Yes, the U.S. Postal Service is testing the sale of greeting cards at 1,500 local post office, and the test begins with a selection of cards from Hallmark.

A Postal Service study confirmed that customers think selling greeting cards at post offices is appropriate and that they would buy them if offered, Bernstock said. The goal is for the cards to help boost postal retail sales by 30 to 40 percent.

A 2006 law allows the Postal Service to sell various mailing and packaging products and other mail-related items, including cards. Officials awarded the one-year deal to Hallmark's Sunrise Greeting card line, with the option to extend the deal for two more years.

If the greeting card business is successful, the USPS plans to try to introduce more products beyond their current selection of shipping supplies and stamp-related gifts. This could include prepaid cell phones and financial products, which are available in many other countries' post offices.

The Postal Service's 'get well' plan? Greeting cards. [Federal Eye/The Washington Post]

(Photo: tjean314)

Rank - Company - CEO - approval rating

10. US Postal Service - Jack Potter - 21%
9. Sun Microsystems - Jonathan I. Schwartz - 21%
8. eBay - John J. Donahoe - 20%
7. Convergys (a horrible call center company) - Dave Dougherty - 19%
6. Pfizer - Jeff Kindler - 19%
5. Sears Holdings - W. Bruce Johnson - 19%
4. RadioShack - Julian C. Day - 16%
3. Sports Authority - Doug Morton - 12%
2. United Airlines - Glenn F. Tilton 8%
1. Office Depot - Steve Odland - 7%

Does this jibe with your experience? Who you would you nominate as the worst CEO?

Glassdoor Q3 CEO Watch List Report [GlassDoor] (Photo: Epiclectic)

* only CEOs with 50 or more reviews were included.

The Postal Service will not increase prices for market dominant products in calendar year 2010.

Simply stated, there will not be a price increase for market dominant products including First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, periodicals and single-piece Parcel Post.

Why? Well, they're trying to make us remember why we love mail in the first place. " Promoting the value of mail and encouraging its continued use is essential for jobs, the economy, and the future of both the Postal Service and the mailing industry."

Translation: Maybe if they stop hiking stamp prices, we'll all stop paying our bills online.

PMG SAYS NO PRICING INCREASE FOR MARKET DOMINANT PRODUCTS IN 2010 [Press Release] (Thanks, Jeff!)

(Photo: gumbyliberation

Have states started seceding again? Has there been a fateful earthquake that has removed the coasts from the mainland, and we somehow slept through it? "It's either that or the route from Virginia to Pennsylvania is going to be VERY circuitous," Steve wrote.

Any postal workers or other insightful people who can explain this mystifying note?

Just wanted to shout out some great customer service from Thermos. My
Thermos Travel Mug lost its rubber bottom, making it pretty unstable.
They're not that expensive, but I hate to throw away $19 of working
metal for lack of a $1 rubber bit. I emailed Thermos about getting a
replacement part. Jamie at Thermos replied and told me they didn't
have replacement parts available, but to send it in to warranty
repairs, and they see what could be done. I dropped it in the mail
and waited, hoping they'd ship it back with a new rubber bottom.
Nothing happened for a month, so I got in touch with Jamie again and
asked if they had it and what was going on. Jamie could find no
record of them having received it (thanks USPS! no tracking number of
course. Why spend $20 shipping something that costs $20?). She
talked to her supervisor, and they are now sending me a replacement
mug, no charge! That's way above and beyond. Anyway, great customer
service, and the Thermos Nissan mugs are the only ones that I've ever
had that didn't end up leaving coffee stains on all my white shirts.

Whether it was the postal service or Thermos themselves who lost Brent's mug, it was very kind of them to replace it, and earned them praise from an already loyal customer.

That's due to the USPS online address change form, which charges you a dollar and requires the credit or debit card be under the address you're moving to or from.

Joe, who lacks such a card, is unmoved:

Wanted to let consumerist know that I recently moved to a new address. I went to the old post office and asked for a change of address card. Teller directed me to use their website — it's all they allow now.

Well go to USPS.com and first) have to find the link to change the address (You'd think that would be upfront right in your face - nope - it's down hidden in the household section).

Second, when you enter your data, you have to give them a credit card to charge $1 for using the service. PLUS, the card has to be from one of the address listed in your change of address (either old one or new one) - I didn't have any credit cards that matched this - I still own a house in Dallas and all my credit cards point to that address).

So, in essence I couldn't change my address. Can't get a response from USPS on this.

It begs the question about what do people do that don't have a credit card - or in case of me - in my situation? Also, didn't this use to be a free service? What exactly are we paying them through the government for if we have to now pay for these types of services. Maybe Kramer on Seinfeld was correct - we don't really need the post office any more...

I'm not sure if you can still pick up free change of address cards at post offices, but my recently-moved cheapskate friend (takes one to know one) said he wasn't able to find one and had to spring for the $1 online address change form.

So don't anyone move unless you've got at least an entire dollar of savings or credit, just to be on the safe side.

UPDATE: Reader Keir has verified that you can still pick up a free change of address form at the post office, as well as print one out online and either send it in or drop it off, saving you the buck.

(Photo: frankieleon)

ABC News (which is also hosting the PDF document if the link above doesn't work) says the list only includes about 700 of the 3,200 locations under review, so don't assume your branch is in the clear if it's not on this list.

Whatever happens, ABC notes that "the Postal Service says no branches will close before Sept. 30."

"The List: Post Offices That May Close" [ABC News]

RELATED
Surely We Can Survive On Five Postal Deliveries A Week?"
"Brooklyn Heights Postman Lifts With Neither Knees Nor Back"
(Photo: anyjazz65)

I had a package shipped to my house via USPS. According to their Track and Confirm system it was due to come in today. There was a note in the mailbox telling me that there was a package and if I wanted to come get it or have it redelivered. I called the post office and was told the mail carrier was going to be back from his route in less than an hour, bringing the package back. I had to take my son to an appointment, so I told the post office manager I would pick it up in an hour or so.

