Suppliers using inside-out USPS boxes...

[ChicagoKim]

I thought the post office had already solved this problem. The few post offices I use around here have the usps boxes with the normal outside appearance, and on the inside it's still plain brown, but they have "usps" printed in black right in the middle of the sections.

I guess not all areas are caught up with that switch over?
I think I have seen that before. But the boxes I just got in the mail are plain brown. Maybe the suppliers stocked up before the switch!

Hey Riven, just got your shipment a few days ago. I went on a chinnie supply spree and have been getting stuff daily :p Of course your box was fine -- as was one I got from Busy Bunny. Anyway, love the chin buddy and cuddle cube! Andy's got the bark off the hanging toys already. Thanks for the quick service, too!

[Chisu]

wait they would just take the boxes and use the plain brown side? cuz they are free or what? im not sure i understand why they do that

[SpringChins]

It is actually illegal to use the free post office boxes for anything other than sending mail through the post office. So... report them! I mean it, too. When people use them in this way, it is wasting your money. So report them.

Especially that guy that used them as the filler. Because the others, you could think, maybe it was just that once. But the one that uses them as filler? He is obviously abusing the system.

Regards,
June Brown

P.S. Chisu: you can order priority mail boxes from the Post Office for free. They usually take about a week to arrive. It is an extremely useful service for those of us that send things out via priority on a regular basis. But some people abuse the system, because the boxes are free.

[ChicagoKim]

wait they would just take the boxes and use the plain brown side? cuz they are free or what? im not sure i understand why they do that
The post office provides the boxes free to people using Priority Mail (the cost of the boxes is incorporated into the fee you pay for Priority Mail). But people/business are taking the boxes and turning them inside out so the box is plain brown on the outside. Then they can mail the box however they want -- Fedex, UPS, etc.

Boxes cost money, so people are choosing to "use" the post office boxes so they don't have to buy boxes. Yeah, I know it's not bank robbery, but it's still stealing on a certain level.

To me, it just makes me wonder about the person. Obviously they've justified this... so what else do they justify? Where DO they draw the line? Do they not tell the cashier when they forgot to ring something up? Do they use the parking space for the disabled when they're in a hurry? Just a personal integrity thing I think. I know I'll get attacked for these analogies... it's just where my mind starts wandering with things like this. Attack away... I'm not budging :winkgrin: ...and then I'm REALLY going to wonder.... and I know I'm not the only one ;)

Just a pet peeve of mine. I'm done ranting.

[leaughxp]

I've never seen this done and I haven't used another box as a filler but did think about it once but the package would have been going USPS but felt bad about it so I didn't use it. I usually reuse boxes from suppliers or go find some used ones if the package isn't going Priority. I am almost finished with my new site and am only offering Priority since like Riven said it usually isn't much more (esp. if it doesn't weigh much) and its great for me to not have to find or pay for boxes.

Does it bother anyone to get a package in a reused box? Does it matter if it is a box from say Oxbow or another company I have ordered from rather than a box from Target? I am probably going to order some boxes for larger orders to go FedEx but I hate wasting things that can be reused.

[SpringChins]

Yeah, I know it's not bank robbery, but it's still stealing on a certain level.
I agree with you 100%.

To me, it just makes me wonder about the person. Obviously they've justified this... so what else do they justify? Where DO they draw the line? Do they not tell the cashier when they forgot to ring something up? Do they use the parking space for the disabled when they're in a hurry? Just a personal integrity thing I think.
My point would be: where do we, as witnesses, draw the line?

If we choose to not report someone when we know they are abusing the system and breaking the law, what else are we not going to report? Should you report it when someone parks in a handicapped spot? What about if you know someone is cheating on their taxes? On welfare? On child support? And, while we're on the subject, what if you know who robbed the bank? Should you report that?

I know that there is a tendency to justify not reporting things. It's a pain, nothing ever comes of it anyway (most anonymous tips don't get investigated), it's none of your business, etc. But, in reality, that is what criminals count on. They count on these excuses. They count on people being too scared or too callous to report them. So, when you don't report a crime, you are basically encouraging criminals to go on committing that crime. Because, why should they stop? If they never get caught? What is the deterrent for them?

