If you’ve been stocking up on Forever stamps since the last price hike at the beginning of 2014, we have some bad news: those the price of first-class stamps will fall by 2¢ down to 47¢ this weekend. That might perhaps causing slight annoyance for consumers, but will hurt the U.S. Postal Service financially. The price cut, you see, wasn’t their idea. [More]
USPS
USPS To New York Town: Hey, Sorry For Delivering Blood-Stained Mail
By 2.19.16
Sometimes mail shows up ripped, twisted, soaked through, or otherwise damaged and you think, “Man, this is a bummer.” But residents of one New York town found their mail had been altered in a more disturbing way: it was smeared with blood. [More]
U.S. Postal Service Looking For More ‘Experimental’ Delivery Ideas, Cost Savings
By 1.22.16
The U.S. Postal Service has adapted to a future where we send and receive fewer first-class letters, but need many more packages delivered to our doorsteps. In testimony to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs this week, Postmaster General Megan Brennan told the assembled senators that the postal service is still looking for new things to deliver to make more money, but hopes that the Senate can pass legislation meant to make it less broke. [More]
NYC Postal Worker “Overwhelmed” By Holiday Deliveries Accused Of Dumping 1,000 Pieces Of Mail
By 12.30.15
If you live in the New York City area and didn’t receive as many gifts and holiday cards this year, there could be a reason for that beyond the usual U.S. Postal Service mistakes: according to a criminal complaint filed in Queens, one mailman was under so much seasonal pressure that he just dumped about 1,000 pieces of mail in the trash. [More]
Beware: Delivery Scams Are The Grinch Of The Holiday Season
By 12.21.15
With just days remaining before Christmas, you might be impatiently waiting for a few last deliveries to show up at your door. While those deliveries might be a sight for sore eyes, there’s another – of the scammy kind – that you should be on the look out for. [More]
CPSC Intensifies Investigation Into Exploding “Hoverboards,” USPS Restricts Shipments
By 12.17.15
One of the holiday’s hottest gifts has gotten a bit too hot, literally. Following claims that so-called “hoverboard” scooters have caught fire while charging, retailers have pulled the popular devices to ensure they’re safe. In the meantime, the country’s top product safety regulator says his agency is working “non-stop” to find the root cause for the fire hazards linked to the self-balancing scooters. [More]
Want Your Package To Make It Under The Tree? You Better Get Shipping Soon
By 12.14.15
The busiest shipping and mailing day of the year is upon us, with the U.S. Postal Service expecting to process more than 600 million cards, letters, postcards, periodicals, catalogs, and packages today alone. Gift givers who have already sent off their goodies shouldn’t encounter too many issues with their packages making it on time, but for the rest of us procrastinators, we might want to head to the post office, UPS or FedEx store sooner rather than later. [More]
USPS Testing Service That Shows Customers Photos Of Their Mail
By 12.7.15
If you’ve ever been waiting with breath that is bated on an important piece of mail, you might have wished there was some way you could take a peek at your mailbox from afar. Because many people can’t stay home and wait for the mail to arrive, the United States Postal Service is testing a “notification” service that sends customers photos of the contents of their mailbox by way of their email. [More]
USPS Denies It Has Missing Damaged Package, Still Turns Down Customer’s Insurance Claim After Finding It
By 10.23.15
It’s always a good idea to purchase insurance for your packages, especially if you’re mailing something valuable. But even having that protection didn’t keep one USPS customer from ending up with broken equipment and no insurance payment to cover the cost of replacing or fixing it. [More]
Head Of Local Post Office Shows Up At Guy’s Door To Personally Apologize For USPS Package Tracking Mix-Up
By 10.1.15
Remember Tony? He’s the guy who was waiting around for a package to be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, only to find that the online tracking said a carrier had attempted to deliver it while he was out briefly — an event that video from his home security system proved never happened. While it’s still unclear what exactly led to the contradicting tracking info — something many, many of our readers have said they’ve experienced — there’s a happy ending in this case at least: Tony says the new postmaster in charge of his local office showed up on Wednesday to personally apologize to him for the mix-up. [More]
USPS Says It Tried To Deliver My Package, But Home Security Video Shows Otherwise
By 9.29.15 — Updated: 5.25.17
UPDATE: Tony says his local postmaster arrived on his doorstep the day after his story was posted on Consumerist, to personally apologize and get more information about his situation. [More]
Should The USPS Open Up Mailboxes To All Kinds Of Deliveries?
By 9.1.15
What are mailboxes? What are they used for, and what should they be used for? In the delivery biz now, companies are wondering what goes in our mailboxes, what a mailbox should be, and who should be allowed to have access to them. Now, only you and your mail carrier are legally allowed to use your mailbox. Should that change? Should package delivery companies have access? What about grocery deliveries? What about your dry cleaning? [More]
The U.S. Postal Service Is Open To Delivering Anything To Raise Cash
By 8.18.15
Do you need something delivered? Perhaps a case of water, some booze, or maybe a box of fresh fish? Consider turning to the same people who bring you birthday cards and jury duty summonses: the U.S. Postal Service is now delivering groceries to customers in seven cities, and also doing same-day delivery in some markets of things you might not expect to see on a postal truck. [More]
Mail Carrier Wedges Package in Box, Doesn’t Have To Leave Vehicle
By 8.13.15
The weather in Alabama, where reader Alison lives, has been extremely warm lately. If she lived in an old cartoon, mercury would be bursting out of the top of the thermometers. With temperatures of about one hundred degrees every day, she doesn’t really blame her mail carrier for not wanting to get up. However, what takes more work: walking to the porch, or shoving a package in the mailbox so firmly that the customer can’t get it out? [More]
Postal Worker Accused Of Delivering 22,000 Pieces Of Mail Straight To His Garage
By 7.23.15
Tempting though it may be for a postal worker to swipe any of the millions of pieces of mail flying around the country, most refrain, and our packages and letters get where they’re supposed to go. But every once in a while, we have the misfortune to hear about a mail carrier gone rogue. Like a Philadelphia postal worker who authorities say squirreled away tens of thousands of pieces of mail. [More]
3 Postal Workers Accused Of Stealing From The “Operation Santa” Program Like A Bunch Of Grinches
By 6.18.15
Wherever you have people trying to do something good for others, you’ll inevitably have others trying to twist that effort for their own benefit. There’s not always a name for these greedy people, but in the case of three postal workers accused of rigging the “Operation Santa” program, the word “Grinch” is pretty darn fitting. [More]
USPS Driver Shows Off Athleticism By Throwing Package, Running Lap Around Delivery Van
By 3.26.15
Wait a minute — are the Delivery Driver Games coming up and no one warned us? Why else would a United States Postal Service worker appear to be fine-tuning her athletic prowess by chucking a delicate package onto a porch before a quick lap around her delivery van? [More]
USPS Apologizes To Deaf Woman After She Says Worker Refused To Communicate With Her By Writing
By 3.10.15
The United States Postal Service is apologizing to a deaf woman in Florida after she said workers at her local post office refused to accommodate her by providing service through writing, instead allegedly mocking her and making her feel humiliated. [More]
