The United States Postal Service shared some useful holiday mailing tips with us a few weeks ago, with some sensible suggestions to help you get your packages to their destinations faster and with a minimum of fuss. An anonymous postal worker complimented that list, but told us that she had some additions of her own: insights that can only come from behind the counter. [More]
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USPS Cares About Your Mail When It Doesn’t Really Count
By 4.1.10 — Updated: 6.3.13
Lana is a little frustrated with the U.S. Postal Service right now. She writes that she received an odd envelope in the mail from USPS–the tear-off advertising sheet from the front of a Netflix envelope addressed to her. An overly conscientious postal employee took the flyer, carefully placed it in a damaged item envelope, and mailed it back to Lana. [More]
USPS: No Stamp Price Increases In 2010
By 10.17.09
You can rest easy and stock up on booklets of Simpsons stamps instead of boring old Forever stamps. The United States Postal Service assures us that it is not planning any stamp price increases in 2010.
PayPal Error Stymies One Laptop Per Child Shipments
By 1.27.08
Tired of repeatedly hearing that his One Laptop Per Child was on the way, PC World’s Harry McCracken called OLPC and was surprised to discover that the charity didn’t have his mailing address on file. Apparently, PayPal passed McCracken’s payment to OLPC without providing his address.
Update: Getting Off Mailing Lists Is Fun
By 11.7.07
I’m happy to report that four months after requesting to get off the mailing lists for DELL (update: just got another catalog from Dell. Bastards!), Movies Unlimited, Tempurpedic, Guitar Center, New School, and my dentist’s office, they’ve all complied. Yesterday I requested to get off Macy’s and LL Bean. Still need to get off Harry & David, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. Out of the blue, I’ve also been getting these mailing address labels sent to me by various charities and other random unexpected pieces of junk mail where before I got none. I’m sure my creditors appreciate my checks arriving with the return address splayed on a picturesque snowman scene. I think when I signed up for a free cologne sample is how I got on the lists. Pretty stupid and I should’ve known better, but I thought it was going to be a whole bottle. It ended up being just a piece of scented paper. I resubmitted my name to the Direct Marketing Association’s Do Not Mail list (it costs $1), which stops thousands of companies from junk mailing you.