I got there and they found my package with no problem, but there was a note written on it next to my address label that said,"7-23 grass needs to be cut." I asked to speak to the manager. I asked him if it's the post office's business how neat my yard needs to be. He said,"No sir, it's rained for the last few days, of course your yard needs mowing, everyone's does. I'll talk to him later about it." My mower is in the shop waiting on a belt for the last two weeks. We've had a dry spell for a few weeks. The letter carrier had no problem putting a package on my porch last week, but today he had trouble.

I filed a complaint on usps.com, because I have a few more packages coming in and I don't want to have to drive to the post office to get them, since I paid to have them delivered to my home.

I asked them in my letter if neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, but they can't walk through 40 feet of ankle high grass.

Admittedly grass can be pretty tough to navigate. Maybe in lieu of a holiday Starbucks gift card for the mailman, Witt can spring for some soccer cleats.

(Photo: stirwise)

Here's what's been happening to Victor:

We have been experiencing a growing number of brand new Blu-Ray releases from Netflix that arrive with a small crack (usually 1-3mm, and sometimes only through the hardcoat part) along the outer edge that makes the disc unplayable. In better than 4 years we have had only ONE regular Netflix DVD arrive cracked, but with Blu Ray we've now have three arrive in just the last three weeks with this problem. I started asking around, and it seems like this is a growing problem. The Blu Ray hard coating actually seems to make the discs MORE susceptible to damage in transit.

Mars Box noted this problem nearly two years ago, when 13 out of 24 Blu-ray titles he rented in September and October of 2007 arrived cracked. In the comments below the post, other Netflix customers are still posting (as recently as last month) that their Blu-ray rentals keep showing up cracked.

Netflix raised the rates on Blu-ray plans by $1 per membership tier this past March. At the time, they justified the price increase by saying, "Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs." We wonder if that price increase wasn't also a way for Netflix to avoid an expensive envelope redesign, and pass the cost of frequent disc replacement over to the consumers who rent Blu-ray in the first place.

RELATED
"Cracked Netflix Blu-Ray Disc Problem" [Mars Box]
"Netflix Raising Blu-Ray Rates By $1 Per Tier"
(Photo: Ross C.)

She first wrote us in early June:

I have a problem and I have no idea how to fix it, or where to complain. I moved from Park Slope Brooklyn back home to southern New Hampshire. I filed my change of address request nearly a month early, I received confirmation letters at my old address and my new address stating that my mail would henceforth be forwarded. Except it wasn't. I contacted my old roommates, and a nice neat pile is amassing on the kitchen table for me. I called the USPS toll-free number to complain, and they said that the complaint would be forwarded to the appropriate post offices and that someone from the neighborhood post office would be calling me the next business day. Surprise surprise, nobody from the 9th Street Post Office called.

One of my roommates is sending me my mail from her office. But her office shouldn't be footing the bill to mail me stuff that the USPS was supposed to deliver for free. I know I should be content that at least I have a method of getting my unforwarded mail, but who can I complain to about the lack of service and the incompetence over at 9th street?

While I do miss a lot about NYC living, I don't miss the incompetence and inefficiencies of their post offices. I mean, if my town's post office services 20-30K residents and major businesses without any massive problems, why do NYC post offices have so much trouble dealing with their small piece of the pie?

A couple weeks later, Veronica wrote back to confirm that her mail is still backwarded rather than forwarded:

The manager of my old neighborhood post office called and assured me she would speak to the mail carrier to make sure the mail gets forwarded.

Yeah, that would be why mail is STILL being delivered to my old address. At least my roommate is able to mail it out in a parcel from her office....

At least Veronica can take solace in the fact that she's not getting junk mail. Lucky for her she's got an honest, helpful ex-roommate willing to do the post office's job for it.

(Photo: Jenna Belle)

The USPS will also roll out by the end of this month a more tightly integrated system for printing postage for items sold on eBay, previously announced by eBay in April. Currently, the process works like this:

1) After you sell an item and the buyer transfers payment, you go eBay's Selling Manager page.

2) Choose Print Postage (as shown in the accompanying image), and you go to the Web site of eBay's payment service, PayPal.

3) Log in to PayPal, and you go to a form for printing postage.

4) Fill out the form with the size of the package and other details, and then print out your label.

5) You log in to PayPal so the postage can be automatically deducted from your PayPal account.

The new tool will eliminate one step: the need to log into PayPal. Now, you'll be able to choose your shipping method, enter the size and weight of your package, order insurance, and print out the shipping label without having to leave eBay.

The upside for buysers is fewer shipping obstacles mean you'll be getting the stuff you overpaid for more quickly, hurrying the onset of buyer's remorse so you can get over it quicker and move on to the next ill-advised auction.

USPS Integrates with Bill Me Later, New eBay Shipping App Coming [AuctionBytes]
(Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane)

Thieves can't steal mail from your PO Box. If you live in an area where your mail is accessible without a key, then you live in an area where an identity thief could come by and steal your mail! The easiest way to combat this is to get paperless statements. The second easiest way is to rent a post office box and get your bills delivered there. Your mail is safely locked away and no thief is going to waste their time trying to break into PO boxes when they can waltz down any street and open up regular mail boxes!

If they get your mail, they don't have your address. When a thief gets your mail and sees your name with a PO Box as an address, they're going to be upset. Without your physical address, it becomes much harder for them to steal something from you. My PO Box address isn't listed on any of my credit reports because they aren't residences. So without knowing my physical address, it becomes much harder to pretend to be me.

Thwart junk solicitations. One unintended benefit of using a PO Box is that you will personally receive fewer junk mail letters and your PO Box will receive more. Most post offices have locked blue recycling bins so you can dump the junk mail immediately.

Even the Department of the Treasury recommends using a PO Box to "outsmart the crooks" in their identity theft learning guide [PDF, 650kb]

If you're sold on the idea, find out how much a post office box costs near you. I rent their smallest size for a mere $5 a month and it's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'd rather spend $5 a month and go the do-it-yourself identify theft protection route than pay for a service.

