Amazon package in my mail box; not USPS — illegal?

Factual Questions
62

Considering that the USPS has actually signed a contract with Amazon to do these deliveries, I can’t help but wonder how this is still an issue 60 posts into this thread.

63

To be fair, having a law to prohibit people from using mailboxes for general delivery/storage makes perfect sense. Otherwise, mail carriers might have to spend time sorting through a mess of materials, some of which are meant as outgoing mail, some of which are really just self-help deliveries, making for a more complicated process more often (understanding of course that people don’t always pick up the mail every day).

My sole issue with the law is that it is poorly written, with extraneous clauses that seem to admit very different readings.

64

At this point I don’t think anyone is arguing about that.

What’s left to bicker about (there’s always something left to bicker about :wink: ) is

  1. Was the OP’s last-mile delivery actually performed by USPS contracted on Amazon’s behalf, or was it a rogue Amazon worker or contractor who illegally stuffed it into the OP’s USPS mailbox?

  2. What are the laws on who can put what into which USPS boxes? Do we here understand them correctly? And are they well-written and relevant to the current world?

  3. And the ever popular “If I was King we’d do it this way!” “Well no, that’s silly. If instead I was King we’d do it that way! Neener neener.”

65

And if the thread goes long enough into #3 after #s 1 and 2 are addressed, it might get relocated into MPSIMS or IMHO. At least, that’s my observation about these kinds of FQs.

66

Amazon customers, if an Amazon subcontractor put the package in the mailbox, may find that their postal carrier took the package, and then requires postage to reclaim it. And the Amazon subcontractor may find that they get in a bit of trouble at Amazon for breaking the law.

67

Oh dear I’ve created a zombie. I apologize, I didn’t notice the it was from a month ago.

68

Hey! I’m supposed to the the necromancer around here… :crazy_face:

69

Both the crowd here and the management are much, much less fussy about zombies than a few years ago. A month old is still fully warm, even still breathing a bit. Far from dead.

Bottom line: Don’t sweat it. :slight_smile:

70

To be fair we never resolved your point #3 which would clearly involve package cannons and lots and lots of flypaper.