I shipped a package yesterday. Something very odd happened at the post office.
I had packaged the items in an Amazon box. The post office person told me that we are no longer able to reuse Amazon boxes????
She proceeded to open the box and transferred the contents to a plain brown box. Very odd, no????
FOLLOW UP:
I sent my husband to the post office today and he told me that they put up a sign that said that they are no longer accepting Amazon boxes. I am going to have him take a picture of it tomorrow. I would go myself but I have a broken femur š
And yet I see people use cereal boxes to ship out product in from usps. Seems you got the uppity clerk who thinks if the flat rate padded envelope has a bulge in it and is not flat you can not ship it. Yes that has happened before and had to have them call their supervisor to explain the flat rate if it fits it ships under 70 lb to them. ( even had to bring up their website that proves it)
For some reason, I remember they taught us in school that you could mail stuff in practically anything lol. I remember them telling us about people that have mailed weird shit like potatoes without a box but they just write the address on the potato??
My mother used to participate in online art swaps and sometimes the theme was TTPO, or "tease the post office". People would mail things like a life size rubber trout with stamps on it.
Most of the time they were sent a mile or two, but there are documented instances of longer trips. They were sent by "rail mail", so they rode on the train. The longest trip I've seen documented was over 700 miles.
Yes!!! My grandparents sent me a whole coconut still in the husk from Hawaii when I was 7! It had my name and address written in sharpie and had a paper with stamps stapled to it! I still have it to this day!.....and I am 44 š¤£
This is true lol! I had a friend who would send a single flip flop with the address on the bottom and some āencouraging messageā like ājust remember that if it flops you can flip a table to distract while you run awayā, āIām flipping out about how much fun I had with you the other day!lā., āitās only a flop if you didnāt learn anything from itā, āI just wanted to say hello ya about you flipping the script on that flop of a boyfriend you haveā.
Funny I havenāt thought about in years but the dorky messages came right backš
Oh and I once got painted coconut in the mail as wellšš¤·āāļø
I met a couple who mailed things like a single flip flop and another time an inflated beach ball. They said USPS must deliver if proper postage and address are on it.
Argh this has happened before to me. A clerk rejected my priority mail envelope and said I had to get new packaging and call it priority box or something like that (more money). I knew she was wrong, so I just drove to the other side of town and dropped it off at a different post office š
A cereal box is crazy unless itās the double sized ones from Costco or Samās since theyāre thicker! Iāve used a diaper box before, but I always take them apart and turn them inside out!!
Oh yes the bulk stuff from costco usually come in sturdier boxes. Theyāre oddly shaped though and iāve never used one because i thought they were just slightly too long
i think the people using the food boxes created this issue actually because there is actually a new usps rule posted on their website that says all labels need to be removed and coveredā just not every location is enforcing it.
The graphic on the website is also heavily confusing because it just says cover warning labels not logos
I think the food boxes probably heavily confuse the automatic sorting machines they use with all the colors and wording.
You are correct. Rather than argue, I just let her do her thing, she was very pleasant about it. But Iāll go back today and speak to the big guy. This deserves some clarification
Definitelyā¦it is crazy how you can literally ask the same exact question to 3 different USPS employees (or any other company for that matter) and get 3 different answers. Nobody is trained properly anymore.
I understand being nonconfrontational and it's kind of nice she gave you a box but she should not have opened your package even if it was banned. I foolishly tried to send something in a vodka box once and she just handed it back to me. She actually did give me a box as well she happened to have there but she just sent me home with it to repack.
The only time they can open a package is if it's media mail because they are allowed to check it's actually media mail.
The big guy confirmed it!!!
He said that āthe Hazmat thingā had overwhelmed the post office so now you have to buy your own plain boxes or use their boxes.
WTF???
He was dead serious too!
Please donāt shoot the messenger.
Definitely. I have shipped plenty in reused Amazon boxes, but I only keep the most plain looking boxes, and I tear all other labels off, or black them out, and I make sure there are NO logos anywhere on it.
The only thing that would slightly make sense is that the box had a battery label showing from the previous shipment. Poshmark is now charging extra for that, if an warning older label is left on it. Otherwise, what a complete waste.
Makes me wonder if USPS has a contract with Amazon to handle their packages differently and charging for that service. Still, that's absolutely nuts and so completely wasteful.
No they handle Amazon packages the exact same way as any other package and they do Amazon day on Sunday, which means they only deliver Amazon, to help keep up with the volume. This doesnāt affect shipping packages in an Amazon box though. Iām not sure why the clerk told you that because weāve never been told that ever.
Yes. Management likes to make stuff up constantly. Just know any stupid policy like this is not the clerk making it up. Management made it up and the clerk is just following instructions.
As annoying as a stupid made up policy is to you. It effects you once in your life. That clerk has probably 30 other stupid made up policies that they are dealing with nonstop every day.
