Is it illegal to reuse an old USPS box?

Question

I was in a rush and I saved an old USPS box that was used several times. I cut it down to protect a few breakable items and put everything in one larger box.

Several items and a smaller box inside to protect glass.

It was returned back to me because they open the larger box and found the old USPS box protecting the cup inside.

How is this wrong? I mean it's not like it was inside out. It was an old piece of cardboard use to protect smaller items. The box used itself was a plain brown box.

Is it okay for them to open a REG box and find a cup being protected in a USPS box?

Am i in trouble now? Doesn't matter I'll use a different carrier. Kind of Angry now, have to pay more to ship it again.

Answer 1

Parcel Post is subject to Postal Inspection. You consent to the inspection when you use the rate. So, yes, your package may be inspected for eligibility.

You may reuse an old USPS Priority Mail box for as long as it remains serviceable. BUT, you may only use that box for shipping by Priority Mail, as you have found out.

If you remove the Priority material and use a different cushioning material, you can resend your package through USPS without paying any more postage, unless the weight changes significantly.

If you choose a different carrier because you're mad, you will lose what you already paid USPS. You made a mistake. You may not have been aware of the regulations, but it is not right to get angry at your Post Office because they were doing their job and caught your mistake.

Would it have been better if they would have marked up the package "Postage Due" to the required Priority Mail rate of postage and charged the addressee for your error?

That would have probably made you mad as well. Technically, that is exactly what should have happened. You were done a favor by having it returned to you instead. Better to just have you mad and not you and the recipient.

Follow the rules and regulations for shipping with USPS and you won't have problems.

Answer 2

Thats very unusual...  I have reused old USPS boxes before, and just scratched out the old label with a magic marker, and I never had any problem.  Did they tell you that was the reason specifically that it was returned?