Does it bother anyone to get a package in a reused box? Does it matter if it is a box from say Oxbow or another company I have ordered from rather than a box from Target?
Generally, no. But it depends on where/who it is coming from. For a small home-based thing, no. But if I ordered from a large corporation and spent big bucks with them, it would kind of irk me if they used a box from a different company. I don't think it would stop me from ordering with them, though (which I would definitely do if someone sent me an inside-out unused priority mail box).

~June Brown~

[ChicagoKim]

My point would be: where do we, as witnesses, draw the line?

If we choose to not report someone when we know they are abusing the system and breaking the law, what else are we not going to report? Should you report it when someone parks in a handicapped spot? What about if you know someone is cheating on their taxes? On welfare? On child support? And, while we're on the subject, what if you know who robbed the bank? Should you report that?

I know that there is a tendency to justify not reporting things. It's a pain, nothing ever comes of it anyway (most anonymous tips don't get investigated), it's none of your business, etc. But, in reality, that is what criminals count on. They count on these excuses. They count on people being too scared or too callous to report them. So, when you don't report a crime, you are basically encouraging criminals to go on committing that crime. Because, why should they stop? If they never get caught? What is the deterrent for them?
~June Brown~
June,

Fantastic point. You are SO right.

Maybe people think they aren't making a decision whether to report things or not report things... but the default of inaction IS actually a decision, more or less.

An example is my son's friend who eats nothing but fast food meals. His parents send happy meals for his school lunch EVERY day. He can't recall ever eating a fruit or vegetable. While it would seem that his parents just haven't made the decision to feed him a healthy diet, by default they have decided to feed him poorly.

So inaction or indecision essentially IS a decision by default. Hmmm, I think it might be getting too late at night... I hope I'm making some sense.

Anyway.... right on June! I'd trust someone like you to house/pet-sit while I was on vacation... I can't say so much for some people I encounter. I know things like the boxes seem little, but I do think they speak to the larger subject of personal ethics and integrity.

Oh geez... and I said I was done ranting. Sorry.

[ChicagoKim]

Does it bother anyone to get a package in a reused box? Does it matter if it is a box from say Oxbow or another company I have ordered from rather than a box from Target? I am probably going to order some boxes for larger orders to go FedEx but I hate wasting things that can be reused.
I'm with June on this one. I'm all for recycling and wouldn't think anything of getting a re-used box from a home-based business. I wouldn't think twice about it. I hadn't thought about a larger business using re-used boxes... never had that happen.

[heidi55529]

I've recieved a few things that were inside out boxes. But it does bother me when people use the boxes as fillers!! It's just such a waste for a perfectly good and new box. When you could just as well use a few sheets of crumpled newspaper as fillers.

But do try and reuse boxes whenever I can. I never really thought what other people thought though. I hope they don't get offended that I'm sending their orders in used boxes. I usually rip off off the old tape, and if there's any markings on the outside. And most of the time the used boxes that I use are in decent shape.

I have used the flat rate boxes before but not for the flat rate cost, although I did ship it priority. I had maybe 2-3 packages where it was lighter and cheaper then the flat rate. I didn't flip them inside out though, I rewrapped them with brown paper, and then put a priority mail sticker instead. I don't know if you would consider it as the same thing or not. I still shipped it priority mail, and thought it would save space since the next priority box was bigger and then I wouldn't have to stuff it with fillers.

[SpringChins]

I have used the flat rate boxes before but not for the flat rate cost, although I did ship it priority. I had maybe 2-3 packages where it was lighter and cheaper then the flat rate. I didn't flip them inside out though, I rewrapped them with brown paper, and then put a priority mail sticker instead. I don't know if you would consider it as the same thing or not. I still shipped it priority mail, and thought it would save space since the next priority box was bigger and then I wouldn't have to stuff it with fillers.
It is not the same thing. The law is that you can't use the priority boxes for anything other than priority mail. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing in the law about re-wrapping the box to send it priority mail. As long as you are still sending it priority mail, you are using the box for the purpose for which it was designed, IMO.

Regards,
June Brown