<p>My friend told me about this and it worked great - </p>
<p>At the post office’s web site (usps.gov) you can order Priority Mail (or Express Mail) boxes free - to be delivered free to your house. The minimum shipment is 25 boxes (ought to last 4 years!). You can also order any labels, tape, etc that you need. I “bought” the 12" X 12" X 8" boxes. Of course, you are supposed to only use them for mailing.</p>
<p>I had a question about mailing
a friends daughter is applying to Bard- which only has a PO box
So she can’t send her application fed ex or UPS- as they dont have a street address- does anyone know if this is also true to mail shipments to students?
( our local post office also has boxes available 24/7 the lobby of post office is open those hours to access mail slots and PO boxes as well- makes it pretty convienent)</p>
<p>My hint is I picked up from the post office (walk back to Ds bedroom to get the official name) Priority Mail envelopes. One of those envelopes you can put as much as you want in and it costs a flat fee.</p>
<p>I spend the month throwing in magazines that come here, dance catalogs, bank statements (she checks everything on line), funny comics, newspaper article, and anything else of interest. Then at the end of the month, I buy one of those $3.85 stamps and mail the entire thing to her.</p>
<p>My second hit is at the beginning of the school year, we printed up labels with her address on them. If a letter comes that must be forwarded quickly, we stick on a label & stamp and throw it back in the mail. We also have big labels for packages and large envelopes. Just makes it all a whole lot easier!</p>
<p>emeraldkity:
Like most college kids, my son only has a PO box, but he always gets the packages I send him. I’m sure that the local post office knows there is a package desk. I always mail U.S. Priority Mail though.</p>
<p>Thanks I was just wondering
D school has an address, so I am able to bypass the post office and hit up the sip and ship which keeps my addresses on file so I don’t even have to print out a label and serves me coffee.
I love not having to wait in line- I hate lines
although I notice that the post office now has an automatic scale which will give you a barcode for shipping and a package drop that is open all night if your package will fit.
( they also have free wireless so I hang out there a lot)</p>
<p>The USPS box is $7.70 for all-you-can-stuff-inside and works out a bit better than the flat rate envelope. It is also a LOT more solid. However, you HAVE to use the specific box that says FLAT RATE. If you use the standard -exactly the same but without the right text- you’ll have to pay more. </p>
<p>One last thing, If you use the flat rate envelopes with a STAMP, you’ll have to go inside the post office or the envelope will be returned for security reasons. If you use the click and ship labels, you can drop it in any mail box. </p>
<p>One last thing, FedEx has great plastic envelopes that have bubble wrapping. I guess you are not supposed to put a FedEx envelope inside a USPS box, but I find the combination wonderful to ship heavy documents, books, and papers. I always check Fedex Ground rates but USPS flat rate box or envelope is usually cheaper. FWIW, UPS stores are plain bandits!</p>
<p>I use that machine at the post office and it is super convenient. </p>
<p>The flat rate parcel comes out to more than I usually spend - so watch that. It’s a tough one to call though, because unless you have a postal scale at home (which I do) you don’t know if the flat rate is cheaper until you weigh it at the post office - but at that point you already have it all wrapped up in a non-flat rate parcel! </p>