Postal Shop Boxes
Warning: For Full Access Please Log In or Create an Account (Free)
I buy the 6x6x6 at Walmart. They are 63 cents including tax and fit a pound of rice or beans very well. And yes they are reimbursed.
Yes, they reimburse me for the boxes. However, they do not reimburse me for the shipping tape and the time to pack new boxes. So I use the old ones over and over until the post office damages them too severely to use anymore. I buy boxes at the Kroger company grocery stores. They are 97 cents, but the client reimburses anyway. The maximum dimensions required for the shop are stated in the guidelines and have not changed in about forever.
I have been using poly bags that I get from my prescription drug mail program although my insurance just changed rx companies and I do not think the new bags will work well. Those poly bags are very cheap if bought in bulk and can be used for various, but not all, of what I ship. Very little tape is needed.
If you will be shipping to zone 8 like I do you will not get reimbursed for your boxes as the shipping cost is over the max reimbursement. The shipping fees are going up next month. Not sure what zone 7 cost is but that may be over the reimbursement soon too. Right now zone 8 is only 20 cents extra.
If you will be shipping to zone 8 like I do you will not get reimbursed for your boxes as the shipping cost is over the max reimbursement. The shipping fees are going up next month. Not sure what zone 7 cost is but that may be over the reimbursement soon too. Right now zone 8 is only 20 cents extra.
I generally use a bubble mailer which means no tape needed, just peal and seal closed. I buy them 50 or 100 at a time in bulk and it works out to about a quarter a piece or less. I could turn in a receipt but don't bother. I'd have to list the shop numbers for each usage with the receipt and it would cover many weeks worth of shops. And there'd be another picture to take and (now) rename.
For hazmat I use a box from the dollar store. It's all paid for and only occasionally has to be replaced. When I do buy a new one, the receipt gets turned in on the next shop.
For hazmat I use a box from the dollar store. It's all paid for and only occasionally has to be replaced. When I do buy a new one, the receipt gets turned in on the next shop.
12 x 12 x 12 is the largest dimenions you can use. All sides need to total 36 or less, so you can do 12 x 14 x 10, 16 x 10 x 10, etc. or smaller. They have a spot on the report to enter your receipt if you purchase a box. I haven't bought boxes in years. I just reuse and recycle as much as possible. When I am in a grocery store, dollar store, or convenience store, I always ask for small boxes, so I have plenty on hand. If they have markings, I just turn them inside out and tape them back up.
I have shipped to zones 5 and 6 and so far I have been good with out any problems.
So if I buy an box at Wal-mat on the receipt I put like shop # 2678664
Thanks
So if I buy an box at Wal-mat on the receipt I put like shop # 2678664
Thanks
I like the poly bags also but still tape them up and reuse a few times since I'm usually shipping to myself. The only downside to them is occasionally the clerk will try to sell me on a flat rate mailer that would come out a little less expensive. I always politely refuse but it is a bit awkward. I'll go to pretty great lengths to avoid the extra work of writing the job# on the receipt for the container and photo/upload/label it.
If I do buy a box that will be an extra picture that I have to upload and label..
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2020 04:11PM by Isaiah4031a.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2020 04:11PM by Isaiah4031a.
I use paper instead of plastic at the grocery store and cut them up to wrap the free boxes from the post office. This would be too much work if I did as many USPS shops as some people but I only do about 10 a month.
Shopping domestic and international locations since 2003.
Also, keep in mind that the reimbursement for the box PLUS shipping cannot total more than the total reimbursement that they allow, currently $14.00. So, if you're shipping cost is, for example, $12.50, and your box cost $2.50, totaling $15.00, you will be reimbursed ONLY up to the $14.00. On the other hand, if your shipping cost $9.50, and your box cost $3.50, totaling $13.00, you will be reimbursed the complete $13.00. And yes, take a photo of your box receipt if you want reimbursement.
Thanks to everyone who has replied 
Not to mention that reusing a box is kinder to the environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle whenever possible. We have way too many things in the environment that aren't biodegradable. Plus, you are spending additional time driving to the store to buy the box, picking it out, standing in line, etc. If you are at a grocery store, dollar store, etc. buying stuff, it's easy to ask someone if they have some smaller boxes you can have. They are generally more than happy to provide them.
@Isaiah4031a wrote:
If I do buy a box that will be an extra picture that I have to upload and label..
Back in the day when we had the Dim Sum shops i had to buy those special sized boxes. Unfortunately I still have a few leftovers and still have the receipt for reimbursement if they ever come back. But I taped my box receipt to a piece of white paper and then I would make a running list of job numbers under it on the paper. So if I purchased 10 boxes on the receipt I would eventually have ten job numbers written under it. That way I and the msc could keep track of when the receipt was paid off. I would just add my latest box job number to the bottom of the running receipt page, snap a new photo or scan and the msc never had an issue with that method.
Renaming or labeling photos? Could someone explain?
I do 50-100 of these shops a month. I enter the info directly into the app including taking photos with the app camera. I've never labeled a photo nor do I see that as an option.
I just checked instructions on the main website and don't see any mention of naming photos.
I've never had a shop rejected, and out of thousands, have had a handful returned for a clearer photo of the receipt. I have had two other shops returned to me for clarification, one because the clerk put partial postage on the package using stamps he wanted to get rid of and the other because rhe clerk's behavior was so over-the-top obnoxious, they wanted a further description.
