Catch 22:
My local USPS office won't accept "old" dates on online shipping labels.
Paypal/ebay's contract with USPS only allows for refunds with 48 hours of generating the label.

That means if you print a label and don't make it to the post office within 48 hours, you have paid for shipping that won't be accepted.

The supervisor at the post office had no sense that this was bad for the customer and offered no sympathy nor possible way to resolve the issue. She was perfectly happy to let me walk away PO'd (pun intended!)

Paypal did give me a refund on one of the packages, but I had to eat the shipping on the other one.

cheers,
dug

Sorry but I claim You paid for the shipping you can ship it, you just can't get a refund from paypal for the cost of the shipping label after 48 hrs.

If you have a drop box at PO and the package fits just put it in there. I have never had an issue doing it that way.

Use USPS ClickNShip instead. You can void a label and get a refund.

Agreed-- I ship a ship load with the post office and I have sent packages that were weeks old. Just give it to your carrier and do not say anything.

jonathan
hwgunner

I'm not around when my carrier comes by and one of these packages was heading for Canada which requires that they look at the customs docs at the post office. I shouldn't have to figure out a work-around to get my stuff shipped.

There's an entire thread on this blog about how they changed the policy. The worst part is that the online system let's you generate a label with today's date, after the post office is closed.
http://blog.jseaber.com/2010/06/13/usps-cr...-postage-dates/

The worst part is the postal employees are motivated to enforce the policy because they are scored on their delivery time.

Try a different branch of the post office. I am going to have to ask my carrier tomorrow. And i do not think they can do that, legally. you can not sell a service and then say you cant use it within 24 hours. and the timing issue is BS because they are timed from the time the package is dropped off not the time the label was created. Proof of this is if you tracked the package right now. it would say:

You entered: 9101785091401311324721

Your Item's Status The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on October 27, 2011 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

Now this is not an international package but it does not matter. I have seen it a thousand times.

Talk to the post master, not the person at the counter. Call customer service for the USPS also. 1-800-ASK-USPS® (800-275-8777)

jonathan
hwgunner

I just wanted to add that for any domestic package that is over 1lb I usually ship with FedEx. I'm not a high volume shipper (2-5 items a week) so making up a FedEx shipping label instead of using the paypal shipping is not a major task. Not saying they don't have their issues also, but at least you get better detailed shipping tracking and usually I find their prices the same as or even better than USPS.