I hope this makes sense.  I'm wondering if you can post date a "mail by" printed postage label from home but mail it sooner than the date that prints on the label?  I'm always afraid to use the mail by 2 days option if I don't go out the day I think I will and get it mailed so I usually pick  the later date on the mail by date option.  Once I was a few days late in mailing out a book that I picked for a 2 day option.  When I took it into the post office to mail, they refused it and I had to buy another postage for it because it was out of date. 

They should have been able to put a 0:00 metered strip on it to update the date. 

Mailing it early shouldn't be a problem. Most likely if it's going into the blue box or the mail drop they won't even notice.  I just mailed 2 books with the printed postage early and in a different state and had no problem. I put them in teh blue box at my MIL's.  I had printed the labels with postage and chosen the deadline date for the games they were for so I could finish reading them on vacation.  I finished both early and mailed them early with no problem.

The postage date is supposed to be good for 48hrs afterwards.

Thank you !!!

yes you can always mail earlier then the postage date just as longs as it mailed by the postage date

in fact its better to do that anyway just case you forgot to mail it one

which happen to me

i had a package i had with printed postage for a Saturday but i totally forgot to mail on Saturday

so i mailed it money but i bought more postage from the APC since the line at the post office was too long

an i have heard sometimes customer have hassles with the clerks when asking for  a zero strip

this time i had printed the postage for  Monday but i mailed it today

Mary and Mark, thank you so much for responding.  I usually use the blue box by the post office b/c my work schedule is usually weird and not during the post office hours unless I can get there during my half hour lunch, then everyone else in town has the same idea lol. 

I've also had a couple of books mailed back to me b/c for some reason they thought I taped over the postage when I didn't, I used preprinted postage from one of the automatic machines they used to have in the post office you could input whatever amount you needed your postage to be (that was before the media mail postage went up and I knew for sure what most books would cost ;-) ).  I always felt bad b/c it took a extra days for the recipient to get their book. 

I've never heard of the metered strips before and had no idea that could be done.  I learn so much on here from all of you!  Thankfully when I've been able to go into the post office, the people are so very nice there. 

Thanks again!!

yes you can always mail earlier then the postage date just as longs as it mailed by the postage date

You can mail it after the postage date as well. At least at the three post offices I deal with you can. I've never had anything sent back to me and it's always been delivered just fine.

yes you can always mail earlier then the postage date just as longs as it mailed by the postage date

You can mail it after the postage date as well. At least at the three post offices I deal with you can. I've never had anything sent back to me and it's always been delivered just fine.

I have had PBS packages put back in my mail box because they were post marked a day late. I just wouldn't take the chance.

"You can mail it after the postage date as well." . . .That's rather a gamble, some PO's don't appear to check and some are rather anal about it :-)

I've mailed after the preprinted date also and it has never been returned to me.  If I find out that I accidentally overlooked a book that should have gone out previously, I go to the business district PO (and there are 3 to choose from) and drop it in that blue box and never had a problem.  They get such a huge volume of business mail that I'm sure they don't check the meter date.  My local PO refuses to put a "00" meter strip so it isn't worth asking. 

the other day I had printed a PBS label on March 4 but i missed my mail carrier so i went to the local post office(on March 5) intending to get  a zero sticker

the clerk just said it was fine with the march 4 date,.,,