USPS shop question

I'm going to be doing my first 2 of these this week and I'm confused in regards to packaging. The guidelines say the packaging can't have any marks on it except for to and from addresses. All of the packaging I've seen for sale has a brand name and other words on them. So am I correct in presuming that to use these they would need to be covered up say with plain brown wrapping paper?

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

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Never mind I got my answer from the scheduler.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

Can you share what she said? I'm doing my first one for this company tomorrow and would love to know the answer. Thanks!

Dollar General Store sells some basic brown boxes for $1.25 that are 12x8. Walmart has some basic brown ones that are $0.48 for a 6x6x6 box. They do have a bar code and a few words on the bottom flap, but nothing on the box sides or top. Basic brown box, or basic manila envelopes work best. Now, I can say, if you use bubble wrap or bubble mailers inside the box to pad it, those work well and the brown boring box hides it all.

[cdn3.volusion.com]

MegglesKat

I would like to do this shop. Is it easy to do. I know we can't name the company that does theses

I have used white plastic envelopes for the shops and haven't had any issues. Last time I did one the girl put my envelope inside one of the priority envelopes before I even knew what she was doing. She said it would save me $9 in shipping and get it there faster. I couldn't really say no or she would have known I was a shopper. I hope she still has a job but I had to report what she did as I am not supposed to use those envelopes and didn't want to fail the shop when the receipt showed what I mailed.

@krcartershop wrote:

Can you share what she said? I'm doing my first one for this company tomorrow and would love to know the answer. Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions Mountaincacher88!!! I'll check those out. krcartershop, She said they had to be covered up so they didn't show at all. But with Mountaincacher88's suggestions, we should be able to get around that problem. Isaiah, I don't know yet how easy it is. There is another topic on here somewhere that gives an email address to a scheduler who's more than willing to give you the company information. Try searching for it. Or someone else on here who knows the email address can post it for you and others who are interested.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2017 03:14AM by sassymmmm.

Email judith@summitscheduling.com and she can tell you how to sign up with the MSC.

I've done multiple USPS shops. They are not hard. As always, after the first one you know what to look for pretty quickly.

Staples has good boxes. They are around 75 cents each if you buy 5. They have no writing at all on the top.
I also got some awesome boxes at Dollar Tree for $1 each. Again, no writing on top.

Target has really nice white shipping boxes, but they are close to $2 each. They work if you are shipping 1-2 pounds to Zone 1-4, since the shipping cost is low, there is enough room to reimburse for the expensive box.

I have a crap-ton of polymailers (solid white) from my eBay days. I paid around 10-20 cents each for them. I have no idea where the receipts are; and it has been 5-10 years, so not worth looking. I use them for jobs where the postage is equal to the reimbursement (and I am not missing the 20 cents either). No tape to waste on them either.

@aribacat wrote:

I have used white plastic envelopes for the shops and haven't had any issues. Last time I did one the girl put my envelope inside one of the priority envelopes before I even knew what she was doing. She said it would save me $9 in shipping and get it there faster. I couldn't really say no or she would have known I was a shopper. I hope she still has a job but I had to report what she did as I am not supposed to use those envelopes and didn't want to fail the shop when the receipt showed what I mailed.

I haven't had them do that on my mailers, as they are usually bigger than the Flat Rate envelopes.

I did have one clerk last week tell me that I could put it in a flat rate box, and she started to do it. I told her that I had more money than time, and I wasn't re-doing it. I had to think quick and stand there looking really entitled, Am Ex in hand. I need an Academy Award some days.

Just finished my first one today and it was very easy except I have a question. If the clerk allows you to ship Priority, does that by itself constitute a catastrophic failure? She even told me to "pretend that it wasn't hazardous". There's no where to enter this information if I don't put it down as a catastrophic failure but I'm not sure if it qualifies.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

Dollar General and Family Dollar also have free boxes that their merchandise comes in. Some are kept in a rack outside near the dumpster (here, anyway). Or when walking through any store, grocery or gas station, watch for employees/vendors unpacking boxes. Just ask, "Can I have that?" They say, "Sure!" Easy & free.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@aribacat wrote:

I have used white plastic envelopes for the shops and haven't had any issues. Last time I did one the girl put my envelope inside one of the priority envelopes before I even knew what she was doing. She said it would save me $9 in shipping and get it there faster. I couldn't really say no or she would have known I was a shopper. I hope she still has a job but I had to report what she did as I am not supposed to use those envelopes and didn't want to fail the shop when the receipt showed what I mailed.

I haven't had them do that on my mailers, as they are usually bigger than the Flat Rate envelopes.

I did have one clerk last week tell me that I could put it in a flat rate box, and she started to do it. I told her that I had more money than time, and I wasn't re-doing it. I had to think quick and stand there looking really entitled, Am Ex in hand. I need an Academy Award some days.

Double check the guidelines. I believe they say that if they tell you it's the same price or cheaper to ship it express or something else that's an equal or higher class, you're supposed to accept it. Otherwise, it makes you look too suspicious.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

@sassymmmm wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

@aribacat wrote:

I have used white plastic envelopes for the shops and haven't had any issues. Last time I did one the girl put my envelope inside one of the priority envelopes before I even knew what she was doing. She said it would save me $9 in shipping and get it there faster. I couldn't really say no or she would have known I was a shopper. I hope she still has a job but I had to report what she did as I am not supposed to use those envelopes and didn't want to fail the shop when the receipt showed what I mailed.

