I have been told a zillion times you can not reuse a priority box from the post office.  Yesterday I received a priority box full of books and the person who mailed it has marked through all the places that said priority.  I figured I was going to have to pay what ever the cost would be.  My mail carrier told me as long as the all the priority  words were blacked out it was okay.

Someone please verify this for me.

Your mail carrier is wrong!  Anytime a Priority box or envelope is used the appropriate priority mail postage MUST be applied.  Same thing goes for using Priority mail tape or labels.  Priority postage must be applied.

Either your maill carrier is misinformed - or he/she is being lazy and not doing their job.  Every employee is supposed to be concerned with revenue protection.  Unfortunately, many mail carriers are not given correct information, or just don't care enough to ask.

I was wondering why it was not marked is some way at the post office.  I can understand the carriers not knowing all the rules but someone at the post office should have marked it in some way to let her know.

You are right Bertie - but all employees should know enough about revenue protection to recognize that the package was short paid.  At that point, the package could have been given to either the supervisor or a clerk to actually determine the amount of postage still due on it.

What Cindy said.  Given some of the postage due stories we've heard regarding re-use of Priority Mail packaging, sounds like you totally lucked out that time Bertie.  You may want to let the sender know they are flirting with potential 'postage due' disaster.

Priority Mail packaging is free in the PO lobby, the cost is paid with postage.  So if people are picking them up and merely marking off the printing, USPS is taking the loss (like stealing)...which is one reason they are now marking them inside so they may not be merely turned inside out.  

DD received a package last year from an online purchase.  Inside a large plastic mailing envelope, the seller had used a brand new USPS Priority Mail box (not recycled).  The seller was stealing their mailing supplies from USPS for their own private business use instead of buying their own.  I notified our local post office who said they would check into it.