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Quote:POSTAL SERVICE ADDS 'HOLD FOR PICKUP' TO DELIVERY OPTIONS

WASHINGTON, DC - Hold everything!

The U.S. Postal Service today launched a new delivery option that can save customers shipping costs on products they have ordered by agreeing to pick them up at a designated Post Office. "Hold For Pickup" meets the needs of cost-conscious mailers shipping high-value and heavyweight goods and the customers receiving them.

A package delivered Hold For Pickup will be kept safely at the Post Office until the customer collects it. Items shipped using Hold For Pickup are delivered directly to the Post Office instead of customers' street address. This provides additional security for mailers who may not want expensive products left at a customer's door.

"Hold For Pickup is another way we are transforming our products and services to better meet the needs of our customers," said Nick Barranca, Vice President, Product Development. "The advantages are cost savings to the shipper, customer convenience, and security for both the business client and the consumer."

Hold For Pickup parcels are shipped to a designated Post Office where they can be picked up by the customer within 10 calendar days.

Barranca said the Postal Service was responding to several requests from shippers wanting the option of notifying customers that their items were being held at a local Post Office, resulting in the Hold For Pickup option.

Shippers using Hold For Pickup will notify each customer of the Post Office holding their package. If the package has not been picked up within three days of its arrival at a Post Office, the Postal Service will send an additional notice to the customer alerting them of the delivery. Items will be held for pick up for 10 days at the Post Office before being returned to the shipper.

"We expect that Hold For Pickup will be expanded in the future to include all parcel products to further meet customer needs around greater access and convenience," Barranca said.


Since 1775, the Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, have connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 142 million homes and businesses every day, six days a week and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 206 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves seven and a half million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide. Its website, usps.com, attracts more than 21 million visitors each month.