Where would apartment dwellers put the sticker since apartments don't have "mailboxes"?

In the U.S., one cannot put a “flyer” in a mailbox unless postage has been paid. But why can’t a sticker be put on the outside of the apartment building or inside in the lobby?

All apartments I’ve lived in since 1967 had a mailbox, for each apartment.

I’m in USA.

Apartments have mailboxes. I don’t know what ‘yes’ and ‘no’ flyers/stickers are.

The OP means the post person can see a sign on a mailbox in front of a house, because he puts the mail in the same way you take mail out. Apartment mailboxes inside of a building the post person is behind the mailboxes in a room and there is no place to put a sign.

Here in the US I don’t think you can put that type of sign on house mailboxes either? I’ve never seen one.

Best bet is ask your postman or woman if there is any remedy.

@JLeslie is correct re. “Apartment mailboxes inside of a building the post person is behind the mailboxes in a room and there is no place to put a sign.”
As well though, the bag of flyers from many stores, plus the local newspaper is delivered by employees of the newspaper, not the post persons.
So, if the city says to the public you have to put the sticker on your mailbox it,s only addressing the house owners in a city that’s mostly populated by apartment/condo dwellers.

If it makes you feel better I live in a house and my mailbox is a half a mile away in a central mailbox building. The postperson puts the mail in the same way as in an apartment building. There’s probably 200 mail boxes there, the building has 4 sides, and she stays inside, it’s air conditioned, and puts the mail in from the back. If we receive a large package she puts a key in our mailbox to access a larger mailbox. Two sides of the building have the little boxes for each house like ab apartment, one side has the large mailboxes like the size of coin locker boxes, and the back is just a wall and where the door is to get inside.

A lot of Florida subdivisions are built with central mailboxes now.

I wouldn’t have thought people would have allowed having to walk ½ a mile for the mail in a developed country, considering people complain about nothing things.

You can’t walk to much of anything where I live, you need a car, and where I live you can also go everywhere by golf cart, bicycle, or scooter, the city has over 100 miles of multimodal lanes and paths. Some people live one block from the mailboxes, I happen to be a half a mile. Everything you need is close by like supermarkets, doctors, restaurants, many stores, but not so close that you can walk to it all. I have seven supermarkets within five miles.

I just found this little video regarding our mailboxes where I live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy7MQb8mWJg

@All I used whisper format since it’s getting a bit off topic.

@JLeslie, I’ve never heard of the sort of mailbox description you’ve given and I’ve lived in many apartments, some in FL. So you’re saying that where you live there’s a very small building with a person in the middle of it, who puts mail in the various slots, which people access from the outside? Bizarre!

My mail system is in a wall. There are approx 20 mailboxes in it. When the mailman comes, he/she uses a single key to open the front of all of the mailboxes at once, which slants open. They distribute the mail, close it up, and individual residents come along, use their key, open the door to their mailbox – which opens like a door – and get their mail.

Funny how different things are in different places.

btw, I still don’t know what anyone would be saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to. You can’t tell the mailman not to deliver something with a note, and no one else has access to the mailboxes.

@smudges Where I am, gated communities have a structure holding as many as 40 or 50 locked aluminum mailboxes, with a couple extra for oversize packages. The mailman pulls up, delivers to the whole neighborhood with one stop.

The structure has a small roof to protect things from the weather. The design is all USPS approved.

@smudges Yes, if you look at the video I linked it’s a cartoon of what it looks like and towards the end shows a real photo when they are talking about stickers on the boxes.

It’s a pain to drive over to the box, but I only go once or twice a week usually when I’m passing by it anyway. The first house I lived in I could walk to the mailboxes in 2 to 3 minutes, it just depends where your house is.

The building is great if you have a delivery like medicine, because it’s kept in air conditioning in our 90° Florida weather. Also, fewer packages left at my door. If a smallish package is mailed to me it’s safe in a box rather than at my front door. Also, if my mailbox gets overstuffed because I didn’t pick up my mail the post person often will set mail aside for a week or so before returning the mail to the post office, which is nice. She’s not supposed to, but it’s appreciated that she does that.

