Break out the high fives and order the cake — the United States Postal Service says it won’t be killing off Saturday mail delivery. At least, it’s not going to do that anytime soon. The agency had threatened to stop the service out of budgetary concerns, the main concern being that it doesn’t have much cash. [More]
Is The USPS More Likely To Lose Boxes Emblazoned With The Word ‘Atheist’?
By March 27, 2013
Here’s something odd. Would you think that packages would get lost more or less often according to the brand on the box or the words on their packaging? That shouldn’t be the case. A German company that sells handmade, minimalist shoes, did a cool branding thing and uses tape with the company’s name printed on it to seal their shipping boxes. That company’s name? “Atheist.” They noticed that a lot of packages sent to the United States were significantly delayed, and wondered why that was. So they conducted an experiment. That experiment proved that if you want a package to get lost, brand it with the word “ATHEIST.” [More]
Apparently My Mailman Doesn’t Feel The Slot Marked “Letters” Works For Delivering Mail
By March 20, 2013
Kristin has lived in her L.A. apartment for five years, but as long as she’s lived there she’s never been confronted with the kind of sassiness she’s just been confronted with on the part of the United States Postal Service. She tells Consumerist her apartment is part of a four-plex with no locked lobby, and her door has a clearly marked, obviously quite old mail slot marked “letters.” What could possibly go in there? [More]
UPS SurePost Gets Package To My Door Four Days Late, Smushed
By March 12, 2013
“There’s a reason the USPS is going bankrupt, and it’s because of their shoddy customer service,” read a subject line in our tips mailbox. Jeremy’s package, shipped UPS, got handed off to the U.S. Postal Service, and at some point things went very wrong. UPS SurePost is that company’s answer to FedEx SmartPost: a service that uses the private companies’ systems to get packages from the sender to sort of near their destinations, then depends on the U.S. Postal Service to travel the last leg to your doorstep. [More]
Netflix: Actually, We Mailed Reader Three Different DVDs, And They All Broke
By March 5, 2013
Last week, we published the story of Michael, who ordered a documentary from Netflix and wasn’t able to get a non-broken copy. The two relevant parties, Netflix and the band that was the subject of the documentary, saw our post and reached out to Michael through Consumerist. [More]
check's in the mailJust in case you needed another reason to switch to direct-deposit, a pair of former postal workers have pleaded guilty to swiping more than $3.5 million in tax refund and benefit checks while employed at a USPS distribution center in Atlanta. (via AJC.com)
USPS Hasn’t Paid Insurance Claim After 14 Months, Says “Investigations Take Time”
By February 27, 2013
It can take months or years of investigation to bring a criminal matter to trial, and complicated insurance matters can often drag on for extended periods of time without resolution. But does the U.S. Postal Service really need more than a year to pay a $30 insurance claim? [More]
U.S. Postal Service Promises Express Mail Money-Back Guarantee, Won’t Give It To Me
By February 22, 2013
The U.S. Postal service guarantees delivery on Express Mail packages, but what does that guarantee really mean? Danny sent an Express Mail package that he claims was well within the rules: he ordered the postage through PayPal, but handed it to a clerk at the post office before the deadline. The problem is that since he bought the postage online, his local post office is resisting giving the refund. [More]
Postal Service Launching Clothing Line Because The Mailman Is The Epitome Of Style
By February 19, 2013
For all those times you sat by the window, admiring the mailman’s way with long shorts and tall socks, the United States Postal Service is here for you, finally. The agency announced it’s looking for new ways to make money while it struggles financially, and that includes a new clothing line it’s planning. [More]
Post Office Announces End Of Saturday Delivery, 63% Of Americans Shrug
By February 13, 2013
Despite the fact that some Netflix DVD subscribers will be put out, a new Gallup poll shows that for the most part, Americans are in favor of the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to terminate Saturday mail delivery. The survey showed that 63% of Americans are in favor of ending Saturday mail as a way for the USPS to help fix its financial woes. [More]
United States Postal Service Dropping Saturday Mail Delivery Starting Aug. 1
By February 6, 2013
Your mailbox is going to feel a bit empty starting next summer, as the United States Postal Service is going to cut Saturday delivery in a move designed to save the agency $2 billion a year. Partly because it didn’t want to continue waiting around for Congress to do something to help dig it out of its financial hole, beginning Aug. 1 the weekends will be mail-free, although packages will still be delivered on Saturdays. [More]
My Landlord Raises Rent 1 Penny To Make Up For Postage Increases, Sends Letter To Tell Me
By February 5, 2013
As you may have noticed, the price of stamps went up last week by an entire penny. Overall, the nation seems to be coping pretty well, unless they’re small businesses who have a lot of overseas customers. (Air mail prices went up, too. A lot.) One entity that isn’t coping well is reader Layla’s apartment complex. They’ve raised everyone’s rent one penny to compensate for the postage change, and chose to notify everyone by… delivering a letter to their doors. [More]
My W-2 Arrives Ripped Open, Only Tax Cat And I Care
By January 28, 2013
Ultimately, we’re all responsible for our own fates. That’s what David learned when an important tax document arrived in his mailbox with his Social Security number and name exposed. It didn’t come in a “sorry we damaged your mail” envelope like most mangled letters do, so he was suspicious. Maybe someone had ripped it open to get his info. Maybe a postal employee had mangled it, but forgot to put it in an apologetic envelope. Whatever had happened, surely the postal service, credit bureaus, and police would have answers for him, right? Right. [More]
Cash-Strapped USPS Raising The Price Of A Stamp By A Penny Starting Sunday
By January 25, 2013
It’s a brand new year but already the cash-strained United States Postal Service is showing that it’s feeling the financial heat that kept zapping it in 2012. Starting on Sunday, the price of a first-class stamp will go from $0.45 to $0.46 as we were warned last year. Post card stamps will also rise a penny to $0.33. Sure, it’s only a penny, but it’s a penny you don’t have to pay on Saturday that you do on Sunday. [More]
U.S. Postal Service Sends My Priority Mail Package 1,688 Miles Out Of Its Way
By January 23, 2013
Tän ordered something on eBay from a vendor who was right in the same metropolitan area. How long can it take for the U.S. Postal Service to transport a package fifteen miles? Eleven days, evidently. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the seller hadn’t used Priority Mail: you know, that service which is supposed to take two or three days to get things across the country, not just across town. [More]
Court: GameFly Is Right — Netflix Shouldn’t Be Getting Special Treatment From The USPS
By January 11, 2013
GameFly has once again scored a win in its years-long crusade to prove that the U.S. Postal Service is treating Netflix like the popular girl while it had to pay out the nose for similar treatment. A federal appeals court ruled today that Netflix had an unfair advantage because it didn’t have to pay a penny to have its envelopes sorted by hand instead of machine, while GameFly was subject to hefty surcharges for the same treatment. [More]
Hundreds Of FedEx Packages Missing After Driver Kicks Them Out Of His Truck
By December 17, 2012
If you live in the area of Papillion, Nebraska, and you’ve been waiting on a FedEx package for a couple weeks now, you’re not alone, after a driver for the delivery service decided to simply dump hundreds of parcels in the road. [More]
Insider Explains Why FedEx SmartPost Is So Terrible
By November 21, 2012
The overwhelming crappiness of FedEx Smartpost as a shipping method is a frequent topic around here. But why is it so terrible? We could have guessed that a partnership between ostensible rivals FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service might not work so well, but one reader with inside knowledge about why it’s so terrible reached out and shared their knowledge with us. The basic reason? The labels are terrible, and confuse the equipment. [More]
