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Here Are The Tattered Remains Of An Attempt To Mail Some Textbooks
By Laura Northrup on January 27, 2012 9:00 AM
102 Comments
Victoria mailed some textbooks worth $275 in what seemed like secure packaging. The postal service returned the packaging to her, but the textbooks were never seen again. She opted not to insure the package, figuring that no one could do that much damage to heavy hardcover textbooks. She was overly optimistic. More »
Wells Fargo Thinks USPS Is Fastest Way To Tell Me About Bounced Check
By Chris Morran on January 24, 2012 2:15 PM
45 Comments
When you think of the fastest, most-efficient way for a business to contact a customer about a problem, you obviously think of an antiquated, bloated, nearly insolvent government-operated organization that is synonymous with sloth. Oh wait — you don't? Well, Wells Fargo apparently does. More »
Postal Employee Caught With 10 Years Of Stolen Bulk Mail Wants To Keep Job
By Chris Morran on January 24, 2012 1:15 PM
86 Comments
For 10 years, a Postal Service employee in Texas has been stockpiling massive amounts of bulk mail in her office and home. And even though she's now under investigation by postal inspectors, the USPS worker says she wants to keep her job. More »
Postal Service Shows It Can Toss Fragile Packages Over The Fence Just As Well As FedEx
By Chris Morran on January 19, 2012 2:38 PM
56 Comments
The U.S. Postal Service is always trying to convince people that it's just as good as FedEx or UPS. But for all the aspects of those businesses the Postal Service should emulate, there's one it shouldn't: Tossing expensive packages over customers' fences. More »
(cakefarm)
Postal Carrier Told He Can No Longer Wear Santa Suit On The Job
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 4:30 PM
125 Comments
For more than a decade, a postal carrier in Bellevue, WA, has spread Christmas cheer along his mail route by donning a Santa Claus costume over his uniform for a few days leading up to Dec. 25. But after someone complained to the USPS about his Kris Kringle getup, the Santa costume will have to remain in his closet this year. More »
(_tar0_)
USPS Delivers Christmas Gift 371 Days Late
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 1:30 PM
70 Comments
A woman in Florida recently received a Christmas gift from her daughter in Arkansas, but she isn't waiting until Dec. 25 to open it. Why? Because the Postal Service was supposed to have delivered in time for last Christmas. More »
Couple Takes Advantage Of UPS Laziness, Steals Over 100 Packages From Doorsteps
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 12:00 PM
110 Comments
We've certainly written enough pieces over the years about how some UPS, FedEx and USPS carriers would rather fling your package somewhere in the vicinity of your house rather than knock and wait to see if you're home. Now the police in Somerville, MA, say a couple took advantage of drivers' willingness to leave packages out in the open by swooping in to steal the deliveries right off folks' doorsteps. More »
We're Sorry, Your Delicious Package Of Treats Was Intercepted By Post Office Rats
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 20, 2011 12:00 PM
49 Comments
Rodents make the worst postal workers, especially when delicious, edible holiday treats are involved. One post office in Manhattan had a few rats and/or mice working over packages before they reached their intended destinations, resulting in a holiday surprise of a different kind. More »
U.S. Postal Service's Big Budget Cuts Will Slow First-Class Delivery
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 5, 2011 12:00 PM
81 Comments
That nice feeling you get when a card you mailed your friend arrives the very next day? It's going to be a thing of the past, as huge cuts by the U.S. Postal Service will ensure that no stamped letters will arrive so fast, as well as a general slowdown in first-class mail delivery. More »
It's About To Become 5% More Expensive To Ship With UPS
By Chris Morran on November 18, 2011 4:30 PM
61 Comments
In news that must surely have folks at the Postal Service cackling with delight — or at least it would if it weren't after 4 p.m. and they hadn't all gone home for the day already — UPS announced that it will soon be raising its published rates almost 5% on all domestic ground, air and international shipments that originate in the good ol' U.S.A. More »
(elvissa)
