Originally Posted by jaciqltznok
as for the international, that clerk was stupid!
The long forms are only for packages that are A- going to a military base, or B- over 4 pounds!
Agree, the clerk was not correctly trained, or was uninformed. The use of the short or long customs forms are spelled out here:
http://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/helppickaform.htm
The 2976 is the short, single-part form, the 2976-A is the long, four-part form with envelope.
Essentially, you only need the long form on the PM flat rate envelope if it weighs over 4 pounds or the value is over 400 USD.
BTW, someone mentioned military shipments. They now have APO/FPO-specific flat rate priority mail boxes that are bigger and cheaper than the regular Priority mail containers. If you're shipping to military addresses you might want to look into those.