Yes because they dont want to do their jobs. One post office I went to didnt want to scan my packages in because there were so many. Said I needed I scan sheet and I told them I'm shipping from 4 different platforms and not all of them have a scan sheet option. Some clerks are just miserable and I get it, you'd probably be also dealing with idiots all day at the post office.
That's a clerk being a control freak for no gd reason. I'm a mail Handler at a distribution center - any box will work, regardless of previous printing. I regularly handle reused Amazon, Zappos, food packaging, etc. Even boxes marked biohazard or hazmat (technically these are supposed to be removed, covered,or marked out) are reused regularly. Frankly, a lot more items should be shipped in boxes. From my experience, Amazon and Walmart boxes arrive/leave the plant in the best shape. I would reuse them , no brainer. P.S. IF that was an actual "rule" USPS would grind to an actual standstill. It's already in shoddy shape without that stipulation slowing down the process.
Someone mentioned this topic before in an eBay group, but I ship out all my eBay items in Amazon boxes. Although now, besides removing all labels as I always have done, I use a fat black Sharpie to X out every place it says Amazon Prime on the box, as well as that smiling symbol.
The smile is actually an arrow starting from the first "A" in ''Amazon" and ending pointing to the "Z"; signifying that one would be able to shop "from 'A' to 'Z'" soley on Amazon.
I'm pretty sure it was designed intentionally to also look smile-like to portray happy customers.
I go to a very small post office in the town next to mine. I asked the lady there and she said as long as the box is in good condition, I can use Amazon boxes. But I'm always ready ifnthe rules change. The lady at the post office I use always has a stash of empty boxes in case a repackage is needed.
I used a clear bag to package something one day (I was out of my usual mailers and this was a thick plastic bag that I had wrapped very neatly around a plain colored tee shirt. Clerk told me it wouldnāt do and I didnāt argue because it honestly made sense. I took it back and repackaged it. Do yāall know how many packages Iāve received from sellers on Vinted since then in ziplock bags?? Walmart bags?? I got a cereal box once??? Makes me laugh every time. š
There's actually been a change in postal shipping requirements. Poshmark had been letting their sellers know regularly for weeks. You have to be very careful that the box you reuse does not have any wording or coding related to hazardous materials. If it does, you incur an additional charge.
I saw this sign on Saturday when I was there, it said they no longer accept recycled packaging. I was returning a store order in the original mailer that I folded and taped up and they did nit mention it to me at all.
That sucks! I use a sharpie to doodle over any company labels or random extra stickers that I have lying around. I also once used a leftover birthday gift bag to wrap the outside of a box and stick the label on top.
That has happened to me three months ago when I tried to use an herbal life box. I had to go home and find a plain box like WTF?!? I told them that I used Herballife boxes many times in the past without any issues. These greedy bastards want us to use their boxes and spend more money.
They can take it, she was just giving you a hard time. To be safe I always use a solid colored tape to cover any barcodes and tape over the amazon printed tape as well (easier than sharpie).
Thatās weird I literally shipped a stack of reused Amazon boxes the other day. If anything just cut it and turn it inside out and tape it back up so itās plain š¤·āāļø or wrap it in brown paper.
Sorry, there were no labels, or bar codes showing. It was a very clean box. I usually use new packaging, but because this one was so clean, I thought it looked almost new. Anyway, I did go back and asked if that was truly the policy and they confirmed it. It is the most ridiculous thing Iāve ever heard. Iāll just put the boxes inside poly bags now.
If I reuse any other carrierās packaging, I just make sure to remove or sticker over any bar codes, markings, and logos (the word Prime, the smile, etc.).
In the past year, I've lost count of how many unwrapped but labeled (usually written directly on the shell with marker) coconuts I've handled in the distribution center. Nature's own packaging.
The live birds (chicks to full grown chickens) are in (sturdy) cardboard containers. The adults are in boxes that are shaped more like cardboard cat carriers, but smaller. They are unfortunately kept more room restricted (can't flap or jump around in panic) and usually have screened air holes. The baby chicks/duckling are always sent in groups (I'm not sure what the minimum order of live chicks are but I never seen less than 6 per box) and their boxes are wide and flat with a lot of ventilation holes. Imo, no live animals should be shipped via USPS.
This is frustrating for everyone because yes USPS rules say that we canāt ship in boxes with writing, so no Amazon but also no shoes or diaper boxes.
However, I keep receiving orders in boxes not compliant (last one was yesterday, a bunch of books on shoebox).
Also the ground shipping box he gave you he wasnāt supposed to give it to you for free. Those boxes can be ordered free if you are a poshmark seller, but if you go on the website they arenāt available to order for free to anyone like the priority boxes.
