Ok, I gotta rant here...

[quote name='aTaRiFrEaK223']USPS really is losing money, in fact, they really have no money.

http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20120318/ADOP06/203180304/1040/ADOP06[/QUOTE]


What this article leaves out is that the Postal Service is required to fund their retirement fund for 75 years in the future, which leads to them having to pay about $5 billion into it per year. That's why the Postal Service is in such bad shape. If they didn't have to do that, they'd actually be turning a profit.
 
[quote name='Squall835']What this article leaves out is that the Postal Service is required to fund their retirement fund for 75 years in the future, which leads to them having to pay about $5 billion into it per year. That's why the Postal Service is in such bad shape. If they didn't have to do that, they'd actually be turning a profit.[/QUOTE]


I was just about to say all that article says is the people in charge of USPS don't know how to run a business. If they want more money raise standard rates. They are greedy and want you to re purchase boxes. That's all it is. Kind of funny how usps says they are for recycling.

If anything practices like that are going to make people frown them. Very stupid thing to do with the boxes.

Same thing with the medial mail. Whether or not games qualify for media mail shouldn't even matter because USPS is a bunch of idiots making up their own rules. How is video games not media? Because they don't make money on it= not media?

Id say fuck them take me to the supreme court and lets argue that's games aren't media. Being as that article is from 2008 from such an uncredible resource its a matter of time before someone challanges what i just said.
 
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[quote name='Paco']I thought that media rule was on amazon because media mail only travels WHEN the truck is moving. Media mail gets the least priority of any shipping service. Media only ships when there's space to be quite blunt. Plus Media is the most likely to get lost, held up and so forth, does Amazon give you instant credit for your games like Estarland? I recall Estarland giving you instant credit for your trade ins, but they had to receive them within 10 days which removed media mail due to it taking up to a month.

And I was curious about that too. I asked them about it. They shown me their list of rules and regulations and I questioned them on it, and they said that it's fine. This wasn't just one post office, but several. Honestly, I guess it can be a tossup depending on which post office, but I've been shipping at this post office for many years, and they see what I ship and always tell me that it's fine to ship cd and floppy disk games since they fall under the guise of computer media since they do technically have data inscribed on them.

the comics thing, I admit I might be wrong on it. I do remember that all comics and magazines had to be shipped through bound printed matter, but since that form of shipping no longer exists, I may be outdated on what the rules for those are.[/QUOTE]

This is what I mean; when the enforcers don't even care it shows you how much [behavior against regulation x] hurts the USPS.
 
[quote name='needler420']I was just about to say all that article says is the people in charge of USPS don't know how to run a business. If they want more money raise standard rates. They are greedy and want you to re purchase boxes. That's all it is. Kind of funny how usps says they are for recycling.

If anything practices like that are going to make people frown them. Very stupid thing to do with the boxes.[/QUOTE]


How is that being greedy?

They are giving you FREE boxes that you can use and reuse a MILLION times as long as you use them for what they were designed for (i.e. Priority boxes are only for PRIORITY postage and EXPRESS boxes are only for EXPRESS Postage).

If you want to ship via another class (First, Parcel Postage or Media) then use your own damn box or buy one (tax free) from the post office.


Again I'm not seeing how that is being wasteful or greedy
 
[quote name='confoosious']http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16072154/detail.html

It doesn't matter whether you think the rule is dumb or not. The rule is the rule.

You people can justify whatever you want or bring up the evil Big Brother. It doesn't make it right.

But like I said in my original post @vinny, people will justify whatever they want. And they're assholes. I should've just stopped there.

I'm done.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, you be done. In my world regs that don't get enforced don't have any ethical legs to stand on.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']How is that being greedy?

They are giving you FREE boxes that you can use and reuse a MILLION times as long as you use them for what they were designed for (i.e. Priority boxes are only for PRIORITY postage and EXPRESS boxes are only for EXPRESS Postage).

If you want to ship via another class (First, Parcel Postage or Media) then use your own damn box or buy one (tax free) from the post office.


