I'm a postmaster of a one person office, and it is confusing to me too!! I reinforce all priority packages because I don't trust the self-seals. In my very dry climate, the sticky dries out, so I tape every closure. If I read my emails correctly, the newer Priority packages (and the padded ones) are only available to business customers, and they have to order them. As a office, I've not yet seen any. Soo, it's understandable that the substitute clerks might not even know about them. The closures on the Priority flat rate envelopes do HAVE to close, but can be reinforced with tape. Please have some sympathy for the P.O. workers - they are indeed making us cut back on all positions, and it means many offices are way understaffed, and there's nothing we can do about it. If someone retires or leaves for any reason, we are not allowed to fill the position. We are expected to do more with less bodies, and little training is given to the "subs" Believe me, we are trying very hard to give good customer service. The flat rate Priority is a good deal.