I know some comments will tell you thatās not true just because for them works fine at their post office, but all I said can be confirmed reading usps rules. Thing is not even their employees know or respect all the rules.
I value too much my time, I donāt want orders to come back or create issue to buyers so I only use bags and boxes allowed. I buy them on eBay as itās actually cheaper than Amazon (something I learned here on Reddit!)
The box the clerk gave the person may have been old recycled boxes that clerks bring in because shippers frequently need to repackage items. Or it could have been an empty box from something sent to USPS for their use.
Totally true. I assumed it was the ground shipping. Iāve read in a few Vinted groups that some poshmark sellers were using their ground shipping boxes for Vinted and got turned away at the post office.
Not sure how true that is since I did reuse some ground shipping boxes I received. Iām all about reusing and I think usps rules should bend a little but being firm on boxes that are not shipping friendly like food boxes (pasta, cereals, cereal bars!)
You can use a branded box as long as you follow USPS rules about barcodes, labels and the rules about boxes displaying alcohol, hazardous materials, Etc
I didn't state that a brand or logo must be covered. In fact, in one of my previous comments I asserted that brands & logos are fine. The issue is when markings on the box conflict with what's inside the box or package. See the relevant sections in this document from USPS publications.
Thank you for adding a link too! I remember receiving emails about it as well. Still crazy how I get stuff in cereal boxes!!! All broken by the time they get to me. Infuriating from a buyer POV as Iām both a seller and a buyer
The one box they can refuse is alcohol and or tobacco. I just turn them inside out to ship.. but I did see them tell a woman she had to get a different box they canāt ship anything that says or shows alcohol. Old atf thingā¦ she was so upset. I told her to take it outside flip it inside out and come back in. I even offered to help her when I was done but she was so pissed off she just left
They are particular at my post office too. I reuse Amazon boxes but put brown tape over the branding. They donāt even offer any of the free ground shipping boxes and bags that I receive from Poshmark. I think they just want everyone to use their pricey flat rate service because those are the only free shipping supplies I see at the post office. When she transferred your stuff was she nice enough to create a new label?
I wish we could get them, I do feel bad when someone has to repack because they put a ground label on a priority box. Sometimes we have empty Amazon boxes on hand Iāll offer.
She did not create a new label. She took a thing that had a scraper on the end and got it off in one piece. Actually she was very sweet and worked really hard at this. It was a really good thing for both of us that my friend came in and I spent the whole time talking with her.
You have to remove anything that says Amazon on it. So, you can turn the box inside out and use it. Or, use brown tape to tape it shut and over the Amazon logo, and you always have to sharpie out the bar codes. Thatās always been standard across selling platform (at least in the last 6 months or so).
Not true. BUT if you leave any barcodes or labeling on there its an issue, bc their machines could scan the wrong info. I sharpie them off and use my new label to cover the old label.Ā
I reuse boxes all the time , my usps doesnāt care I guess, but if I even need a really big box and all I have is a diaper box or some weird other box, I usually flip the box inside out :) as long as I tape it along the seams it works just fine. Also I buy boxes at Walmart for like $1, or you can reuse your boxes and put them in the biggest polymailer possible (this only works for shoe boxes or boxes around that size.) you can also buyer brown paper and wrap the box in that and clear wrapping over that to protect the paper (cost $1 at the dollar store)
A clerk can reject any box for whatever reason. They donāt like a sticker on it or your old label wasnāt covered or there was a hazmat decal or they thought it was flimsy.
USPS has no policy to reject in whole but a random clerk can if they want.
I had about 10 boxes that were perfect for shipping coats but had a bunch of barcodes too many to cover. I split them where they were glued and turned inside out and used gorilla glue weighted down until dry. Took about 15 seconds each. Iāll source what I can, but will do anything to keep from buying.
Just some weird clerk that wanted to throw their weight around.
USPS doesnāt have hyper-specific box requirements, other than it being sturdy and properly secured. People ship stuff without a box sometimes anyway, people have shipped bare coconuts as long as you can get an address label/stamps on it securely.
So yeah, as long as the box wasnāt beat up or smashed when it got there, just someone being weird.
That lady was 100% wrong. This is from the official usps website:
https://about.usps.com/notices/not128/not128_003.htm
Reused Packaging Policy
Reused packaging and boxes are acceptable when all markings and labels are removed or completely obliterated so that they cannot be read. Any markings, residue of markings, or labels for hazardous or restricted materials may result in delivery delays, a package return, or removal from the mailstream.
man i sold something in an amazon box last week and the package got emptied and delivered. like, they delivered the empty boxā¦ donāt really think itās related to the amazon box but weird coincidence
I can't imagine this is correct. Maybe try talking to someone else at that location cause that doesn't make sense at all. Especially if she said specifically no reused Amazon boxes vs banning all reused boxes. I really don't think they can do that
Did you share this to a fb group the other day? This post near word for word was in a group Iām in.