Do you use a PO Box or some other type of "secured mailbox facility" like Mailboxes Etc.?

Jim writes daily about personal finance at Bargaineering.com.

(Photo: mundane_joy)

T.J. wrote to us:

[The company] states that they send you "necessary" materials to take this text and quoted me at $24 at the beginning of my call, either they are outright lying or I severely misheard the number quoted to me, because at the end of the call they told me my total was 138.97 dollars, which was already charged to my account before I could say no. To cancel the order I had to call another number, which no one ever picks up at, luckily I called a number of other phone numbers I found at their website only to be informed that I had already canceled. Which was frustrating on top of the fact they had charged my account twice with the overdraw buffer so about 280 is sitting in pending limbo in my bank account right now, and for the last week.

But here's the scam part: the post office, after being contacted directly, is not hiring, period. They have no scheduled tests in this state (Minnesota) for the future at all. As someone looking for work in this world as so many are I wanted to spread that this is the case and not to call this company and buy a package from them out of desperation for a great paying job.

If you're looking for real postal employment, check the USPS careers page. Both the FTC and the real federal employment site, USAJOBS.gov, have posted warnings about this particular scam.

FTC Stamps Out Postal Job Scam [FTC]
CONSUMER ALERT - FEDERAL JOB FRAUD [USA JOBS]

(Photo: dougmcfarland)

Special Delivery [Flickr] (via Brooklyn Heights Blog - thanks, Josh!)

Annoyed, she e-mailed Fedex, copying Consumerist:

My neighbor came by a few days ago to deliver my FedEx package that was dropped at his house instead of mine. The delivery person not only delivered it to the wrong home, but he also ignored the sign on my neighbor's gate that said "Beware of Dogs." He dropped it over the fence to be eaten by my neighbor's puppies. I have attached pictures of the damage.

I am extremely upset and disappointed. On top everything else, we receive packages to our home on a regular basis, all of which are delivered to our correct address –meaning our home is not hard to find.

Yes, delivery people encounter dogs all the time, but leaving a box within canine reach? Imagine if the package were a big box of chocolates—the dogs would have died.

Side note: Looking at the pictures, I noticed that the item was mailed in a USPS Priority Mail box, turned inside out. Not cool. That's illegal.

Fun With FedEx [Rue the Day]

One tipster writes:

I don't want to bore you with all the details, but basically the USPS wanted to confiscate an iMac rather than pay for the repair I had bought off of eBay that arrived at my house with a cracked screen. I spent, literally, 30 hours dealing with the St. Louis office postal insurer's office trying to get someone to answer my questions about why they weren't abiding by the very regulations that they post on the web in regards to insurance claims. The good news, though, is that I actually won. I fought the MAN and actually won, despite all the shenanigans they pulled on me. The claims appeals supervisors never contacted me back, nor did the consumer advocate (locally or at the national level). What finally got a response, and what reminded me of all this nonsense, was that I managed to guess Autria Finley's email address which was never included on any of the form letter correspondence that I received from them. I emailed her and got an almost immediate judgment on the case. The underling claims adjuster had not forwarded any of my requests for review to her. I also never got a direct phone number until I reached her through email, and had to go through the voice mail hell each time I tried to reach the claims adjuster. The best part of the story was about two months after my check arrived for the repair, and post office had released the computer back to me, I received a call from the USPS California accounting department stating that I had been paid in error despite the letter stating otherwise from the claims department. I told the adjuster in no uncertain terms that he was wrong, and that I had the emails and letter from Ms. Finley detailing the claim. He asked me for her phone number, and it was at that point I realized that even if you work for USPS, you can't get these people's contact information.

We love that even employees of the post office don't have contact info for the higher-ups. Anyway, the email address for Autria Finley is afinley@email.usps.gov. We were about to send this along to Pedro when he emailed us to say:

I woke up just a short while ago to your mail and called my friend to let him know it was posted. He just got a from a Michelle Williams with the usps saying they would honor the claim in full. We're thrilled. Thanks again for all yours and the readers help! I will let you know once it's actually paid out. As you can imagine this is a huge weight off our shoulders.

Hooray for the power of the internet. If you've experienced similar problems with USPS and denied insurance claims (and judging from our emails, you have), try getting in touch with Ms. Finley to see if that can help your claim out.

Pedro writes:

In February I had a friend in Orlando ship me a large box of 5 brand-new Lenovo R500's I had him pick up for me. He insured the shipment for $3,000 and sent it parcel-post to me in San Diego. They told us a delivery time of 7-9 days would be an approximate timeframe, which came and went without a package in sight. All the while I'm tracking the package and its status was never changed from: PACKAGE ACCEPTED ORLANDO, FL. I called several times before the 7-9 days and was only told to wait the 7-9 days. After 9 days had passed I was told it could take up to 14 days. I spoke to several agents at the 800-ASK-USPS number, my local post office and the Orlando, FL post office and got different information from every single place. After 21 days my friend was allowed to fill out an insurance claim, which he did, which was supposed to be processed immediately, yet took another week to be sent from the Orlando PO to their insurance department. Another four weeks later we received the gift of the attached letter stating that they decided to award us $112.14 of the $3,000 we insured the package for. We're in the process of appealing but I'm appalled at the $112.14 price-tag for my lost computers. It's unreal.

Pedro included scans of the receipt showing he bought $3,000 worth of insurance on the package, as well as the letter from USPS offering him $74 for the package and $38.14 for postage.

We hope your appeal works out, Pedro. If it doesn't, consider alerting the leadership at USPS. We couldn't find their email addresses (maybe they view it as competition) but we're guessing a letter would reach them. Unless they lose it.

According to a complaint filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission and summarized at WebProNews last week,

Upon realizing so many of its games weren't making it through the delivery process, Gamefly and the Postal Service tested to see what was happening. Even after changing to sturdier mailers with special handling instructions with specific mail machines listed, Gamefly games were still broken in the process. Nineteen USPS employees were also arrested for theft.