Again I'm not seeing how that is being wasteful or greedy[/QUOTE]


Why don't you see that as wasteful or greedy? Yet you can't give any substance as to why you have to use those specific boxes with the specific postage. Surely there is a reason besides them just wanting certain marked boxes in one transit.
 
[quote name='needler420']Why don't you see that as wasteful or greedy? Yet you can't give any substance as to why you have to use those specific boxes with the specific postage. Surely there is a reason besides them just wanting certain marked boxes in one transit.[/QUOTE]


You answered my question by asking a question?


It's not greedy; they could decide to not give out boxes period... or charge for them. They are giving incentives to the consumer who wants to ship items by Priority or Express Mail. I don't understand why you are making it more complicated then it is.

Just because you think something should be free (i.e. A Box) doesn't mean it is. Everything has a price regardless if you agree with it.

If I had a giant hole in my backyard and I was planning on filling it in I couldn't just go to a gravel pit and fill my truck up with dirt even if I thought it was free because that dirt believe it or not belongs to that landowner.... just like these boxes are the property of the federal government.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']You answered my question by asking a question?


It's not greedy; they could decide to not give out boxes period... or charge for them. They are giving incentives to the consumer who wants to ship items by Priority or Express Mail. I don't understand why you are making it more complicated then it is.

Just because you think something should be free (i.e. A Box) doesn't mean it is. Everything has a price regardless if you agree with it.

If I had a giant hole in my backyard and I was planning on filling it in I couldn't just go to a gravel pit and fill my truck up with dirt even if I thought it was free because that dirt believe it or not belongs to that landowner.... just like these boxes are the property of the federal government.[/QUOTE]

you realize you're better off not arguing with him, right? If you argue with tree stumps, you end up dumber for it.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']You answered my question by asking a question?


It's not greedy; they could decide to not give out boxes period... or charge for them. They are giving incentives to the consumer who wants to ship items by Priority or Express Mail. I don't understand why you are making it more complicated then it is.

Just because you think something should be free (i.e. A Box) doesn't mean it is. Everything has a price regardless if you agree with it.

If I had a giant hole in my backyard and I was planning on filling it in I couldn't just go to a gravel pit and fill my truck up with dirt even if I thought it was free because that dirt believe it or not belongs to that landowner.... just like these boxes are the property of the federal government.[/QUOTE]


I didn't say it should be free that's just putting words in my mouth. I said they should allow boxes to be reused. That's my whole point if anything they should charge for the free boxes and let them be reused as much as you want in any class of shipping. Not say the boxes are free but you can't reuse them and then say we support recyling on top of it.
 
[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']Yeah, you be done. In my world regs that don't get enforced don't have any ethical legs to stand on.[/QUOTE]


They do get enforced. Try taking a Priority Mail box and telling the postal employee you only want to pay for first class postage.

Or bring a box up with media mail postage and tell the postal employee that you have a bunch of dildos in the box.

I can promise you they will not accept the packages.

The reason these "regs" aren't enforced like you claim is because douchebags are deceiving the post office in an attempt to save money but in actuality are STEALING money from the federal government. In the grandscheme of things it is not different then cheating on your taxes and not getting caught. There aren't enough IRS employees to audit every return just like there aren't enough postal employees to open every MM package to make sure it contains only qualifying contents or to tear way the brown kraft paper on each box to make sure it's not a priority box underneath.
 
[quote name='needler420']I didn't say it should be free. I said they should allow boxes to be reused. That's my whole point if anything they should charge for the free boxes and let them be used as much as you want. Not say the boxes are free but you can't reuse them and then say we support recyling on top of it.[/QUOTE]


You can absoultely 100% reuse the boxes... for Priority or Express (depending on which box it originally was) shipping.


Besides no retailer ships in these boxes so they only way you'd have them laying around is if you picked them up new or purchased a few things from small time sellers on eBay. Don't make it sound like the normal person has 100's of these boxes going to waste in their apartment.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']They do get enforced. Try taking a Priority Mail box and telling the postal employee you only want to pay for first class postage.[/QUOTE]

Let's examine this, how exactly does this work? I know when I bring in a cardboard box of my own, with--for example--a Hess Truck inside, there's no way that box is going to weigh in at first class. At best it will qualify for parcel post, which in most cases isn't any better than the Priority Rate. That leaves the Media Mail option, which is pretty much screwing over the Post Office no matter what kind of box you use.

