Options at the Post Office

As promised, this blog will contain useful/helpful information now and again.

The other day, I was at the post office in Hopkinton, MA. The people who work at that location make me nuts as they have barely-contained ire for customers. The customer in line ahead of me needed to be sure of the arrival of a letter, and the postal employee spoke in confusing circles rather than ask exactly what the customer needed and then offered what would best serve that need.

It then occurred to me that many people who do not ship items on a regular basis probably have no idea what the options are, what they mean or how to go about using them. Thus, my blog post is about the options available when you need to post a letter or send a package using the U.S.P.S. I won't list prices as those are going up all the time, but you will get an idea of how to do some basic things you might need to do via mail at some point.

The gentleman in question needed what is commonly known at the p.o. as "delivery confirmation." This means that you complete a short form and get a little receipt with a number on it when you bring your letter or package to the post office. This service is a small extra charge on top of regular or Priority postage. You may then go online to look up the number, like a tracking number, to see the date on which the letter or package arrived at its destination.

If you want a person to sign for a letter or package, send it using Certified Mail. You will get the same type of receipt with a number on it for looking up on the Internet. The difference is that you will see the signature and name of the person who accepted the letter or package. Remember that this requires a person to be at the location upon delivery, or an "agent" to be at the location. This works well for businesses, but not so great for personal letters. With a personal letter delivered to a home, a Certified label will usually end up with the person getting a slip in his or her mailbox that he/she then needs to bring to the post office, during their business hours, in order to pick up the letter/package. When sending valuables or legal documents, this is a good method to use. It is more expensive than delivery confirmation, but provides a legal record that is useful in court matters, for example.

Priority Mail and Express Mail: what is the difference? Priority Mail is the not-guaranteed two-day mailing option for letters and packages. Express Mail is the overnight option available through the post office. Express Mail provides a delivery confirmation kind of receipt while there is no tracking available for Priority Mail unless you pay for the additional delivery confirmation option.

The post office also sells packages as well as offers free Priority Mail packaging. Be sure to know the difference when you arrive at the post office! Otherwise, you will end up paying for a box. The flat-rate Priority boxes/envelopes are great options as the weight doesn't have an impact on shipping cost. For heavy things, this is good deal. Remember to bring your own packing tape, regardless of whether you will buy the "Ready Post" products for sale or use the free Priority boxes as the post office will not allow you to use their tape.

Don't forget to buy stamps while you're there, as inevitably you will find yourself needing stamps within a day of being at the post office. The newest stamps being produced are all "forever" stamps. This means that if you have "old" forever stamps, they will always cover the postage for a first-class letter. You don't usually end up really saving anything, though, as a new forever stamp will just cost more if the first-class rate goes up.

Having berated the employees at the Hopkinton post office, let me say that there is a person named Tom at the Wrentham post office who is as kind and helpful as can be! Additionally, the North Attleborough, MA post office is always a pleasant place to do business. If you can't get to the post office but have supplies at home, you can always "click and ship" by going to the U.S.P.S. and entering the shipping information so that you can print postage right at home. This feature works very well when you know the dimensions and weight of what you're sending!