According to the complaint, the investigation also found that competitors Blockbuster and Netflix DVDs were manually removed from bulk mail and not processed through machines. This led to the company's allegations of discriminatory treatment. Gamefly says working to resolve the problem with the USPS has not been successful.

"GameFly Files Complaint Against USPS" [WebProNews via GamePolitics.com] (Thanks to John!)

RELATED
"What's The Matter With GameFly?"

Here are some post offices that are open late in various metropolitan areas. Due to cutbacks, fewer post offices are extending their drop-off hours this year. Don't despair, however, it's easy to search the USPS website for 24 hour "automated postal centers." Good luck, procrastinators!

Chicago: 433 W Harrison ST FL Lbby (Open 24 hours)

New York City: James Farley Post Office 421 Eighth Avenue and 31st Street (Open 24 hours)

Denver: General Mail Facility Center at 53rd and Quebec (Open 24 hours)

LA: Airport Station, 9029 Airport Blvd. (Open Until Midnight)

San Francisco: Airport Branch (660 W. Field Road) (Open Until Midnight)

San Diego: 2535 Midway Drive (Open Until Midnight)

Miami: 2200 NW 72nd Ave. (Open Until Midnight)

Virginia: Hampton Roads General Mail Facility at 600 Church Street in Norfolk (Open Until Midnight)

Austin: 8225 Cross Park Drive (Open Until Midnight)

New Orleans: 701 Loyola Ave. (Open Until Midnight)

Tampa Bay: St. Petersburg Main Post Office 3135 1st Avenue S., St. Petersburg Drive (Open Until Midnight)

Indiana: Gary Post Office, 1499 Martin Luther King Drive (Open Until Midnight)

DC: 2 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NE (Open Until Midnight)

Ohio: 675 Wolf Ledges Parkway, Akron, 2650 Cleveland Ave. N.W., Canton, Cleveland Main Post Office, 2400 Orange Ave. (Open Until Midnight)

St. Louis: 1720 Market Street (Open Until Midnight)

Dallas: Dallas Main Post Office, 401 DFW Turnpike - (Open Until Midnight)

Philadelphia: 3000 CHESTNUT ST (Open Until Midnight)

Seattle: Seattle, Riverton Station, 15250 32nd Ave S. (Open Until Midnight)

Atlanta: 3900 Crown Road SW, 227 Sandy Springs Place, (Open Until Midnight)

Detroit: 1401 W. Fort St, 12245 Beech Daly Road, 200 W. Second St. (Open Until Midnight)

Utah: Ogden Main Post Office 3680 Pacific Ave, Provo East Bay Post Office 936 S. 250 East, Salt Lake Main Post Office 1760 W. 2100 South (Open Until Midnight)

Kansas City: 1700 Cleveland Street (Open Until Midnight)

Arizona: 1501 S. Cherrybell Stravenue, Tucson, 4949 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix (Open Until Midnight)

Minneapolis/St. Paul: Minneapolis Main Post Office 100 S. 1st St, St. Paul Main Post Office 180 E. Kellogg Blvd.,Air Mail Center 5001 Northwest Dr. St. Paul (at MSP International Airport) (Open Until Midnight)

New Mexico: Albuquerque 1135 BROADWAY BLVD, 900 PINETREE RD SE RIO RANCHO, NM (Open Until Midnight)

Keep in mind that some of these post offices are open for drop off only and are not providing regular retail services.

Add your own late night post offices in the comments and help your neighbors get their taxes in on time. Thanks!

(Photo:jenna_belle)

Fresh [Burbia via BuzzFeed]

"Forever Stamps" will still work, there will be no need for extra postage.

"The Forever Stamp is always honored for a 1-ounce letter with no need for additional postage," spokesman Stephen M. Kearney said.

Cost of stamps to go up 2 cents [CNN]
(Photo:dM.nyc)

I think Worldwide Rebates is using a new trick on not getting a rebate to a person.

I received a rebate from them and it was basically two light weight postcards held together with a small round sticker. I took a picture which should explain it better:

If that sticker fails the two parts will come apart. Once it comes apart the actual rebate check will get separated in transit and then USPS will have no way of knowing who to send it to. It might get sent back to Worldwide Rebates who may or may not cut another one for you. I think it is pretty sneaky on their part.

They know there is a chance that it will get lost and they will probably not end up having to pay on it. They could have designed the mailing with two stickers one on top and one on bottom and it would have been much better.

They could have also made the check detachable, which would easily solve the lost address problem.

We don't know if this was a unique exception, or the way Worldwide Rebates sends out checks now, so if anyone else has received a similar rebate check from them, please let us know either way. It's possible that the check and address label were mechanically separated in some mysterious way after it left Worldwide Rebates, but considering the general tendency of rebate companies to thwart their customers, and of Worldwide Rebates in particular to play dirty, we have our suspicions.

(Thanks to Derek!)

The post office blames FedEx and email, along with the decline of advertising mailers that has occurred with the economic downturn, for its troubles. Various studies have estimated that cutting a day of service, probably Tuesday or Saturday, could save between $1.9 and $3.5 billion annually.

We pay most of our bills online, most of our packages come via UPS or DHL, so the only mail we usually get is magazines and ad fliers. Would you care if the mail came only five days a week?

Postal Service Considers Cutting Delivery Day [MSNBC]
(Photo: Consumerist)

So, I order some stuff from Amazon on December 6th for Christmas. I though I was doing the right thing, by shopping early. And since I was shopping sooo early, I decided I didn't need the package right away, and choose the Super Saver shipping (free!). All seems to go OK. Amazon says that it shipped on the 8th, says I should get it by the 16th, and I receive a tracking number. After a few days, I check USPS and get the following message:

"Your item was processed and left our FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003 facility on December 13, 2008. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later."