I do 50-100 of these shops a month. I enter the info directly into the app including taking photos with the app camera. I've never labeled a photo nor do I see that as an option.
I just checked instructions on the main website and don't see any mention of naming photos.
I've never had a shop rejected, and out of thousands, have had a handful returned for a clearer photo of the receipt. I have had two other shops returned to me for clarification, one because the clerk put partial postage on the package using stamps he wanted to get rid of and the other because rhe clerk's behavior was so over-the-top obnoxious, they wanted a further description.
It's a new change in the guidelines. It's on the first page of the actual guidelines, not the general shop notes on the website.
I thought they were Dim Wit shops, LOL. I do remember the dimensional weight shops...huge packages with not much in them. Heck, I remember when one MSC used to mail us the boxes already prefilled along with the paper forms we had to fill in by hand and mail back. I had stacks of boxes in my office.
@sandyf wrote:
Back in the day when we had the Dim Sum shops i had to buy those special sized boxes.
@sandyf wrote:
Back in the day when we had the Dim Sum shops i had to buy those special sized boxes. Unfortunately I still have a few leftovers and still have the receipt for reimbursement if they ever come back. But I taped my box receipt to a piece of white paper and then I would make a running list of job numbers under it on the paper. So if I purchased 10 boxes on the receipt I would eventually have ten job numbers written under it. That way I and the msc could keep track of when the receipt was paid off. I would just add my latest box job number to the bottom of the running receipt page, snap a new photo or scan and the msc never had an issue with that method.
I had just bought 25 of the 15x12x10 sized boxes for these DIM Weight shops when they stopped doing them. I held onto them for awhile hoping the DIM shops would return, but finally got tired of them taking up space.
Not wanting to lose out on the money fronted for these supplies, I opened them up and "remade" the larger box into a smaller sized box like 12x10x6 I believe. I billed the MSC for them and eventually used them all up. Only once did an editor question me on the size of the box and after I explained what I was doing, they commended me on my out-of-the-box thinking.
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."
Name all the attachments using no accents and should not exceed 30 characters:
Task Name_City_Date_Type of Attachment
(please use the following format for the date YYMMDD)
Task Name_City_Date_Type of Attachment
(please use the following format for the date YYMMDD)
I guess we have smarter people and post office clerks living out here on the West Coast. Haha There is probably a Chinese restaurant near every post office i go to. So no Dim Wits but lots of Dim Sum.
I loved being able to put 5 lbs of stuff in my boxes. Now when I need to send gifts I sometimes need to un package them and send them in two different boxes. My folks are all in zone 8 so they now get only lightweight gifts or gifts that become a mystery to put them all together from multiple boxes.
I loved being able to put 5 lbs of stuff in my boxes. Now when I need to send gifts I sometimes need to un package them and send them in two different boxes. My folks are all in zone 8 so they now get only lightweight gifts or gifts that become a mystery to put them all together from multiple boxes.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
I thought they were Dim Wit shops, LOL. I do remember the dimensional weight shops...huge packages with not much in them. Heck, I remember when one MSC used to mail us the boxes already prefilled along with the paper forms we had to fill in by hand and mail back. I had stacks of boxes in my office.
@sandyf wrote:
Back in the day when we had the Dim Sum shops i had to buy those special sized boxes.
I found it impossible to follow that format without abbreviating.
Do you know if the cost of mailing goes over the amount they say they will cover will make me responsible for the difference. I am mailing to zone 5 but the cost is 22 plus some change and I don't want to do it if I have to make up the difference out of what I am paid to do the job.
Is that a hazmat approved shipper location? If so, they will adjust the reimbursement as long as you are sticking to zone 5 and are not overweight.
Answered that on your other thread last night.@ctalbert wrote:
Do you know if the cost of mailing goes over the amount they say they will cover will make me responsible for the difference. I am mailing to zone 5 but the cost is 22 plus some change and I don't want to do it if I have to make up the difference out of what I am paid to do the job.
Another way to get boxes reimbursed is buy them when you do an approved shipper at Offic Depot. Just did one tonight. They have 6x6x6 boxes on sale this week for buy 2 get 1 free. They are normally 1.99 so I got 9, paid for 6 and will use 9 for my next Reg Box shops.
If you need tape, you can get 4 rolls of tape at the post office for the reimbursement amount when doing a Hazmat shop if the shipment is refused.
If you need tape, you can get 4 rolls of tape at the post office for the reimbursement amount when doing a Hazmat shop if the shipment is refused.
I buy enough online that I always have an Amazon or Chewy box sitting around. I make sure all shipping labels are stripped or marked out, and I’ve never had a problem.
Experienced evaluator and auditor available for consulting in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and eastern North Carolina. Active member of North Carolina bar.
I usually cut the boxes I have so that I can turn them inside out and re-tape/re-use them. Takes care of any logos or printed words on the box....they're gone!
". I make sure all shipping labels are stripped or marked out, and I’ve never had a problem."
Did I read the instructions wrong? I thought the boxes are to have NOTHING printed on them except the 'to' and 'from' addresses. Turning a box in side out is a necessary evil in my mind.
Did I read the instructions wrong? I thought the boxes are to have NOTHING printed on them except the 'to' and 'from' addresses. Turning a box in side out is a necessary evil in my mind.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.