I haven't had them do that on my mailers, as they are usually bigger than the Flat Rate envelopes.

I did have one clerk last week tell me that I could put it in a flat rate box, and she started to do it. I told her that I had more money than time, and I wasn't re-doing it. I had to think quick and stand there looking really entitled, Am Ex in hand. I need an Academy Award some days.
Double check the guidelines. I believe they say that if they tell you it's the same price or cheaper to ship it express or something else that's an equal or higher class, you're supposed to accept it. Otherwise, it makes you look too suspicious.

I'm not worried about it. I shipped Priority and am done with it. I have no interest in explaining anything on the report if something goes south. I have literally done 1000's of these over the past 15 or more years.

Just thought I'd mention it. Do you know the answer to my question about whether the clerk allowing me to ship priority constitutes a "catastrophic failure"?

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

@sassymmmm wrote:

Just thought I'd mention it. Do you know the answer to my question about whether the clerk allowing me to ship priority constitutes a "catastrophic failure"?

I have never chosen that, and I have had dozens shipped that should not have shipped. So, since no editor has informed me otherwise, I'd say the answer is no. Let us know if you find out otherwise please.

No sassy, it's gotta be way worse than that, like excessive trash in the parking lot, dirty floors and scuffed walls with peeling paint, and a clerk who is rude--not just indifferent--but downright rude as in talking to other postal employees as if you weren't there or rolling their eyes at you while they chomp their gum kind of thing. The post office has a way of internally reviewing what happens when a clerk ships stuff they are not supposed to. And believe it or not, they never get fired for it. And as long as they are still nice to people they can keep their jobs. And even when they are not particularly nice to people they still somehow get to keep their jobs!!!!!

Mailing your "hazardous" package Priority Mail is not a catastrophic event so the answer should be marked 'no', I asked the MSC what would constitute a catastrophic failure and was given examples such as; a dead body in the post office, a high speed police chase ending in the parking lot, a hostage situation, a clerk and customer getting into fisticuffs, active drug deals occurring inside the post office, etc. In other words, I was told that I would know it when I saw it as far as catastrophic failures go.

Good luck with your post office shops, they are some of my favs....

edited for typo.

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2017 04:48AM by msimon-2000.

But, the question is catastrophic failure, not catastrophic event. But definitely the clerk and customer getting into a fistfight (or worse). Might be entertaining if one was at a safe distance to observe. And as far as drug deals, would that be the clerk peddling over the counter? LOL!

I felt the same way the other poster did initially. That mailing a package containing hazardous material that could cause an airplane crash seems like the very definition of a potentially catastrophic failure, at least to me it does. The MSC rep gave me some examples of catastrophic failure which helped me to understand the question better. I think they also mentioned the building being on fire and people in hazmat suits due to anthrax would also qualify...

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."

Yes, I could see how those are catastrophic EVENTS. But it seems to me that if the building caught on fire that would not be the fault of the post office, unless a crazy clerk went postal and set it on fire deliberately. Nor would someone keeling over dead in the post office be their fault (we hope).

Thanks for all the information!!! I really did enjoy doing the shop and I hope to do a lot more.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

I use the 6x6x6 boxes from Walmart and fill out the to and from info. I don't cover them... I have had no problems using those boxes,except I use the shop to send care packages to a family member and normal size bottles of soap don't fit.

I do a lot of merchandising, so I frequently run into perfectly sized boxes that have markings. I just turn them inside out and tape them together, then I can put more weight in a box if I want when sending a care package to my stepdaughter or a few of my friends' kids because I don't have the additional expense of a box.

Dollar General and Dollar Tree often have boxes that are the perfect size, and with Halloween coming, there will be continuous candy packouts going on and lots of free boxes for the taking. This also eliminates standing in line waiting to purchase them and also having to scan and upload the receipt and enter the box amount in the report.

I'm just passing on what I was told as examples of a catastrophic failure. I used the term event not the MSC.
Perhaps using the term event versus failure was a failure to communicate on my part...lol! Anyway, the failure should be catastrophic to mark yes for this question. Thinking of the definition of catastrophic, I can see their point and the examples seemed to fit.

Obviously, mailing one hazardous item priority mail is not a catastrophe since it seems to happen quite frequently and planes aren't dropping out of the skies. Which begs the question, why are these items deemed hazardous in the first place?

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."

Thanks for this thread. After reading this I saw a few of these shops with a company I just joined last night, signed up for one and knew exactly where to buy the box. Now someone else will pay for my son's college care package!

@nor999 wrote:

Thanks for this thread. After reading this I saw a few of these shops with a company I just joined last night, signed up for one and knew exactly where to buy the box. Now someone else will pay for my son's college care package!

I'm glad this helped you nor 999. One of the best things about this company I've discovered, is how fast they pay. My first shop with them wasn't a USPS shop, and they paid really quickly.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

For those who have not done these shops, I just want to encourage you to do so. There are a LOT of questions. But don't let that scare you. Other than the timing questions, they are all yes/no or multiple choice. NO NARRATIVE unless you have a catastrophic failure or you think the schedulers should know about something that happened during the shop. That is my favorite part. I am sick and tired of narratives. I know they're a necessary part of a lot of shops. But with many shops they are just repetitive of questions already asked.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

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