This is not a defensible situation. The seller isn't fulfilling their end of the agreement.
You can pick up Priority envelopes in the area where the PO boxes are. This area is open 24/7 so people can pick up at their leisure. Priority mailers are free. You can also have a stack of them (or any Priority mailing materials) mailed right to you, also for free. The only thing special that Priority needs is the label from the post office stating it's Priority, which can be printed at home. Priority is flat rate, so you just follow the steps and pay your postage on their site to get the label.
You can have mail picked up, even Priority, if you live in an area that doesn't have PO boxes in their office. You can print the postage yourself if you don't have a kiosk in the Post Office (as my tiny town in TN didn't). You can also go to retail locations and ship things not just with postal service. Staples, Office Max, and Office Depot will all ship things. There are still UPS Stores around, and other retailers that ship 3rd party to USPS, UPS, FedEx, and so on.
I have lived in a tiny, tiny town. I did a LOT of eBay shipping then, and I never had an issue mailing out anything, even though I -was- working 6 days a week, and at work during most of the hours they were open. My car wasn't entirely reliable, and the post office was not on my way to work.
If all else fails, since this particular "needs to be mailed" is a badge, get a couple dollars worth of stamps from the grocery store, stick it in a padded envelope, and pray. I mailed a jelly scrubber thing to my mom just this week, in a padded envelope, and it was $2.38 for First Class at the kiosk.
There are options, but you have to be willing to use them. If you don't want to, as this artist seems to be, then don't take mail-out commissions. Not the customer's problem if the seller can't fulfill the agreement.
no subject
You can pick up Priority envelopes in the area where the PO boxes are. This area is open 24/7 so people can pick up at their leisure. Priority mailers are free. You can also have a stack of them (or any Priority mailing materials) mailed right to you, also for free. The only thing special that Priority needs is the label from the post office stating it's Priority, which can be printed at home. Priority is flat rate, so you just follow the steps and pay your postage on their site to get the label.
You can have mail picked up, even Priority, if you live in an area that doesn't have PO boxes in their office. You can print the postage yourself if you don't have a kiosk in the Post Office (as my tiny town in TN didn't). You can also go to retail locations and ship things not just with postal service. Staples, Office Max, and Office Depot will all ship things. There are still UPS Stores around, and other retailers that ship 3rd party to USPS, UPS, FedEx, and so on.
I have lived in a tiny, tiny town. I did a LOT of eBay shipping then, and I never had an issue mailing out anything, even though I -was- working 6 days a week, and at work during most of the hours they were open. My car wasn't entirely reliable, and the post office was not on my way to work.
If all else fails, since this particular "needs to be mailed" is a badge, get a couple dollars worth of stamps from the grocery store, stick it in a padded envelope, and pray. I mailed a jelly scrubber thing to my mom just this week, in a padded envelope, and it was $2.38 for First Class at the kiosk.
There are options, but you have to be willing to use them. If you don't want to, as this artist seems to be, then don't take mail-out commissions. Not the customer's problem if the seller can't fulfill the agreement.