With the addition of 471 new ZIP codes — a 2-year project that ended this month — the free Carrier Pickup service offered by USPS is now available at 99.97 percent of all mail delivery addresses in the nation.

First introduced in 2004, Carrier Pickup today is available at more than 130 million mail delivery addresses within 36,645 ZIP codes. Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Return Service, Express Mail International and Priority Mail International are some of the products eligible for the free service, which customers can request online.

“We’ve reached a point of critical mass with this latest expansion to our package pickup network,” says Gary Reblin, vice president, Shipping Services. “Carrier Pickup is a popular option among busy consumers, e-commerce merchants, and businesses of all sizes, and I expect to see continued strong growth.”

According to Dean Granholm, vice president, Delivery Operations, postal employees as well as customers like the service. “Our delivery people have established Carrier Pickup as one of the most convenient ways to ship packages,” he says. “They’re proud to provide this service for customers.”

The latest additions to the Carrier Pickup service network include addresses in communities such as Welcome, MD; Happy, TX; Friendship, MD; and Surprise, AZ. To promote the service, postal customers with addresses in the new ZIP codes will receive “Free Package Pickup” postcards the week of Sept. 20.

In addition to Carrier Pickup, USPS offers four other options for package pickup to meet the needs of customers — Pickup on Demand, Scheduled Pickup On Demand Service, No Fee Pickup Service and Collection Service.

Click here for a list of frequently asked questions about the Carrier Pickup service. Click here to download a printable poster for employee bulletin boards.

source: USPS News Link