I keep checking, and it doesn't change. Since it's parcel pool, sometimes it takes a while to get to my place, but I've received other parcel pool packages that were shipped after the first one. So today, the 22nd, I email Amazon, wondering if there is anything they can do, since they are gifts. Here is their glorious response:

Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com with your concern.

I'm sorry—it appears that your shipment was lost in transit. I've placed a new order and we'll ship it to the same address as soon as possible.

Here are the order details:

Order Number: xxx
Estimated Delivery Date: December 24, 2008.

There's no charge for this replacement order. I've also upgraded the shipping method to "One Day Shipping" at no additional charge.

Again, I apologize for this situation. I've added some more information below that might help you.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com, and best wishes for the holidays.
(they also have instructions if the original package decides to show up sometime)

Bravo Amazon, my wife will be happy and so am I!

Well done, Amazon. Although we'd expect them to replace a package that was lost in transit, upgrading the shipping to one day delivery so it's there in time for Christmas is above and beyond. Also, BOOO, post office.

(Photo: Getty)

Some consider "Mailman Steve" an anti-junk mail superhero — but it seems that Mr. Padgett was just overwhelmed.

It wasn't a conscious stand against waste or a junk mail protest that spurred Padgett to hold onto the mailers, according to Andrew McCoppin, his attorney. Rather, it was the inability to meet the demands of a job in a growing part of the county while contending with heart problems and complications from his diabetes, McCoppin wrote in a memo in advance of the hearing.

Not sorting and delivering the third-class mailings became a way to save time and make sure other mail got delivered on time.

Padgett could have received jail time for his actions, which were discovered when utility workers spotted the undelivered mail at his home. The U.S. Postal Service did not receive a single complaint about the missing junk mail, some of which dates back to 1999.

"I don't think he was being malicious," Shelley Cole, a resident of Apex's Jamison Park subdivision, told the News & Observer. "We got all the mail that we needed to get."

'Mailman Steve' gets probation [News & Observer]
Judgment day arrives for 'Mailman Steve' [News & Observer]

Consumer Reports mailed 48 packages from Yonkers, N.Y., to 16 consumers in 12 states, using regular next-day delivery (Standard Overnight for FedEx, Express Mail for the Postal Service, and Next Day Air Saver for UPS.) All of the packages got there the next day — but the price was wildly different.

CR says:

The Postal Service was the least expensive by far for local and long-distance deliveries. For letter-size envelopes, such as the ones it gave us for sending the books, it charges a flat rate of $16.50. (Flat rates for slower delivery are lower.) The other shippers base prices on weight and distance traveled. UPS charged $62.87 to send our book next-day to Oregon and $29.55 to Manhattan. FedEx charged $54.57 and $27.48, respectively.

...Asked how the Postal Service, an independent part of the U.S. government’s executive branch, can deliver overnight shipping for less, a spokeswoman, Yvonne Yoerger, said: "We have an infrastructure in place and letter carriers everywhere. We’re simply adding package delivery to a network that already exists."

Way to go, USPS.

Overnight shipping: FedEx vs. UPS vs. the Postal Service [CR]
(Photo: The Joy of the Mundane )

Hi, I work the counter for the United States Postal Service and right now we are in a really big financial mess, they claim to have lost about one Billion dollars this past fiscal year. I was told yesterday by my supervisor (and I saw the written memo from the District) that stated we are not to offer first class, parcel post, or media mail.

If a customer comes to the counter with anything other than a letter, we are not to offer anything other than Express Mail or Priority mail.

So if a customer comes to the counter with a 5 ounce small package I am supposed to say "Good Afternoon, would you like to ship this Express Mail overnight guaranteed, it includes $100 of insurance and free tracking for only $16.50?"—Customer looks at you like you are crazy, especially if the package is just going across town—"Ok, then we can send it Priority Mail and it should get to its destination in 2-3 business days for $4.80 and we can add insurance for loss or damage, and for an extra 65 cents you can add delivery confirmation." At this point I am supposed to shut up and let them either be duped into paying at least $4.80 or wait until they say - how about first class, or is there anything cheaper?—at that point I can offer the first class postage. For the package I described, a 5 ounce parcel, the cost would be $1.85 or almost $3 cheaper than Priority Mail. My advice is to always ask if there is a cheaper way to ship. Once asked we can tell you, but we won't volunteer the information.

Some tips if you are going to the Post Office, Express Mail will get it there overnight. Priority mail AND first class will usually get it overnight if it is going within your city or usually within your state. If the package is going farther than a neighboring state the Priority Mail will get there in 2 or 3 days, with first class usually a day or two later than Priority. We are not supposed to offer parcel post mail—I do agree with that, parcel post is usually within a dollar or two pricewise of Priority Mail and will take anywhere from 7-14 days or even longer to get where it is going. If you are only sending books, media mail is the ultimate cheap way to go, usually 1/3 the price of parcel post. A warning though—media mail can be opened, and we do open it if we suspect it is not media mail. In that case the person recieving the package will pay the difference in price.

(Photo: justmyowntwocents)

Received this in the mail this week. A very nice note from the USPS people saying just how sorry they were that they apparently decided to rip the cover off of my Rolling Stone, keep the body of the magazine, and then fold the rest into a nice little baggie and mail it anyway with their most sincere apologies.

Why do we suspect that the rest of the magazine is in a USPS toilet stall somewhere? Just kidding, just kidding.

I love your website, and I figured you could help me out with some trouble of my own.

I went home for lunch yesterday and my USPS woman was trying to free throw a package from the ground floor up to my apartment on the 2nd floor. She missed both times and it fell down the flight of stairs to the landing in the middle, and she eventually walked up half the stairs and threw it at my door. At this point I was standing behind her and confronted her because it was my apartment, and my package and she didn't care. I asked for her name [redacted] and her boss's name (a shrug) and she said that she didn't care and walked back to her truck.

The package is an ipod that my sister left at a family member's house last weekend... The ipod worked as of last weekend, now hard drive is now making a grinding noise and not turning on.

