# First-class U.S. postage back up to 49¢ Sunday **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-class-u-s-postage-back-up-to-49-sunday/777671 "2017-01-20T23:45:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-class-u-s-postage-back-up-to-49-sunday/777671/21 "2017-01-25T03:21:44Z")
The mailbox is actually part of the house, but… [this](https://about.usps.com/news/state-releases/tx/2010/tx_2010_0909.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-class-u-s-postage-back-up-to-49-sunday/777671/22 "2017-01-25T07:34:53Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This seems… odd. Does the USPS actually OWN the mailbox that’s attached to your house? No. You own it, unless it’s one of those neighborhood cluster boxes they make people use in newly-built developments. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Otherwise, how would they have any jurisdiction whatsoever over who places what object in a box attached to your own house? They have jurisdiction because that’s what the law is. Mailboxes are for mail on which postage has been paid, period. You can have _another_ box for things like newspapers, though. The post office also has a legal monopoly on all letters. UPS and FedEx are prohibited from delivering envelopes and the like unless they charge a much higher amount (currently several dollars). > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Or is this a case of a rural delivery box that actually is owned by the post office and not attached to a house? All mailboxes. (The single boxes on posts by the road are not owned by the post office.) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-class-u-s-postage-back-up-to-49-sunday/777671/23 "2017-01-25T08:03:56Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This seems… odd. Does the USPS actually OWN the mailbox that’s attached to your house? Otherwise, how would they have any jurisdiction whatsoever over who places what object in a box attached to your own house? > > Or is this a case of a rural delivery box that actually is owned by the post office and not attached to a house? As noted, you own the box itself but the USPS controls it. That is not a technicality either. You can get into a metric shit-ton of trouble for screwing with other people’s mailboxes. That includes putting unauthorized stuff in them or vandalizing them. “Mailbox baseball” (hitting mailboxes with a baseball bat from a moving car) is somewhat popular with teenagers but it is seriously bad news that can carry a hefty federal charge that includes large fines and/or prison time. I had friends that got caught doing it when I was in high school. They eventually got off but not before it almost bankrupted and broke up their families. Mail fraud is another thing you want to stay far away from. If you want to scam somebody, do it in person because using the mail to do it is a separate but very serious crime. ---
**Author:** ![Hendrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hendrix/32/7327_2.png) [@Hendrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hendrix)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-class-u-s-postage-back-up-to-49-sunday/777671/24 "2017-01-25T15:44:10Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Here, it’s actually illegal to place anything in someone’s mailbox. Apologies,I meant we put them through the letterbox. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-class-u-s-postage-back-up-to-49-sunday/777671.md?page=1)