I'll tell you another reason that box will never weigh in at first class. Whenever you take a package into the Post Office to be weighed, they're counting the packing materials against you. In fact the only way around this would be for a seller to make up their own pre-paid packing slip, print it off online, factoring in the weight of the item and not the packaging materials. What's the take-home message here? It looks to me that the electronic printing of labels hurts the USPS more than anything else.

[quote name='GBAstar']The reason these "regs" aren't enforced like you claim is because douchebags are deceiving the post office in an attempt to save money but in actuality are STEALING money from the federal government. In the grandscheme of things it is not different then cheating on your taxes and not getting caught. There aren't enough IRS employees to audit every return just like there aren't enough postal employees to open every MM package to make sure it contains only qualifying contents or to tear way the brown kraft paper on each box to make sure it's not a priority box underneath.[/QUOTE]

Get real, if the USPS was bleeding out money on this they would open up every media mail package and slap a fine on each recipient (pay or you don't get your mail delivered). This theft argument gets old because for one, plenty of CAGs have asked their postmasters about the Media Mail question only to find that they don't give a shit.

Two, I have the personal experience of paying out the ass for USPS parcel post and extra services; plus I see the overpriced packing material they sell in their stores--which all in all makes me less than sympathetic towards their terrible bouts of complacency when it comes to not enforcing their own policies.

And as I've said before, I would love to see some figures on the subsidies offered on bulk mail vs. the losses from flat rate boxes, because I'm thinking the largest source of theft from the USPS is LEGAL and CORPORATE.
 
To reiterate:

[quote name='confoosious']OP, while i agree with your rant, there are two things you have to understand:

1) people are assholes
2) you'll never be able to convince someone that using Priority Boxes is wrong if they don't think it's wrong in the first place. People will justify everything and anything if they are inclined to.

Seriously, you have people in this thread saying that if you turn it inside out, it's not illegal. That's the type of logic that people will use in order to justify things. "If I put a piece of tape over it, it no longer says Priority Mail so it's not for priority mail anymore! derp." or something like "UPS/USPS/Fedex/whatever makes tons of money, so what if I use one of their boxes?"[/QUOTE]
 
You guys must have a lot of luck finding boxes. I don't sell much, but I always have a tough time finding the right sized boxes to ship things in. Everything I come across is either way too big or way too small. I lost since gave up trying to find boxes, and just purchase them along with bubble mailers at Wal-Mart for about 50 cents each.
 
[quote name='spmahn']You guys must have a lot of luck finding boxes. I don't sell much, but I always have a tough time finding the right sized boxes to ship things in. Everything I come across is either way too big or way too small. I lost since gave up trying to find boxes, and just purchase them along with bubble mailers at Wal-Mart for about 50 cents each.[/QUOTE]

There are boxes at walmart for 50 cents each? I might have to go get some. That's better than trying to find a box that doesn't quite fit.
 
I still remember when Gamestop sent me a Beatmania bundle with the turntable controller media mail years ago and there was even a note saying the package was opened by the postal service to inspect the item. I was really surprised they allowed GS to get away with it.
 
[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']Let's examine this, how exactly does this work? I know when I bring in a cardboard box of my own, with--for example--a Hess Truck inside, there's no way that box is going to weigh in at first class. At best it will qualify for parcel post, which in most cases isn't any better than the Priority Rate. That leaves the Media Mail option, which is pretty much screwing over the Post Office no matter what kind of box you use.

I'll tell you another reason that box will never weigh in at first class. Whenever you take a package into the Post Office to be weighed, they're counting the packing materials against you. In fact the only way around this would be for a seller to make up their own pre-paid packing slip, print it off online, factoring in the weight of the item and not the packaging materials. What's the take-home message here? It looks to me that the electronic printing of labels hurts the USPS more than anything else.[/QUOTE]



I'm not going to waste my time responding to all your points but it baffles me how little you know and how much you assume you are entitled to.


