Shipping materials

[claireshaeffer]

I started to post this for members only, but it is really an issue for all.

I purchased a dress last week. It was shipped in a Priority Mail box. The dress inside was packaged in a Priority Mail envelope and 2 additional envelopes (new) were stuffed inside. No wonder the USPS is losing money.

Another dress from a VFG member came in a Priority Mail box neatly wrapped in tissue paper inside.
Thank you.

The second package was a newer box and more difficult to open which also makes it more difficult to reuse. I recognize and understand why most dealers don't reuse boxes, but I try to recycle them.

Thanks for reading my vent. Claire

 

[foofoogal]

Amazing how things come isn't it. One time I bought a piece of glass from the bay.
It came in w/o a single shred of anything. Just a glass in a box. I still am stunned how it did not break.
I love tissue paper.

 

[MagsRags]

I agree with you, Claire, about the shadiness (and laziness) of using free USPS supplies in lieu of normal packing materials. I put those sellers on my do-not-buy-from list. I consider the cost of bulk tissue paper and clear plastic bags for packing inside the Priority envelope or box to be part of my cost of doing business.

 

[Luna Junction]

Hey, don't forget newspaper for items other than clothing. It still works as packing material if you use a lot of it. (Of course, it would not be good for pieces where the newsprint would rub off....)
...and YES, it makes me fume when I get wasted post office supplies in my parcels. I miss the Priority tape big time, but I understand completely why they don't offer it anymore.

 

[jauntyrooster]

What many sellers don't realize is that it is actually against the law to use USPS free supplies for anything other than their intended purpose. If you order supplies online, you must agree to use them for their intended purpose before you can process your order. I too will not re-order from a seller who sends me a box full of supplies stolen from the USPS. It costs all of us money in the long run.

 

[furwise]

Many complain about the raises in postal rate increases however many don't realize that part of those rate increases are due to free packaging being used for purposes intended for. If USPS provides free shipping packaging and that packaging is not used as offered USPS is out the cost of packaging and the payment for the service that package was supposed to be used for. Down the road just like any business USPS has to make up for the loss and we have to pay for it in order to keep them up and running.

As for items being neatly wrapped in tissue paper. I greatly appreciate special touches to make my items look pretty when I open them. Some items are too big to wrap in tissue and even if they aren't it is just important to me that my items are protected from getting wet during transit by being bagged in plastic and being packed in properly sized packaging.

I am unable to use boxes that have excessive writing on them, dings in them, or are otherwise damaged by having to rip the boxes after trying to pull the over abundance of tape off but I love recycling good clean boxes and it hurts when I see a one being thrown away.

There have been times when I thought it was the goal of the seller to prevent me from being able to open their packages but I have always worked up the sweat needed to get those packages open.

 

[joules]

The thing that infuriates me, is seeing people enter the post office, help themselves to the Ready Post boxes, envelopes and so forth, and then walk out without paying. You know, these are the items clearly marked, and arranged with prices.
I've been known to politely let people know that these things are not free, but it's probably not a good idea to speak to them, as I've at times encountered hostility.

I see this happening frequently, and I'm convinced that they're helping themselves to moving and shipping supplies, by stealing the brand new boxes and so forth. Bad karma.

 

[claireshaeffer]

Plastic grocery bags--Palm Springs is eliminating them 1 April. You can buy paper sacks for 10 cents. Charlie uses cloth and insulated bags for shopping so all of a sudden I realized that we no longer have a source for any garbage bags--we use one/day. We use small newspaper bags for dog- pick-up and have a surplus of large newspaper bags because they don't fit on the garbage can. I may send an SOS for grocery bags if my trusted friends and relatives can't save enough for me. If I buy something from you, please wrap it and stuff the box with clean grocery bags.

Yesterday we cleaned out the box house; it used to house the pool equipment which is now outside. We had a mountain of boxes to recycle; they won't all fit this week so we have a start for next week. I saved all boxes that are the right size for catalogs and envelopes--anything I don't shred because I don't put anything lose into the recycle bin.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

I may send an SOS for grocery bags if my trusted friends and relatives can't save enough for me. If I buy something from you, please wrap it and stuff the box with clean grocery bags.

Claire,

I tell folks the same thing, to pack my things in plastic grocery bags, as our city has eliminated them here as of last summer. LA County is going the same way this year. I use the bags for "icky" trash as well. So if you buy from me you won't get any of my plastic bags!!!

 

[Midge]

I have shelves full of empty boxes in my basement compartment - I keep any that look remotely reusable. I reuse any packing material that's clean and can be reused. No "free" supplies at our post offices... (and yes it's too bad if people just use it - hasn't happened with anything I have received so far, but I understand it's off-putting!). I shop using fabric shopping bags and buy the big paper ones occasionally if it doesn't work any other way. If I do get a plastic shopping bag, I keep them all and use them to pack clothing in that I send out, to protect it from water etc. - and I also take them to the fleamarket - there are always customers there who need a bag for their purchases. Those little plastic grocery bags are on the way out here soon too. I uses any I get for small trash bins around the house, like in the bathroom.