I called the Raleigh Post Office for my zip code and spoke with a supervisor who said that they'd talk with [redacted], but they really didn't seem to care. After that I went to speak with my apartment managers and they were shocked, but there isn't much they can do. One renter said that she had seen the Postal Woman do the same things with her neighbor's packages and another person in the office made a comment that [redacted] was crazy, suggested I contact the Post Office and watch out for unusual things in the mail.

Needless to say, I'm really pissed. The ipod was well packaged, but /somewhere/ in the trip and falling down 2 flights of stairs, it has stopped working.

Do you have any suggestions? I might call the post office back and speak with the manager who is higher on the food chain but I'm not sure it'll make a difference. My boyfriend suggested contacting the Post Master and you guys, because you always know what to do.

Erg.

Well, since a) this seems to be a hobby of your mail carrier's b) you already reported it to the post office and they didn't seem to care, you're probably going to want to escalate this complaint to a higher authority. The best we could find was the Office of the Inspector General of the USPS. They have a hotline that takes complaints from the general public. When filing your complaint, we suggest that you concentrate on the fact that this behavior is routine and that you and the other renters in your apartment building fear retaliation for reporting it to the mail carrier's supervisor.

You might also consider starting a petition within your apartment building and submitting it as well.

Anyone have any better ideas?

Contact Information [Office of the Inspector General]
(Photo: Joy Of The Mundane )

Please see attached photos. We recently went to a first birthday party, and received a thank-you card in the mail today. Unfortunately, the sender used a $0.41 stamp and did not write in their return address (see 'envelope.png'). As a result, our mail carrier took the time to fill out 'invoice.png'.

Let's do the math, shall we?

Entry level mail carrier salary is $40,000 per year. That's $769.23 per week, or $153.85 per day. Let's give them 10 hour days on average, and that's $15.38 per hour. 60 minutes in an hour, and that's $0.26 per minute. So assuming it only took one minute to stamp the envelope with the 'POSTAGE DUE' stamp, write in the number one, take out the 'carrier's statement' envelope, write in our address, our last name, his name, our town, and our zip code...he just cost the US Government $0.25. And that doesn't include the gas he burned idling at the top of my driveway.

And we thought that the paperboys who wanted their $2 were batshit crazy. However, if we literally interpret the postman's invoice (.01¢), you actually owe just one-one-hundredths of a penny. (The correct notation would have been $.01) Loyal Consumerists know that many people are confused about dollars and decimals.

Alauna paid $26 to insure the laptop on its cross-country visit to a virus-hunting friend. When the laptop arrived, a menacing broken hinge threatened to scratch the screen.

She writes:

The United States Postal Service is falling apart. About 7 months ago, my father gave me a brand new, HP Pavilion dv9700z series (Retailed at over a thousand bucks, but it was a gift, so I don't know exactly how much it cost him). In the 7 months that I've owned it, I got a nasty bug (virus) on it, and it no longer allowed me to log onto the internet. Either way, my best friend is an expert with computers and lives in LA, so I decided to send it to him to take a look at it.

By this being such a high line item, I wrapped it in bubble wrap, placed in a laptop case, and wrapped it AGAIN in a ton of bubble wrap before placing it in a post office issue box that the clerk told me, "most people send their laptops in THIS box)". I made sure to put at least $500.00 dollars worth of insurance on the shipment (just in case).

Silly me for believing this woman as approximately a week later, I got a call from my buddy in LA explaining that the hinge of the unit was broken and it was threatening to cause further damage to the computer. He explained that if I close the laptop, the screen may scratch and cause about 800 bucks worth of damage. So I'm irritated because this company screwed me over, and some idiot ignored the FRAGILE that was placed on the box, but I'm somewhat relieved that I got insurance on the purchase.

I send my LA buddy the insurance information along with the required receipt and figure the money would be distributed in a respectable amount of time. NOT! My buddy calls me later after he received the insurance information and explains that the post office clerk in LA tells him that "without a receipt, they probably won't honor your insurance claim)". Are you serious? They weren't saying such nonsense when they sucked 26 bucks out of my pockets for the original shipment and insurance. Either way, I'm stuck with a brand new computer damaged by USPS, and the unfortunate truth that I may not receive any restitution for their mistakes. To all who read this, NEVER use the USPS to ship anything of importance. I live in a rural area (Cleveland, MS) so this was my only option, but I refuse to use this awful place again.

She later sent us an update:

So we file a claim with the Post office in April, and today I find out that they are denying my claim unless someone at the POST OFFICE admits to causing the damage! Are you serious?

I officially hate the USPS and this is what I get for using snail mail.

P.S. I don't know whether to be mad at the post office for breaking the computer or HP for making crappy hardware as I have a Compaq X1000 that wont charge (crappy HP).

We always thought the point of insurance was to protect a package in the event something happens. It doesn't need to be an abuse. If an employee admits to abusing an uninsured package, would the Post Office refuse to reimburse the owner?

(Photo: Getty)

Reader Brad is fed up with junk mail from Comcast. He asked the company if it would be possible to be taken off the junk mail list to which Comcast replied, "We are unable to remove a non-active account from the mailing list. The reason being is, if or when you move out of this address, we would not be sending offers and possibly prevent the new owner from receiving a special offer," and that would be a crime against humanity, we suppose. Is there a way to get Comcast to stop sending junk mail? Brad's letter and our response, inside..

Dear Consumerist Editors and Readers,

I'd like to share my Comcastic experience with asking Comcast to stop sending me junk mail. I get more from them than any other source. They first told me it would be taken care of, but after some time of receiving more and more Comcast junk mail I called back, and they said, "No, we can't take you off our mailing list, (get this...) because you might move." !!!! (Documentation below)

A received no reply to my "feel-free-to-contact-us-if-you-have-any-more-questions" follow-up. I forwarded this Service Rep's email to Comcast's web persona, Mr. Frank Eliason. He seems very responsive in his twitter posts and in an interview I heard. But unfortunately, after about 10 days I have received no reply.

