Hold For Pickup service is newly expanded. Previously available only to Express Mail customers, Hold For Pickup now is an option when shipping with Priority Mail, First-Class Mail Parcels and Parcel Select (barcoded nonpresort only). The newly expanded Hold For Pickup options may be requested by online customers — through Click-N-Ship or PC Postage vendors […]
Samples of greeting card envelopes bearing prepaid postage and Intelligent Mail barcodes to be used in an upcoming market test. The Postal Service has begun a 2-year test of its Alternate Postage Payment method for greeting cards. This new payment method allows customers to send greeting cards without affixing postage. Greeting card companies producing the […]
New flat-rate products debut Jan. 2 along with new prices for Priority Mail, Express Mail and other Shipping Services changes. The overall price change for all Shipping Services products, which are adjusted each January, is 3.6 percent. Extending the popularity of Priority Mail Flat Rate products, a new legal-size flat-rate envelope measuring 15-by-9.5 inches and […]
The Postal Service recently marked the third anniversary of its first fully-operational Flats Sequencing System (FSS) at the Dulles, VA, Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) — a milestone in the way the Postal Service sorts flats. Each FSS can sort mail in delivery point sequence (DPS) at a rate of 16,500 pieces an hour, or […]
CORE BUSINESS STRATEGIES DEFINED In an open letter to all employees on his first official day in office, PMG Pat Donahoe defines core business strategies that will guide the organization to become “a profitable, nimble Postal Service that competes for customers and has a well-defined and valued role in an increasingly digital world.” Donahoe says […]
Six Years Old And Growing Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes this month celebrate their sixth birthday, showing continued growth since their introduction Nov. 20, 2004, and debunking public perception that “shipping is complicated.” Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes changed the dynamics of the shipping industry, according to Gary Reblin, vice president, Shipping Services. Their ease […]
With about 1,200 murals and 200 sculptures in Post Offices nationwide, USPS is the custodian of the largest public art collection owned by any federal agency. The artwork was created from 1934-1943 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiative. With the nation facing 25 percent unemployment in 1933, the New Deal sponsored several art […]
El Cajon, CA, Letter Carrier Bill Kuehling was delivering mail during a record-setting heat wave this summer, when San Diego television reporter James Koh noticed how quickly he was moving. Then the reporter noticed Kuehling’s prosthesis. Recounting that meeting, Kuehling laughs at how the reporter rushed over and said, “You’re a much better story than […]
Due to recent events involving packages shipped from Yemen by private courier companies, the Postal Service has temporarily suspended acceptance of inbound international mail originating from that country. This service suspension has been issued in response to the potential threat posed by suspicious packages originating in Yemen. To ensure the safety and security of postal […]
BUFFALO DUO STARTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE With mail volumes declining and customer habits changing, USPS continues to look at every opportunity to make the most of its resources. Some initiatives — closing Post Offices or changing delivery frequency — are governed by law. But there are other options that can improve efficiency and reduce […]