In the not so distance past, the US Postal Service was a very customer-unfriendly organization. We had to do things their way, seems someone removed the words “customer” and “convenience” from their dictionary. In the early days of Fax machines the post office tried to get Faxes classified as First Class mail, and since the USPS has a monopoly on First Class Mail, every Fax would have to be sent to them first and then hand delivered by a postal carrier. That idea didn’t work. I remember back in the ‘80s or early ‘90s the Postmaster General decided that Fax machines were competition and all these machines were removed from USPS facilities. Cooperation with UPS or FedEx? No way?

Today the USPS has a convenient presence on the internet; one can buy stamps at grocery stores, drug stores, and even Costco. You can print your own postage via private companies like Stamp.com. UPS and FedEx now deliver packages to the USPS for final deliver by the Postal Service – a benefit to everyone, including the public. You can communicate electronically with the USPS, track packages and even obtain special services via your computer for when you are away camping. Overall I think the USPS does a great job. The only time we have had problems is when we did something wrong, such as send a package to the wrong address. Here’s a couple of services we use a lot that folks might not be aware of.

Mail Hold

Not offered everywhere, so you need to check online. If your location is eligible, you can go online and request your mail (including packages) to be held by the Postal Service. 

Minimum length is 3 days and a maximum of 30 days. You can choose to pick up your mail when you return home, or you can have it delivered on the day you request. If you need it held longer, what I do is have a neighbor pick up the mail after the 30 day period and the next day I go online and put in another 30 day mail hold request. I have done this from campgrounds.

Click here for more information

Forward Mail

The Postal Service offers a couple different forwarding options and you can sign up online. I’ll just copy and paste the information from the USPS website.

Regular Forward Mail

Change Your Address

Whether you’re making a long-term move or you’ll just be at a new address for just a few months, USPS® mail and package forwarding services can send your mail to you.

How it Works

• If you’re making a permanent move, use this service to update your address.
• If your move is temporary, you can use this service for as short as 15 days or as long as 1 year. After the first 6 months, you can extend for another 6 months.
• Direct your mail to a new address with a few clicks and a $1.00 charge to your credit card (the charge verifies your identity).
• Mail is sent piece by piece to the new address.
• You will receive a welcome kit with coupons from our partners.

Premium Forwarding Service®

Get Your Mail Wherever You Are

For a one time enrollment fee and weekly fees thereafter, we’ll hold your mail, package it, and ship it to you each week via Priority Mail® service. Premium Forwarding Service Residential® (PFS-Residential®) is a temporary service that can be used a minimum of 2 weeks up to a maximum of 1 year. Unfortunately, the PFS-Residential Online option is not currently available for PO Box™ addresses.

How it Works

• Enroll. There is an enrollment fee of $20.10 retail or $18.45 if you enroll online.
• Pay $20.10 for each week of service.
• Most mail is packaged every Wednesday and sent to you via Priority Mail® service. You will receive an email notification to your USPS.com account with the tracking number for each weekly shipment. You’ll also receive notification when there is no mail to be shipped. Your package should arrive in 1, 2, or 3 business days, depending on distance.
• Priority Mail Express® items are not held and instead are immediately rerouted directly to you.
• Priority Mail items are shipped to you immediately or included in your weekly package, whichever is faster.
• First-Class Mail® items that don’t fit in the weekly package are sent separately at no extra cost.
• Premium Forwarding Service Residential is a domestic service only. APO/FPO/DPO and ZIP Codes™ starting with “969” are excluded.

Click here for more information

Informed Delivery

Now this one is pretty cool. I don’t use it while we are camping on a long trip, but if we’ll just be gone for a few days I can check what mail will be delivered today and can go back and check what was delivered up to 7 days prior. It also informs the postal customer about packages. This is a service you have to go online to see if it is available in your area. If it is, you can sign up for free. 

Each piece of mail that is scheduled for delivery today or has already been delivered has been scanned. You can actually view the mail piece! Here’s a screen shot. I didn’t show all the mail pieces because I didn’t want to broadcast our mailing address.

Mail Pieces

Packages

Packages are scanned into the system as soon as USPS receives them or when the sender uses the tracking system and notifies USPS for pick-up. If you order something that will be send by UPS or FedEx and the Postal Service will make the final delivery, Informed Delivery will start tracking. For example not long ago I ordered a used book on Amazon from a third party seller. It was shipped via UPS ground, and slow method. The next day the package was on my Informed Delivery list because UPS was to deliver it to the Postal Service for the final drop off.

For more information click here

General Delivery

Need something sent to you in a hurry? Check out General Delivery. It is best to check with the local post office where you are camping. This service isn’t available at every post office.

There are probably other services available from USPS that I don’t know about. Check them out!