How can I stop receiving unwanted mail, if Comcast says, "We don't care what you don't want, we'll send it anyway in case you move"?

-Brad

Comcast's letter:====================

Hello Mr. Brad ********,

Holly was correct in stating we are unable to remove a non-active account from the mailing list.

The reason being is, if or when you move out of this address, we would not be sending offers and possibly prevent the new owner from receiving a special offer.

I hope this answers your inquiry. Please feel free to contact us if you have any more questions.

Thank you for choosing Comcast.

Sincerely,
Chenise
Comcast Customer Care

One approach to stop Comcast's junk mail is to submit a "prohibitory order against sender of pandering advertisement in the mails," also known as form 1500. This form was originally drafted to stop mail that customers found "erotically arousing or sexually provocative." Despite the non-sexual nature of Comcast's mail, this order can still be applied. Once this form is accepted by the USPS it would make any further junk mail a violation of this order. The major problem with this is that the USPS is notorious for not enforcing the orders, in which case you are back to square one.

Another avenue that might be worth investigating is Comcast's self-appointed go-to guy for unresolved issues. Scott Westerman, an area Vice President for Comcast, writes in his blog:

But at the base of it all is our desire to build great customer relationships, one at a time. That’s our common passion at Comcast.

If you have an unresolved issue, we want to hear about it. Our local teams are the first best resource. 1-800-Comcast will connect you with the office that serves your area. But if the chain of command isn’t working, you can directly connect with us, via email at we_can_help@cable.comcast.com or @comcastcares on twitter.

We’re listening.

Scott Westerman
Area Vice President - Comcast
scott.westerman@comcast.net
@comcastscott on Twitter

Additionally, our readers always have some tricks up their sleeves. What are some of your tricks for stopping junk mail?

(Photo: Getty)

We sent a letter via guaranteed overnight shipping with USPS. On the evening of June 4, we purchased and printed the label, attached it to the envelope and mailed the envelope the following morning (June 5th). I dropped it in the Express Mail box outside our local post office.

When I checked the website, I found the letter wasn't delivered until June 11th. I called the toll-free number and had an odd exchange with an operator.

First, I must tell you that my father has worked for the USPS for over 30 years. My brother-in-law has worked there for at least 15 years. My sister and I both worked there. We not only know how the system works, but we also know how stupid some customers can be. So while many people complain about the USPS, I understand how things work and the frustration that comes along with it.

When I spoke to the representative, she checked my letter and found the same information I did. She then insisted the delay was probably due to it being a P.O. Box. I told her that we sent another letter guaranteed overnight to the same P.O. Box a few weeks ago and it was delivered the next day.

She then gave the example, "If you mail four packages at the same time from the same place going to the same address, they might all get there on different days."

At that point, I replied, "Not if they were all sent guaranteed next day."

She then told me to take my receipt to the post office and request a form 3353 to see "If," I qualified for a refund.

I did that and was told the guarantee does not extend to items left in the Express Mail box. It only applies if you bring the item to the counter. If that is the case, why would they even offer Express Mail via their website? When you purchase it online, you do so in an effort to avoid the lines at the post office. Also, nowhere on the website, while purchasing the Express Mail option did it state that items needed to be taken to the window/desk in order for the guarantee to apply.

I asked her, "Where on the box does it say that?" She then told me she had handed my form over to her supervisor.

I was given my full refund without any further discussion, but we did have to wait for half an hour while all this occurred. Although the supervisor did not want to give me the refund. She actually explained, "Letters get stuck up in the top of the box all the time. Sometimes, it takes days or even a week before we find them."

Um...you're not helping yourself out with that little tid bit.

As soon as it happened, I thought to myself, "I must pass this along to the Comsumerist." So, there ya go.

Has anyone ever heard of the guarantee only applying to the window? My father has never heard of any such thing nor did I find anything on the box or online.

Our reader writes:

Three years ago I bought a house in NJ and moved into the new development. In the beginning, my mailbox was constantly getting stuffed with flyers and the like offering services such as cleaning, nanny, and contractor work. Knowing that it is illegal to place these materials inside a mailbox without a stamp (see Section 1725 of Title 18 of the United States Code), I asked via the USPS website whom I should be contacting in order to get these to stop coming to me. The response I got back the following day was to forward the matter to my local Post Office. I did exactly that, mailing the offending flyer with a letter to the local post office asking them to enforce Section 1725 of Title 18 of the United States Code. The amount of flyers received in my mailbox has since decreased, but everytime I got one in my mailbox, I would mail it with a letter again asking them to enforce Section 1725 of Title 18.
Several weeks ago, I got a knock on the door and it was a postal worker who had indicated that they have received the letters I had been sending them all along and to please stop. She admitted that they call the business in violation of Section 1725 and ask them not to do it again, but do nothing to really enforce it. It puzzles me why they even bother to establish this and layout penalties if no one is going to enforce them.

It puzzles us too. The USPS's website (PDF) states: "Except under 2.11 [dealing with newspaper boxes attached to mailboxes], the receptacles described in 1.1 may be used only for matter bearing postage. Other than as permitted by 2.10 or 2.11, no part of a mail receptacle may be used to deliver any matter not bearing postage, including items or matter placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle." Note that "door slots and nonlockable bins or troughs used with apartment house mailboxes" are excluded from this prohibition, and can be loaded up with as many flyers as they can hold. Although our reader was told to contact her local post office, there's actually a specific form for these complaints on the U.S. Postal Inspection website. You can also try contacting the business directly and informing them that they are breaking the law.

Customer Mail Receptacles [USPS]
File a Complaint [United States Postal Inspection Service] (PDF)
Postage Unpaid On Deposited Mail Matter [United States Code]
(Photo: Jenna Belle)

Geoff's wife tried to mail a padded envelope full of love to his mom for Mother's Day, but the post office returned it to Geoff's house the next day with the above label, which says the item could not be delivered due to "heightened security requirements." That's all well and good, but what Geoff wants to know is, if this envelope is potentially dangerous, why would you bring it to the person named on the return address?

