Elimination Of Form 400 (Tracking Label)

I had never heard about form 400 in my life and was begrudgingly satisfied with going to the counter for every tracked purchase. What are you guys so busy with that you can't stand in line at the post office?

What are you on about? It has nothing yo do with standing in line at the post office. These labels allowed me to enter tracking numbers for eBay shipments at the time I packaged them rather than having to wait until after the fact and come back and enter them after I came back.

I stand in line at the post office either way, since anything above a certain weight with stamps affixed and not a label MUST be entered over the counter.

Work. Family. Hobbies. Life.

Maybe your post office lines move quick, but sometimes mine has 10-15 people in line with only one clerk, and there are other things I would rather be doing than waiting in line for 30 minutes.
Fortunately I do still have a small number of form 400s and I carry one with me to slap on at the post office if the line is really long, but normally have to wait it out.

I haven't tried using one since the latest rate/rule changes. Does the Form 400 still work? Last week the clerk said the rules changed that the $0.00 label is no longer needed, but I didn't ask if anything changed with the form 400 and if they are finally officially outlawed now.

I'm handicapped and housebound, so I no longer enjoy the luxury of being able to stand in line at the Post Office (or anywhere else, for that matter). I use these for some eBay and HipStamp sales, as well as for forwarding APS circuits. I have several pads left, and their convenience for people in my situation should be obvious, even to someone like you...

Has anyone seen any of the replacement Form 888 labels on incoming parcels? I have not. They're intended for digital postage use only, not in conjunction with stamps (I believe).

I also haven't read anything more about the replacement of Form 400 with 888 beyond the January 20 blog article I posted above mentioning that the transition had been delayed.

The reason I ask is that the clerks at my local PO branch started having/using Form 400 again within the last 2 weeks after several months of them being unavailable.

I casually mentioned "Well if you have any extras, I could definitely use them", and this afternoon what should magically appear in my PO box but a sealed brick of 10 Form 400 pads.

So I guess I'm back in business using my old workflow (for now)...

Huzzah! You have some thoughtful clerks at your local PO.

Great to hear the form 400 is still valid.

Still not available from the usps.com "store", but I still have a handful on hand. (will have to ask my local PO about it next time I'm in there). In the meantime, I am mostly using the ebay paid shipping labels (or in a few cases, usps click and ship). Glad to hear the 400s are still valid.

Postage office have done away with tracking label #400, Just certified labels but cannot use on items over 3 oz.
So now if we only want tracking we have to have the post office apply a $0.00 label. Then take a photo of the package so we can enter the tracking number into Ebay. We will be in line for a long time now especially during Xmas.

Anyone find a solution?

I don't quite understand this. Even without Form 400, your receipt will show the tracking numbers along with the city, weight, and mailing service type for each parcel. Why take pictures? In the event that you have multiple parcels going to the same city on the same day? That's the only reason I can think of that pictures would be needed.

As mentioned above, my local PO is still processing Form 400 on outgoing parcels if you still have them.

I asked a clerk at my PO today about the Label 400 and she stated they had received an email to not use them anymore and they no longer have them in that Post Office.

I just went on eBay to look for the Form 888. It is complete garbage we have to go to eBay and buy labels that do the exact same thing via USPS.

Apologies in advance, I tried to get the eBay link but it is of course 43,964 characters long now.

At least this week try eBay lot 146462471055 or just do a search for "label 888". You can find rolls of 2,000 at a time, but you gotta pay a third party for something that was previously free from the USPS, and fills the same roll in the same way as the previous label 400.

My local post office frequently has 10 - 20 people in line and it is not quick...

Be careful! Everything in the DMM states that "Label 888" is only to be used in conjunction with electronic postage labels, not postage stamps as the above linked eBay seller claims.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm

I have no idea what happens if you show up at a USPS counter with a stamped package and one of these affixed, when they go to scan it.

EDIT: I bought a strip of 10 for a buck. I'll be the guinea pig and take them to my local USPS to see what happens. I have clerks that will help "experiment" and see what we can make work.

I have been using Label 888 with postage stamps since they were introduced. I have not had any issues other than normal issues (no scan at times) that were present with the Label 400.

In Section 7.2.1, it states you can use on packages when paying with stamps.

Label 888 may be used by electronic-option mailers; USPS retail associates when affixed to mailpieces at a Post Office, station, or branch; or by mailers when affixed to mailpieces with postage and fees prepaid by metered indicia or ordinary stamps.

How have your clerks been processing the acceptance scans in conunction with the required $0.00 PVI for postage-affixed parcels?

Mine have been unable to figure it out, as they have to do it as two separate transactions: one to generate the $0.00 PVI and they discard the generated tracking number, then a second transaction reading in the Form 400 and discarding the transaction associated with it.

I don't know WHY they cannot do both as a single transaction, but it became such a hassle for them that I simply stopped using the Forms 400.

The majority of my items are all stay-flat mailers (thick enough/not rigid which require parcel rates that allow the 888 use, but thin enough to not require hand-delivery to a postal clerk). I leave all my items in my residential mailbox and all are scanned as picked up. It took 'training' prior to the 888 Label to get my packages scanned at pickup.

For items that would require hand-delivery if using stamps (136.10.b), I purchase an ebay/paypal label to keep from having to go to the post office. I have at times used stamps except for the last dollar and used the kiosk to place the last dollar which is a method to avoid having to hand to a clerk (136.10.b and only stamps as postage). The payment of the last dollar gives USPS a method to identify me as the sender. I don't add a tracking label when planning on using the kiosk and just use the one generated.

Every couple of weeks I beg my carrier, who I've made friends with, for some 400's whether I've run out or not, just to stockpile them. She usually only brings me five or six, but this week probably got tired of my asking so she brought me the mother lode. My little rural Post Office sucks for quantities of new stamp issues but seems to have a large supply of these, so I'm set for a long while...but I'm gonna keep on begging LOL !