All Priority Mail boxes are not created equal

May 11th, 2007 | by mbhunter |

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This was a little silly, but it made me realize that I could save a little bit on shipping once in a while as I fulfill orders in my eBay store.

I had packed up an order for a customer in a Priority Mail® box. I charged the customer for flat-rate shipping and expected to pay flat-rate shipping when I mailed it ($8.10, going up to $8.95 next week). It rang up over $10. When I said that it was a flat-rate box, the postal service worker said that it wasn’t, and pointed to the flat-rate boxes right at my feet.

The only difference between the box I had packed the items in and the ones at my feet were that the flat-rate boxes at my feet had a red emblem that said “Flat Rate Box” on it. The dimensions were exactly the same as the one I had originally packed the items in, but in order to get the flat rate, I needed to pack them in the other box. (See, I told you this was a little silly)

However, what I did find out was that it’s not always cheaper to use the flat rate box. Sometimes the price using the non-flat-rate box will be cheaper than the flat-rate box if the items you’re shipping are light enough and if they’re not going very far.

Good to know. And knowing’s half the battle.

  1. 3 Responses to “All Priority Mail boxes are not created equal”

  2. By ~Dawn on May 12, 2007 | Reply

    No worries Mate, I’ve done the same thing!

  3. By Ben on May 13, 2007 | Reply

    I did the opposite thing for one of my first eBay sales. I put a lightweight item in a flat rate box and was distraught when shipping rang up to $8.95. I won’t make that mistake again :)

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