I had to get a package out yesterday, so I used that as motivation to mail off a whole table full of things I’ve been putting off. Baby presents were threatening to take over my whole studio.
I didn’t have boxes for everything but I was desperate to get it all done at once in the small window of time I had, so I figured I’d just spend a little more and use boxes from the post office. Except the only boxes they have now are the flat rate shipping boxes so I spent 11$ in shipping to send my friend a little baby outfit. Ug. Lesson learned.
From an earlier costly trip to the post office, I learned that if your packages aren’t completely ready to hit the mail, you should never ever ever go without bringing packing tape. And even if you think they are, it’s probably a good idea to bring some just in case. I had a box I had to mail out that had a small tear in one corner and they wouldn’t let me send it, despite the fact that what was inside was another cardboard box holding the items I was mailing. Now I take no chances on the whims of the post office clerk.
So yesterday while I was packing up my expensive boxes, there were four different people who made the packing tape mistake. One started arguing with one of the nice clerks and I got to jump in with my precious packing tape to stop the conflict. Another person was using one of the expensive boxes thinking they’d be self sealing and I got to come to his rescue, and then a sweet dad and daughter needed help too.
I got to feel like the most generous person in the world, for something that was just about the most inconsequential thing in any other circumstance. For something I bought at the dollar store, it sure did make me a hero.
Once upon a time I worked for the Postal Service…the stories I could tell!! (sorry…I got sidetracked)
They're picky about accepting anything that has a tear because someone could claim that it was torn in transit from the mailer to the addressee. Bringing your own $1 packing tape is really smart, as I see you learned. You sometimes need to also have your own permanent marking pen for addressing.
Next time you might ask for a flat rate mylar envelope (instead of a flat rate box). The envelopes mail for around $5 instead of the more expensive boxes. When I order supplies/fabrics/etc from Missouri Star Quilt Company, they use the flat rate mylar envelopes for sending fabric, templates, etc.
I love your blog…it always makes me smile :o)
That makes so much more sense! The clerk in that case seemed concerned about contents spilling and I kept trying to tell her that wouldn't be a problem, but I totally get it now.
It's good you had the tape, both for your sake and for the sake of all the others that you helped. But it's really interesting that you needed it! At my post office (a neighborhood post office in a very large city) the clerks lend you their tape dispenser if there's a lot of taping to do. And if it's just a little bit (like that corner) they will tape it for you. I guess it depends on the management of the individual post office. Mine is really the best.
Several years ago I was working on a banquet for a professional organization, and the RSVP envelopes were printed with an incorrect PO Box number. They didn't have my name on them; they had the name of the organization. We didn't notice the mistake until after mailing the invitations. The staff at the post office figured out the correct box number and every single RSVP (and check!) made it to me.
Wow! You are lucky! You really do have the beat post office ever.