@smudges “I still don’t know what anyone would be saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to. You can’t tell the mailman not to deliver something with a note, and no one else has access to the mailboxes.”
The flyers and free local newspaper in a bag, placed mostly on the outside of the mailbox, (hanging on the hook) are not delivered by postal employees, but by employees of the newspaper. That is the whole question is about. That’t can be done on the box for the mail in apartment buildings. Some flyers that are delivered by postal employees ones in envelopes not the ones in large bags.

Nothing can be hung on a mailbox; it is Federal Property and is punishable for putting anything not postal mail (must have been processed by Postal Employees) on or in.

I have a key for mailbox also, just like an apartment. I don’t get many flyers or junk mail that is delivered to the door at my house. That would be really annoying. One thing that I had to get used to when I lived in my first single family home with a mailbox out front, was that anyone could look inside and see if mail had been sitting a long time, which is not a good idea.

@Tropical_Willie I would think that is what the hook is for, I thought no one is allowed to put anything inside of the box, but I didn’t know you can’t put anything on or outside of the box. So many people here where I live put stickers on their mailboxes. Probably, it isn’t technically allowed to deface the mailboxes, it’s mentioned on the link I gave.

The mailboxe on houses or in apartments, are not the property of the Post office, they’re the property of the home/apartment owners. The mailbox people put mail into, to send, those are Post Office property.

^^I think USPS owns the mailbox, even though the homeowner paid to put it up.

Mailboxes are Federal Property https://www.mailboxesandsigns.com/blog/2020/posts/are-mailboxes-considered-federal-property/

They must meet Postal requirements of height and size also placement.

Assuming a USPS-compliant mailbox is installed and ready for use, it’s considered federal property. In other words, the homeowner doesn’t legally own his or her mailbox; it’s the property of the U.S. government.

Why Mailboxes Are Federal Property

“In the United States, mailboxes are considered federal property to protect against mail theft, mail tampering and vandalism. By making mailboxes federal property, the U.S. government can take action against individuals who tamper with or steal mail, as well as individuals who vandalize mailboxes. Regarding vandalism, for example, individuals can be fined up to $250,000 per each act of mailbox vandalism. If mailboxes were considered private property, the U.S. government wouldn’t be able to impose such stiff fines.”
I stand corrected. Is it in most countries though?

But if a municipality says you have to put a sticker that says whatever, I don’t see how it can be considered defacement.

I bought my mailbox at a hardware store. I put it up on a post in front of my house. As I understand it, nobody but a postman is supposed to put mail inside the box (although once in a while I’ll receive someone else’s mail, and if they don’t answer their door, I’ll stick their mail in their mailbox.)

I’ve heard of people decorating the outside of their mailboxes, As long as it doesn’t make it difficult for the mailman, nobody cares.

@chefl That is logical. Logic doesn’t always prevail, but what you wrote makes sense.

@chefl Where in the heck did “But if a municipality says you have to put a sticker that says whatever, I don’t see how it can be considered defacement.” come from it is not in content ? ? ?

That is no where in the thread it occurs.

@chefl <sigh> The flyers and free local newspaper in a bag, placed mostly on the outside of the mailbox, (hanging on the hook) are not delivered by postal employees, but by employees of the newspaper.

Someone has already written this, but I’ll repeat it. The mailman delivers those flyers, newspapers, etc. The company that’s doing the advertising pays the USPS to deliver them inside the box. They are not just hung outside on a hook. You seem to be calling those advertising papers and newspapers “stickers”, which they are not, and that’s why I’ve asked a couple of times what stickers you’re talking about. I still don’t know.

I still don’t know what “stickers” you’re talking about. I’ve never had a sticker unless you mean the ones that a delivery service – like USPS or UPS – puts on a box to let you know that you have a package that is too big for the box that you need to pick up from the office.

@zenvelo & @JLeslie Thank you for clarifying. Yes, I’ve seen those buildings before, but I didn’t know a postal worker went inside to distribute the mail. It makes better sense than doing it from outside though!