Why are USPS flat rate boxes free?

[sonambulo]

Seriously, what's the catch? Do I have to ship flat rate with them or can ship priority/first class instead?

It blows my mind that the USPS would be giving out free boxes.

 

[Baked]

'Cause they want you to use their service rather than UPS/Fedex. They're losing a shit ton of money every year and is cutting back on A LOT of jobs. I see mailman delivering mail well into the night now. The other day, I saw 2 mail trucks exchanging goods around 8PM at a street corner. I don't think they're quite finished w/ their delivery for the day yet. That's gotta suck.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Why not?

 

[goog40]

It's built into the cost of postage. Using it for another service is a felony.

 

[abaez]

You have to ship flat rate. And don't think about reversing the boxes as they have the info imprinted on the inside too.

 

[sonambulo]

Really? I have a flat rate box on my desk right now with priority stickers (as opposed to flat rate) all over it.

Lame.

'Cause they want you to use their service rather than UPS/Fedex. They're losing a shit ton of money every year and is cutting back on A LOT of jobs. I see mailman delivering mail well into the night now. The other day, I saw 2 mail trucks exchanging goods around 8PM at a street corner. I don't think they're quite finished w/ their delivery for the day yet. That's gotta suck.

That's shitty. I don't understand why though. I have shipped hundreds of packages via USPS and never had a problem. UPS and Fedex give me problems ~30% of the time I use them.

 

[Baked]

Shipping flat rate is actually not that far off from priority mail especially if you're shipping bricks or something heavy. There's a minimum price for priority mail anyway.

 

[marvdmartian]

Really? I have a flat rate box on my desk right now with priority stickers (as opposed to flat rate) all over it.

Lame.

They actually have similar sized boxes, that are priority mail and flat rate priority mail. The flat rate boxes, however, max out at 12x12x6, whereas their regular priority mail boxes (I believe) max out at 12x12x8.5 dimensions. All their priority mail boxes are free, but finding the non-flat rate boxes can be a chore, since the post office tend to only make finding the flat rate boxes easy.

You can, however, always go to the postal service's website (USPS.com), make an account, and order the boxes online. So long as you're only ordering boxes (or other supplies, i.e.-priority mail stickers [to be used on your own boxes], customs forms, etc), they ship for free. :thumbsup:

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

It's built into the cost of postage. Using it for another service is a felony.

felony? seriously?
i folded it inside out once when i needed a box but didn't want to use USPS.
damn, i'm a felon.

 

[sonambulo]

They actually have similar sized boxes, that are priority mail and flat rate priority mail. The flat rate boxes, however, max out at 12x12x6, whereas their regular priority mail boxes (I believe) max out at 12x12x8.5 dimensions. All their priority mail boxes are free, but finding the non-flat rate boxes can be a chore, since the post office tend to only make finding the flat rate boxes easy.

You can, however, always go to the postal service's website (USPS.com), make an account, and order the boxes online. So long as you're only ordering boxes (or other supplies, i.e.-priority mail stickers [to be used on your own boxes], customs forms, etc), they ship for free. :thumbsup:

This seriously blows my mind. BLOWS MY MIND. I am never crossing out all the nonsense printed on the coffee boxes I get from the supermarket again.

Thanks to all who helped out in this thread!

 

[zokudu]

This seriously blows my mind. BLOWS MY MIND. I am never crossing out all the nonsense printed on the coffee boxes I get from the supermarket again.

Thanks to all who helped out in this thread!

This is a good thing for then USPS right?

 

[feralkid]

It's built into the cost of postage. Using it for another service is a felony.

Last weekend MSNBC aired an inside story on all of the prison overcrowding and the extreme cost to society for housing convicted cardboard box felons.

 

[Soundmanred]

i folded it inside out once when i needed a box but didn't want to use USPS.

That's why they have printing on the inside now, so you can't just turn them inside out.

 

[qliveur]

Shut up and drink the KoolAid.

 

[lord_emperor]

It's a cardboard box. In spite of some places wanting $5-10 for one they're actually really cheap to produce and there are abundant sources of free cardboard boxes everywhere.

 

[JMapleton]

I don't trust the Post Office.....for nothing!

 

[sonambulo]

This is a good thing for then USPS right?

I would certainly hope so :sneaky:

 

[her209]

felony? seriously?
i folded it inside out once when i needed a box but didn't want to use USPS.
damn, i'm a felon.

Yes, you have to agree to use the box for their intended purpose and nothing else when you order them.

 

[SunnyD]

Flat rate boxes are good if you have something REALLY fucking heavy to ship. Otherwise, shipping something under ~5lbs in a box the same size as any given flat rate box usually costs about 30% less.

 

[spamtly]

Postal Service is paying billions for pensions & health care insurance benefit for current and retired employees by Law. Cost of delivery of parcels are actually a profit cross the board in terms of internet sales and junk mail. For every one employee, they are paying for two to three retired ones.

 

[blinblue]

Just got to ship it Priority Mail Flat rate. Their padded envelope flat rate is an excellent product. You can stuff quite a bit inside it, and it's padded, and it's only $4.75 (if bought online, $5 or something like that in stores) to ship anywhere in the US. Usually gets there within a couple days too.

I ship out at least a couple dozen items a month from selling stuff on Amazon.com, and I love when I get stuff that will fit into flat rate envelopes. Especially heavy stuff that would otherwise be $10+ to ship Priority Mail

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Yes, you have to agree to use the box for their intended purpose and nothing else when you order them.

well, it's a good thing i didn't sign any type of agreement when i picked them up at the PO for free.

 

[ElFenix]

well, it's a good thing i didn't sign any type of agreement when i picked them up at the PO for free.

you don't need to sign anything. it's a postal regulation and they're the feds. the boxes are USPS property, not yours.