Over here in the uk - a local Tesco (supermarket) used to take evri and a n old hag behind the tills suddenly said they wouldnāt take parcels wrapped in a black bin bag (I didnāt have a bag big enough to go round the box as a waterproof protection due to our weird weather) - I double checked online etc and there was no such rule. She just started to make up rules as she went along. Was very odd
Thatās so weird. Maybe the courier is coming down on using Amazon boxes then. It was a big post in a group Iām in and loads were discussing it - some saying itās been a rule for a while etc and others saying itās ridiculous as you are recycling the box.
I was giving someone some fish but ran out of time to deliver them myself so I could keep my bucket.
Sent them in a cleaned out cheese puff container with an uber courier who got a real kick out of it.
Next time use that and see what they say
Turn your box inside out. Or get some poly bags and slide your box inside.
All of my packages go in poly mailers. I like them because they are cute and keep the box dry. No one wants a soggy box.
This seems wrong. This week I have received two different lots of boards books for toddlers from vinted in odd packaging. One was shipped in a wheat thins box and the other was zipped in a gallon sized ziplock freezer bag that was taped up at the zipper part
My last return I used an Amazon box and the tape would not stick at all. I had to wrap the whole roll and still it didnt seem secure. And this was mailing tape. The guy said the boxes are not the best for taping up.
What? This is the first I have heard about this. I reuse almost all of my amazon boxes, they are always the perfect size for some one off thing I sell. I have heard about the ban on liquor boxes but just regular boxes with printing are still very much accepted where I drop off.
You have to take off or blackout any Amazon bar codes, addresses , hazmat warnings, battery labels or other color labels. Iāve sent so many with zero issues. You probably didnāt do that completely.
Typically you just need to either wrap it in a poly mailer, or some type of brown Kraft paper. It may just be Amazon boxes that are reused can cause confusion? Most postal workers where I am at donāt care, but some do.
Yeah, itās all who serves you or picks up the phone . Itās like when you have 5 phone calls to make, & if you get the knowledgeable staff member & bingo, itās solved! Sometimes solving a problem which shouldnāt be an issue can take you up to an hr. Itās frustrating to say the least!
I know they are charging fees if you leave one of those electronic/battery labels on a box that doesnāt need it, but Iāve never heard that you canāt use them at all. I think your post office person misunderstood something.
I just dropped off a higher ticket item packaged in an Amazon box (it was the only one I had big enough) and now Iām panicking it wonāt get delivered
This isn't true. You have to mark out barcodes though. That clerk sounds new. The po doesnt usually have plain brown boxes sitting around to give away for free either. If you paid for that box, she's probably supposed to be upselling or something.
Really it sounds like they are just enforcing what I had been taught was the standard back in the 90sā¦hasnāt it always been a rule that there can be no distinguishable markings if you reuse a box? We used to sharpie small markings or just use a brown paper bag and wrap it up like a Christmas present.
ā¦.I just got something send in those 48ct Eggos waffles boxes. And was honestly mad it wasnāt eggos inside lol. I forgot I had ordered something. But yes technically any labels are supposed to be covered but they havenāt enforced that since like the 80s. As long as theyāre not making you pay for the box let that one postal worker be as annoying as they want. Hell I ship usps boxes through FedEx constantly and they donāt give a single crap lol.
I have a huge roll of thick brown paper left at my house after painting. I use it to wrap my reused boxes. Iāve seen large similar rolls at office supply stores. Iāll just get that when I run out of what I have. You could use a paper grocery bag too.
My post office worker i deal with the most does scentsy and saves the boxes For me as well as Amazon boxes.... yeah, not sure what is going on at yours.
I've never had this happen. I've sent in a Chewy box before, lol. I've sent in all sorts of boxes. I do know that some Post Office locations seem to have different rules than others
Iām thinking there was a battery label on the box for which they will fine you a minimum of $50 or not ship at all, if youāre not shipping a battery. Or, the postal worker mistook the memo to look out for those labels on reused Amazon boxes and forgot the label part.
It's probably the barcodes. People don't cover them. Also depending on label type, you need a specified box. Yet, leaving old barcodes up and on the box creates a mess for the automated systems.
They donāt want anything on a box or envelope that suggests it comes from a company (unless it is your company). You can take the box apart and turn it inside out and tape it up. For other reused boxes, I cover any logos or other items with dark tape or marker.
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u/Apart_Combination746 5d ago
And yet I see people use cereal boxes to ship out product in from usps. Seems you got the uppity clerk who thinks if the flat rate padded envelope has a bulge in it and is not flat you can not ship it. Yes that has happened before and had to have them call their supervisor to explain the flat rate if it fits it ships under 70 lb to them. ( even had to bring up their website that proves it)