For a few months now returns were at Staples, Kohl's or whole foods with no label or box for free and $1 for UPS store drop offs

The other day I had a very small piece to return, saw UPS store free and chose that

At UPS store I put my unpackaged item down and brought up the QR code, sorry the lady says this is for customer packaged only

What this means is you don't need a label but you do need to package your item in some sort of box of shipping envelope

They are happy to sell you one (envelopes start at ~$5)

I chose to instead take it home and use the box from my next Amazon delivery. It turned out to be very large (item was size of a frying pan) so I put my tiny item in there, reused the packing paper and sealed it up. Brought it to UPS store and sent it off.

TLDR: UPS store wants to charge for envelopes, I used largest box I could to do free return

I've returned a few items where on Amazon it says

"The UPS Store Dropoff — no box or label needed
FREE

The UPS Store will pack, label, and ship your return for free. Just bring the item in its original manufacturer’s packaging and disassemble the item (if applicable). We'll email you a QR code to ship your return. Show it to a store associate at any The UPS Store.
"

but then I show up at the UPS store and they told me I need to package it myself. What gives?