Whenever you take a package into the Post Office to be weighed, they're counting the packing materials against you.
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Duh... that's how it is supposed to work

1) You pay for the entire gross weight of the package you mail INCLUDING fillers and packing materials. You don't pay for postage based on JUST the item you are shipping. The total weight includes the item, the box and all packing materails. If all of that amounts to 4.01lbs then guess what? You are paying postage on 5lbs. That is how it works period. No rounding down.


2) Anything that weighs less then 13ounces can go First Class. Period.


3) In most instances it is just as cheap if not cheaper to ship by Priority Mail if you purchase postage online. I happen to sell a lot on eBay so I have a bulk discount but even so you get free Delivery Confirmation on First Class and Priority/Express Packages if you pay for postage online.


I mean WTF world do you live in where you think that you are entitled to free boxes and packing materials and that you only pay for postage based on the weight of the item, packing materials excluded?

Are you 12?
 
[quote name='GBAstar']I mean WTF world do you live in where you think that you are entitled to free boxes and packing materials and that you only pay for postage based on the weight of the item, packing materials excluded?[/QUOTE]

Oddly, this is the most infuriating thread on CAG for me.

It's like:

"Hey, I paid for cable for 10 years, so I'm going to steal a month of it. It's not like they really lose money."

"I've been paying for electricity from one company all my life, so I'm going to turn back the meter 10 KWh."

"This is my regular gas station, so I'm going to get a gallon and drive off, cause I don't want to go home and drive back."

And then of course, "I ship USPS most of the time, so I'm going to get their priority boxes and ship parcel post. I could have used those boxes at UPS, so USPS should thank me."
 
If someone is cheap enough that they'd prefer to drive to the post office, take some priority boxes, alter them and stuff them with newspaper to mail out cheaper... they should really just make friends with the framers at a craft store. You show up on truck day, and they'll be boxes and peanuts and foam and bubble wrap- and no one will care if you take it. Then you use a coupon to get your packing tape half-off. It's one-stop mooching without the hassle of trying to rip off the system.
 
That's why I keep most boxes from online purchases. I have a whole closet full of boxes built up from the last few years. Whenever I have to ship something be it a sale or a gift to a friend I sure as heck don't want to pay $4 for a box.
 
[quote name='GBAstar']I'm not going to waste my time responding to all your points but it baffles me how little you know and how much you assume you are entitled to.

I mean WTF world do you live in where you think that you are entitled to free boxes and packing materials and that you only pay for postage based on the weight of the item, packing materials excluded?

Are you 12?[/QUOTE]

Chairman, I recognize the personal insults in the second row :rofl:

1) You pay for the entire gross weight of the package you mail INCLUDING fillers and packing materials. You don't pay for postage based on JUST the item you are shipping. The total weight includes the item, the box and all packing materails. If all of that amounts to 4.01lbs then guess what? You are paying postage on 5lbs. That is how it works period. No rounding down.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and this doesn't stop people from trying to cheat the scales with printed labels. My point is, if you are crooked enough to try and get below 13 oz., using a big-ass flat rate box is about the dumbest way to go.

Anyhow, I have absolutely zero to prove to you because I do support the USPS with paid-for flat rate mailers and boxes. I might even support them more than you do, so maybe you should come down off your high horse, eh? ;)
 
[quote name='confoosious']There are boxes at walmart for 50 cents each? I might have to go get some. That's better than trying to find a box that doesn't quite fit.[/QUOTE]


Yep, they're in the section with the mailing supplies. They came in various sizes from 50 cents to like 70 cents, and it's way easier than trying to track down boxes at package stores or other places and ending up with the wrong sizes.
 
[quote name='spmahn']Yep, they're in the section with the mailing supplies. They came in various sizes from 50 cents to like 70 cents, and it's way easier than trying to track down boxes at package stores or other places and ending up with the wrong sizes.[/QUOTE]

found a bunch today for a quarter!

(on clearance)

thanks for the tip.
 
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