By Geoff's estimate (and ours), either it's a huge flaw in their security plan, or the USPS doesn't really believe in their own rules.

The whole process makes no sense to me. In fact, I'm so confused why the Postal Service is doing this, I asked them to comment.

The rule actually predates 9/11, going back to the mid-90s. The weight limit, recently lowered to 13-ounces, complies with the weight limits for Priority Mail.

In an email response response, Doug Bem from the US Postal Inspection Service included this all purpose line:

"Unfortunately I won’t be able to get into the specifics of those security issues because someone who could misuse that information might be a reader of your blog; all I can say is that the issues still exist today."

When he posted this story on his blog, it got picked up by a USPS-related website and he received several comments from possible postal service insiders. This morning, someone calling himself "VaguelyPostal" (which is a troubling name in itself) wrote:

I believe your basic concern is why if your wife's package was considered suspicious or dangerous was it returned with the carrier as a regular piece of mail.

I agree, the explanations you are getting are not logical. But, to make it logical to you would require revealing information that would detract from postal security.
Being intentionally vague, I will tell you that your package was returned through normal delivery channels only because it violated the 13 oz. rule, not because it was deemed suspicious, dangerous, or hazardous. If the package had been classified as those latter categories it would not be entered into mailstream.

So the final, vague summary seems to be: if you get an item returned to your address for violating security rules, odds are high the USPS doesn't really think it's dangerous, but rules are rules and they can't accept it.

If you don't have a scale at home, an unopened can of soda weighs between 13 and 14 ounces, so you can use that as a rough guide.

"My 13-Ounce Dilemma" [GeoffFox.com]

First-Class Mail letter (1 oz.) $0.42
First-Class Mail letter (2 oz.) $0.59
Postcard $0.27
First-Class Mail large envelope (2 oz.) $1.00
Certified Mail $2.70
First-Class Mail International to Canada and Mexico (1 oz.) $0.72
First-Class Mail International to all other countries (1 oz.) $0.94

New Prices Coming May 12, 2008 [USPS]

From MailMovesAmerica.org:

To many consumers and policymakers, Do Not Mail bills may sound like an idea whose time has come. However, learning even a little about advertising mail and direct marketing quickly reveals the many problems that Do Not Mail registries would create.

Advertising mail is a large and diverse economic engine creating $686 billion of economic activity annually that would be adversely affected by even just one bill becoming law. Thousands of jobs are dependent on advertising mail and direct marketing – from copywriters in ad agencies to rural letter carriers in remote corners of a sparsely populated state.

Get on over there and tell them how much you totally freaking love junk mail!

MailMovesAmerica.org

7 News in Denver reports that a Colorado man has been officially warned that reusing a United States Postal Service "Priority Mail" cardboard box is a violation of federal law. We're not even talking about mail fraud but simply reusing them for other types of shipping. Could reusing these boxes actually be a federal crime? Find out more about this outlaw...

Consumers (who hadn't received their new cards) but were getting statements full of fraudulent charges for restaurant meals, computers and power tools, notified the police.

Authorities arrested Hank after a two-month-long investigation conducted jointly by the Fourth and Sixth squads along with agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

Hank, of 16 Park Blvd., was charged with five counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and three counts of second-degree forgery, police said. He was released on bail.

Police ask that anyone who believes they may have been victimized to call the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.

Cops arrest Smithtown postal worker [Newsday]
(Photo:Joy of the Mundane)

Here are some post offices that are open late in various metropolitan areas.

New York City: James Farley Post Office 421 Eighth Avenue and 31st Street Open 24 hours.

Chicago: Cardiss Collins Postal Store 433 W Harrison ST FL Lbby Open 24 hours.
Los Angeles: Airport Station, 9029 Airport Blvd.;
Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center, 7101 S. Central Ave.;
Long Beach Processing & Distribution Center, 2300 Redondo Ave.;
City of Industry Processing & Distribution Center, 15421 Gale Ave.;
Pasadena Main Post Office, 600 Lincoln Ave.;
Van Nuys Main Post Office, 15701 Sherman Way;
Santa Ana Processing & Distribution Center, 3101 W. Sunflower Ave; and
Santa Ana Main Post Office, 2201 N. Grand Ave (all open until Midnight)

San Francisco: Main Branch 1300 Evans St (Open Until Midnight)
Airport Branch (660 W. Field Road) (Open Until Midnight)

Dallas: Dallas Main Post Office, 401 DFW Turnpike - (Open Until Midnight)

Atlanta: Atlanta Main Post Office 3900 Crown Road SW (Open Until Midnight)
Boggs Road Postal Store 1605 Boggs Road (Open Until Midnight)
Athens Main Post Office 575 Olympic Drive (Open Until Midnight)
Decatur Main Post Office 502 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue (Open Until Midnight)
Sandy Springs Postal Store 227 Sandy Springs Place NE (Open Until Midnight)
Marietta Main Post Office 257 Lawrence Street (Open Until Midnight)

Cincinnati: 1591 Dalton Ave (Open Until Midnight)

Orlando: Orlando Post Office 10401 Post Office Blvd. (Open Until Midnight)

Richmond: 1801 Brook Road - (Open Until Midnight)

Pittsburgh: (North Side) 1001 California Ave. - Window open until 9 p.m. Final mail pickup at midnight.
(Downtown) 700 Grant St. - Window open until 6 p.m. Final mail pickup at midnight.

Massachusetts: (only one post office in Massachusetts will be staying open.) Fort Point post office in Dorchester near South Station (24 Hours).

Philadelphia: 2970 Market ST RM 134c (Open Until Midnight)

Seattle: Seattle, Riverton Station, 15250 32nd Ave S. (Open Until Midnight)

Tucson: 1501 S. Cherrybell Stravenue (Drop-off Until Midnight)

Add your own late night post offices in the comments and help your neighbors get their taxes in on time. Thanks!

(Photo:jenna_belle)