MesquiteMan
Retired Head Moderator
Last weekend there was a pretty heated debate here about the legality of using the priority mail box inside of a Flat Rate priority mail envelope. Some posters said it was illegal to use the PM boxes inside the envelope and others said it was not. No one had a definitive answer. I decided to contact the USPS direct to get clarification on the issue. The question below was originally posted at https://hdusps.esecurecare.net/cgi-bin/hdusps.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=y5Hklkni&xssl=1 which is the USPS main website question and answer section. Here is the exchange between myself and one of their customer service reps. My questions are in red and her answer is in blue:
As I mentioned in the last fight thread on this issue, I had contacted my local postmaster as Karee suggest in this message and they said it was not a problem at all. A certain poster insisted that my local postmaster was wrong and that the postmaster general would have something different to say. I would say this is about as close to getting an answer from the PM General as you can get without directly trying to contact them.
This is being posted in the spirit of sharing information. I was a proponet of the practice but decided I really wanted to know for sure. I had planned to post their response one way or another. So please, if you were on the other side of the debate, don't think of this as a "I told you so" post. It is not intended to be that way.
Customer (Curtis Seebeck) - 11/19/2006 12:42 PM
Is it legal to take a 0-1096-LARGE box and insert it into a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope in order to get the flat rate price? This assumes that all of the guidelines for Flat Rate Priority Mail envelopes are followed. Thank you
Response (Karee R) - 11/22/2006 12:24 AM
Dear Curtis Seebeck,
Thank you for contacting us about shipping a free box in a Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope.
As long as all items fit correctly in the envelope, we do not restrict a package being placed in the envelope.
If I can be of assistance to you in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you for choosing the United States Postal Service®.
Regards,
Karee R
Customer (Curtis Seebeck) - 11/22/2006 08:41 AM Karee,
Thank you for your reply to the question below. I could use a little more clarification, please. I want to be sure that using the 0-1096-LARGE box inside of the envelope is not misuse of the 0-1096-LARGE box. There has been discussion among some of my colleagues that this would be misuse, therefore against the law. Thank you for any further clarification you can give on this matter.
Response (Karee R) - 11/22/2006 12:17 PM Dear Curtis Seebeck,
Thank you for your reply.
According to our information, free shipping supplies can be used in anyway you see fit. You can contact your local Post Office to discuss this further. For the ZIP Code 78666, you can call:
SAN MARCOS MAIN OFFICE
301 N GUADALUPE ST
SAN MARCOS, TX 78666
512-392-3451
Monday - Saturday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
If I can be of assistance to you in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you for choosing the United States Postal Service®.
Regards,
Karee R
As I mentioned in the last fight thread on this issue, I had contacted my local postmaster as Karee suggest in this message and they said it was not a problem at all. A certain poster insisted that my local postmaster was wrong and that the postmaster general would have something different to say. I would say this is about as close to getting an answer from the PM General as you can get without directly trying to contact them.
This is being posted in the spirit of sharing information. I was a proponet of the practice but decided I really wanted to know for sure. I had planned to post their response one way or another. So please, if you were on the other side of the debate, don't think of this as a "I told you so" post. It is not intended to be that way.