📬  USPS Warns Not To Use Their Blue Mailboxes (KFI AM 640) (2024)

FAQs

Why is the USPS saying not to use their blue mailboxes? ›

The agency stated, "The biggest variable enticing these criminals to steal are customers depositing mail into blue collection boxes after the last collection of the day or during Sundays and federal holidays."

📬 USPS Warns Not To Use Their Blue Mailboxes (KFI AM 640)

By Dave Basner. Mar 1, 2024. It has long been known that BAD people sometimes steal mail - from the USPS Blue Drop boxes but also from your own mailbox.

However, a press release from USPS says the removal of the boxes was made in an effort to reduce mail theft and mail fraud – as well as protect employees.

How Often Do USPS Drop Boxes Get Emptied? Every active USPS blue box is emptied daily. A USPS employee must scan the barcode inside the USPS drop-off location to confirm this pickup no later than 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Saturday collections vary depending on the average volume of parcels in that specific drop box.

There are a few limits on what you can and can't drop in the blue USPS collection mailboxes. For example, you can put any first-class or certified mail letter or card in these boxes. However, the first-class letter can't weigh more than 3.5 ounces. If you have a smaller package, you can put that in the box as well.

Standard Collection Box Receptacle (Blue Box)

A blue painted street box with the USPS® logo used by the public to deposit mail.

READ MORE: Post office reveals stamps for 2024

“In specific locations where a blue box is a repeated crime target and/or mail density is very low, collection boxes may have to be removed entirely when access is not meaningfully diminished due to nearby access points,” USPS said in a statement.

Fundamentally, mailbox ownership comes down to recognizing that, although the USPS determines particular standards and regulations for mailboxes, the physical mailbox itself is owned by the homeowner or property owner.

To get your free USPS shipping supplies, you can order them online through Stamps.com or pick them up from Post Offices nationwide. The post office will allow you to order up to 500 of its shipping boxes or labels free of charge. Minimum orders for most products vary from one to 10 items.

If the package is not classified as Priority Mail Express™ service (domestic or international), Priority Mail® service, First–Class Package Service™, or an international letter package, it may be opened and its contents examined.

Will USPS pick up a box from my mailbox? ›

Your carrier can pick up your shipment for free during your regular mail delivery.* You can also schedule a pickup at a specific time with our Pickup On Demand premium paid service.

In 1934, during the Great Depression, Congress passed a law prohibiting anyone from getting their hands on mailboxes — except for the postal service and the customer to whom it delivered the mail. The law, which aims to crack down on people who save on shipping costs, has been in place ever since.

To prevent this crime, USPS said its been replacing mailboxes that pull open with mailboxes that only have a half-inch opening, making it harder for criminals to pull mail out. “There's a lot of identity theft going around and that's probably what they're looking for now too.

The court ruled that the blue mailbox design was unmistakably and uniquely associated with the United States Postal Service. In addition, the establishment of the postal service holds trademark rights for this design.

The Eagle logo, the Letter Carrier Uniform, the trade dress of USPS Priority Mail ^® and Express Mail ^® Shipping boxes and envelopes and the trade dress of the Blue, Round-Top Collection Box are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service ^®.