper on top of the one with my name on it. That way, when she gets it she can just rip off the top layer and the box is again addressed to me.
I am switching to the poly envelopes for whenever they work for what I am shipping. On Amazon they cost 8 cents each with no extra time or tape or spray paint!!! (unique idea), they do not take up much room in my house compared to my boxes. And at 8 cents I do not feel compelled to go to great lengths to reuse them even tho I will if I can. And as far as the battery question, for the clerk there is no reason why you would only have a battery in your shipment. I might ship a battery along with spaghetti to my kids. Or a few pieces of candy along with my "book" making it not eligible for media mail.
I have no idea how large or small laptop batteries are and I have represented some fairly small packages as a laptop battery without the clerk batting an eyelash. I just looked at Amazon and saw a range from 8" up. My packages are generally smaller than that. I am thinking the clerk did not know more than i do about laptop batteries...but for future so I do not get caught...can anyone tell me what the smaller size batteries dimensions are? Are there some that are 5 inches? I know they are long and thinnish. I will pack my bags/boxes accordingly.
I have no idea how large or small laptop batteries are and I have represented some fairly small packages as a laptop battery without the clerk batting an eyelash. I just looked at Amazon and saw a range from 8" up. My packages are generally smaller than that. I am thinking the clerk did not know more than i do about laptop batteries...but for future so I do not get caught...can anyone tell me what the smaller size batteries dimensions are? Are there some that are 5 inches? I know they are long and thinnish. I will pack my bags/boxes accordingly.
All of the above is too much work for me. I buy boxes in multiples of five at Staples. With tax they come out to 0.63 cents each. I mail a 1 lb. bag of rocks to myself, using another property as the return address. The boxes become starter for the fireplace in the winter months.
One day when I was working on landscaping, I simple put all the rocks in one place and then bundled into 1lb freezer bags. I have 25 of them I use over and over
Because I live on a street with an odd name and do the same 50 or 60 post offices over and over, I just say that I mail a gift to my daughter and grandson anytime I'm on the road because I miss them so much if questioned by the clerk. I shop a lot of resort towns so it works.
Everytime I'm convinced they've figured me out, they mess up so I know it's just paranoia.
I'm sure my post office knows what's going on as I Iive in a tiny rural town. They havent said anything but I get exceptional customer service. They often save up the 20 or so identical boxes they have for me at any given time at the post office until I'm home so the tweakers don't steal them. I never asked them to do that.
One day when I was working on landscaping, I simple put all the rocks in one place and then bundled into 1lb freezer bags. I have 25 of them I use over and over
Because I live on a street with an odd name and do the same 50 or 60 post offices over and over, I just say that I mail a gift to my daughter and grandson anytime I'm on the road because I miss them so much if questioned by the clerk. I shop a lot of resort towns so it works.
Everytime I'm convinced they've figured me out, they mess up so I know it's just paranoia.
I'm sure my post office knows what's going on as I Iive in a tiny rural town. They havent said anything but I get exceptional customer service. They often save up the 20 or so identical boxes they have for me at any given time at the post office until I'm home so the tweakers don't steal them. I never asked them to do that.
I'm with you whiterosie, those things are too much work for the fee paid. I will of course get the cheapest boxes to be considerate of the client, but I could card less how much I have to pay for the boxes as long as I get reimbursed 100%.
Use small zip lock bags and put either dirt or stones or sand and use empty water bottles to pack around them and if you are mailing back and forth to the same person just tape a new paper over the top where you write the address and she just takes that top off and uses the old box with the address she used before. Just send back and forth
I mail to my stepdaughter in Texas and if I add the cost of a new box it goes over the reimbursement, so I reuse boxes I pick up for free while I'm merchandising. It takes 2 minutes to turn a box inside out and tape it. I mail her small food items I pick up from grocery store shops.
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