Your mailbox is out of bounds. You don’t even own it. The moment you place your mailbox in front of your house, you are governed by the rules of the post office. And if you use it for anything other than the postal business (and pay the fees), you’re looking for a battle.
Below is a direct quote from the USPS Postal Bulletin (Issue 21861, 2-17-94, p. 37):
Mailable material in or on private mail receptacles Postage-free mailable material in or on private mail receptacles represents a revenue deficiency for the Postal Service and is a violation of federal law. Title 18 of the United States Code, section 1725, establishes a fine of not more than $300 per piece for these violations. All employees must uniformly enforce the procedures outlined in the Domestic Mail Manual, section P011.2.0. The lack of uniform application of these procedures may jeopardize the criminal prosecution of repeat offenders.
This is not aimed at the accidental piece of mail that was dropped into the mail stream without a stamp. Even though we spend $20 to $30 to buy and install a mailbox in front of our house, that mailbox is designed, even by law, for the exclusive use of the post office.
If the local pizza delivery place walks through your neighborhood, they may not place their ads in your mailbox. They can’t hang it on a string, they can’t stick it inside, and they’re not allowed to stick it in that little space between the red flag and their box. Not allowed. The same goes for the paper deliverers. They can hang their stuff on your door, slip it through the crack in your door, drop it into your milk carton, and if they’re feeling really brave, even give it to you. But they may not drop it in your mailbox without paying the appropriate postage. If you find this “no-mail” invading your mailbox, and it’s really bothering you, call your local postal inspector. They will stop very quickly. Technically, your neighbor can’t even leave a message in your mailbox unless he also pays the postage.
I’m not particularly in favor of the stringency of this law, but its existence has allowed the USPS to maintain its monopoly on the flow of mail, which means that, overall, our postal service has the highest volume of any country and, thanks to the scale economics. and without serious competition, we also have a reasonable first class and wholesale postage rate (even at .42 for first class (or the new .44 rate that goes into effect mid-May, still lower than most in any other place).
Why the Post Office Needs a Postal Monopoly: If the USPS delivered only 3/4 of the current mail volume, it would still have to keep almost all of its existing post offices open and employees on the payroll, and it would have to make up the difference with a much higher postage rate. Otherwise, they would have to reduce the service, and nobody would like that. Therefore, this decision, which prevents mail from reaching mailboxes, actually works in our favor.