Postal Service Offers Amnesty For Return Of That Mail Bin You're Using For Anything But Mail
By Chris Morran on November 16, 2011 4:15 PM
61 Comments
You know those hard, white plastic bins that the mail carrier occasionally leaves at your office (and which people then take to use for their own purposes)? You're supposed to be giving those back to your carrier the next day. So after decades of hemorrhaging money over un-returned bins, the USPS is offering amnesty through Nov. 26. More »
You'll Soon Have To Pay More For Those Stamps You Don't Use
By Chris Morran on October 18, 2011 3:30 PM
79 Comments
Because none of you are using the U.S. Postal Service — unless you are deliberately mailing a check you hope gets lost or delayed — that means it's time for the struggling USPS to raise rates on first-class stamps... by one penny. More »
The Styrofoam Cube In This Letter Serves A Bureaucratic Purpose
By Chris Morran on October 18, 2011 1:30 PM
80 Comments
When Chris opened a letter from the Indiana Election Division, he was curious why in the world there would be a small Styrofoam cube inside the envelope. Luckily for everyone involved, there was an explanation. More »
US Postal Service Adds To Your Mom's College Care Package
By Laura Northrup on October 13, 2011 11:30 AM
81 Comments
Robert received a Priority Mail package at college from his mother. The box contained a variety of canned foods: Vienna sausages, sardines, beans, liverwurst, spam, and corn. Which is awfully nice of Robert's mother, except that the box she sent him only contained fifteen cans of Goya brand beans. Where did all of this other stuff come from? More »
Family Sticks Block Party Invites In Neighbors' Mailboxes, USPS Charges Them Postage
By Ben Popken on October 12, 2011 2:00 PM
232 Comments
A Connecticut family that put invites for an upcoming Halloween block party in their neighbor's mailboxes got spooked when the USPS figuratively rang their doorbell holding a big open bag. It was a bill from the USPS charging them 44 cents for postage for all the invites they had put in the mailboxes. More »
(stirwise)
The USPS Is Fine With Being Over A Week Late Delivering Package
By Mary Beth Quirk on October 10, 2011 12:00 PM
111 Comments
It is one thing to have a delayed package, but it's an entirely new level of aggravation when customer service basically shrugs and is like, "It'll get there when it gets there!" Such is the case for reader Brian. More »
Another Postal Worker Caught Stealing Netflix DVDs
By Chris Morran on October 7, 2011 2:30 PM
42 Comments
It's been over five years since we first wrote about postal workers being busted for detouring Netflix DVDs into their own private stashes, and yet there are apparently still some USPS staffers out there who think they can steal more than 100 DVDs and not have it set off alarm bells. More »
USPS Stops Delivering To Building Because Of Leaky Pipe
By Chris Morran on October 6, 2011 1:15 PM
58 Comments
The famous oath inscribed above the entrance to the James A. Farley Post Office Building in Manhattan reads, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." But it appears as if that unofficial postal creed doesn't extend to leaky pipes. More »
USPS Holds Our Mail During Vacation, Keeps Holding It
By Laura Northrup on October 5, 2011 11:30 AM
55 Comments
While less and less of our crucial information comes by post now, that doesn't mean that it's okay if a few weeks' worth of it just disappears into nowhere. Especially when you're expecting presents in the mail. That's what happened to Dave's mail after he and his wife left town for their honeymoon. Expecting cards and gifts after the wedding, they requested a two-week hold on their mail. Evidently, the postal service held their mail, all right, but isn't too keen to give it back. More »
My USPS Package Took A California Vacation, Didn't Invite Me Along
By Laura Northrup on September 22, 2011 1:00 PM
50 Comments
Using the U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail, Justin mailed a gift from his home in New York City to a friend in Georgia. Package tracking meant that he was able to follow the gift's journey and make sure it arrived safely. He was baffled, though, when the tracking information stated that it first traveled out to California for no reason, then made its way back to Georgia, eleven days later than anticipated. Where it was then delivered to the wrong person. In a different town. No one knows where the package actually ended up. More »
