There is a small flat rate box that costs the same as a flat rate envelope, that you can ship anything that will fit.

My DW does Ebay and know all of the rules

when they came out with flat rate boxes is when the envelopes were for document type stuff. For a while they would still accept the envelopes. It was just a matter of time before they required the boxes. Go to USPS.com and you can order any boxes and supplies free.

Chris a male quilter

Not fair the ad on tv showed the lady mailing gifts in them & the mail man picking them up at her door.

I'm heading down to the post office shortly...and will have a bag full of puffy padded fre's. I'll let you know if they say anything about them.

They've never given me problems before, so I'm hoping it continues that way.

USPS is digging themselves in deeper. Postage is going up again soon. Now they won't stand by their If it fits It Ships program...Poorly run....they will increase FedEx and UPS business for sure...
D in TX

If you're buying your postage online, you're required to ship it from the same zip code as that one shown on the label you print.

If you're going to ship at a neighboring post office, you really need to put their zip code in the "shipped from" spot, or on your return address.

The post office is not required to ship your package unless you have their zipcode as the shipped-from zipcode.

Basically it's because when you buy your postage online, the post office in the shipped-from gets the credit for the revenue for that, so if you show it was purchased in one zip code and ship it from another, it's sorta like you doing a job and someone else getting paid for your work.

I agree...I ordered som eof the tyvek envelopes and they are NOT flat rate...it's by the zone, and by the weight.

I like the padded FREs the best....they are only available online...the post offices will not be carrying them as a regular item. the one carrier I spoke with said they can't order them at work on their government computers, but they can go home and order them (just like us), and then bring them into the post office...doesn't make any sense, but that's the government for you. So some post offices could potentially have them, if the employees order them at home and bring them in.

Tyvek doesn't have a flat rate envelope, that is a usps program.

Um, she was referring to the material that the envelopes are made of, as opposed to the regular FRE's, which are made of cardboard.

Both usps flat rate envelopes are made of cardboard, one has bubble wrap in it. The white tyvek envelopes are not flat rate and not free at the PO.

I have the Padded FREs and they aren't really cardboard; they are a paper product lined with the buble wrap on the inside...you can punch your finger thru the paper if you consistently try...I did some testing on it before deciding if I wanted to use them. They are pretty sturdy.

USPS does have tyvec envelopes for priority mail...which you can order online for free...they don't qualify for the flat rate though.