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Ok, I gotta rant here...


#61 GBAstar   CAGiversary! CAGiversary!   9696 Posts   Joined 12.4 Years Ago  

Posted 31 March 2012 - 05:57 AM

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.



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.

#62 mrx001   CAGiversary! CAGiversary!   1297 Posts   Joined 13.4 Years Ago  

Posted 31 March 2012 - 06:58 AM

New idea.Print ads on boxes.

#63 elessar123  

Posted 31 March 2012 - 03:47 PM

New idea.Print ads on boxes.


Cept they can't.

#64 Indigo_Streetlight  

Indigo_Streetlight

Posted 01 April 2012 - 03:06 AM

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


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.

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.


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.

#65 Confucius   Corporate Shill CAGiversary!   17371 Posts   Joined 14.9 Years Ago  

Posted 01 April 2012 - 03:14 AM

To reiterate:

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?"



#66 spmahn  

Posted 01 April 2012 - 03:39 AM

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.

#67 Confucius   Corporate Shill CAGiversary!   17371 Posts   Joined 14.9 Years Ago  

Posted 01 April 2012 - 03:42 AM

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.


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.

#68 YoshiFan1   CAGiversary! CAGiversary!   10071 Posts   Joined 19.4 Years Ago  

Posted 01 April 2012 - 04:35 AM

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.

#69 GBAstar   CAGiversary! CAGiversary!   9696 Posts   Joined 12.4 Years Ago  

Posted 01 April 2012 - 04:58 AM

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.




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.


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?

#70 elessar123  

Posted 01 April 2012 - 07:44 AM

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?


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."

#71 DuelLadyS   Basch Lives! CAGiversary!   2641 Posts   Joined 18.1 Years Ago  

Posted 02 April 2012 - 06:47 AM

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.

#72 dragoon99   Objection! CAGiversary!   961 Posts   Joined 16.4 Years Ago  

Posted 02 April 2012 - 08:01 AM

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.

#73 Indigo_Streetlight  

Indigo_Streetlight

Posted 03 April 2012 - 01:17 AM

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?


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.

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? ;)

#74 spmahn  

Posted 03 April 2012 - 02:54 AM

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.



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.

#75 Confucius   Corporate Shill CAGiversary!   17371 Posts   Joined 14.9 Years Ago  

Posted 03 April 2012 - 03:23 AM

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.


found a bunch today for a quarter!

(on clearance)

thanks for the tip.

Edited by confoosious, 03 April 2012 - 03:43 AM.