Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with postalservice

How can I be in two places at once when my mail isn't anywhere at all?

DiscourseMarker — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:29:30 -0800

USPS mail forwarding: Can I have permanent and temporary change of address requests at the same time? In February I moved from Address A to Address B within the same city, and I filled out a permanent Change of Address request with the USPS. I don't actually get very much mail forwarded, because I changed my address with all of the businesses that I could think of back in February, but occasionally some fall through the cracks.

Next week I will be leaving for Address C (in another state) *temporarily* (until mid-August), and I would like to have a temporary Change of Address with the USPS to forward my mail from Address B to Address C.

What I'm wondering is if filling out a temporary request to forward mail from B to C will affect my permanent request forwarding mail from A to B. I looked through the USPS.com FAQ but I couldn't find anything relevant to this situation. Has anyone here ever dealt with something like this before?

Really, I don't get that much snail mail (save Netflix, and there I can easily change the shipping address), but I'm just paranoid that this will be the one time when something important that I totally forgot to account for will arrive, and I won't get it.

Buying a Rottweiler and seeking my revenge

Inspector.Gadget — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:30:12 -0800

My postman or somebody in the mail chain between him and Netflix shipping centers has cracked or destroyed several DVDs en route to me. I know he destroyed one by shutting my mailbox door over the midpoint of the disc, but with the others I'm not sure where it happened. How do I address this so that I don't become liable for the damage or lose my account? And how do I maximize my credibility? Out of 45 discs, I'm on my third replacement, but the damage has all occurred within the past 3 weeks.

Money is tight but I'll do the $16 if I have to

lorimer — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:23:47 -0800

Priority Mail or Express Mail? This Saturday I'll mail a flat envelope from NYC to a P.O. box in Bethesda, MD (20824); I want it to arrive by this Tuesday. Do I need to spring for Express Mail? Anecdotes welcome.

Tracking a mysterious sender of vinyl records?

blithely — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:45:50 -0800

I received a surprise gift in the mail and there was no return address. Is it possible to track down the sender? On Saturday, I received a record that I know I did not purchase. There was no return address and no receipt or note enclosed with the record. According to the customs receipt (and the postage stamp) it was sent from the UK, which is strange because I do not know anyone from the UK.

Is there any way I would be able to track down who sent me this lovely Iron & Wine record? And should I be wary as my siblings seem to be?

Thanks!

Lost In Translation (and in the Postal System)

polyester.lumberjack — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:57:22 -0800

Are there any Czech speakers out there who can help me track down the recipients of this Christmas present? Sadly, a Christmas package that a friend mailed to me got damaged, and the contents must have spilled out. The postal service re-packaged things to try and deliver them to their final destination, but things must have gotten mixed up in the process, and I ended up with someone else's gift, and someone else must have ended up with mine. (I'm a little brokenhearted about this, but I'll deal.)

I'd like to track down the intended recipient and get this gift to them. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to go on aside from three enclosed Christmas cards. The handwriting is in a spider-y, frail cursive style that leads me to believe the gift is from a Grandmother, but I could be wrong. Googling the words on the envelopes, I've come to conclude that the language is Czech. Unfortunately, my further research using an online translator has left me stumped.

What I'd like to figure out is, are these words first names or surnames? The fragile handwriting is so tricky to read, and when I type the words into the translator, they don't translate, so I must be reading it wrong.

The first card reads: "Pepicka a Jenda" on the envelope (two kids' names? Pepicka and Jenda?" The translator returns "Jenda" as "Jack", so maybe a boy's name?).

The second card reads: "Pan (or "Pom" or "Pam") a Pani Jaroslav a Damuska Osecki" (maybe the last name is Osecki? A Google search turned up some people with that as a last name.)

The third card reads: "Pepicka Kalusova" (which also seems to be a last name, as far as Google reveals, but alas, no signs of someone with that full name).

I'm pretty stumped, and am starting to think maybe trying to find these people is ridiculous after all...

How Do The Postal Services of These Countries Compare?

Rykey — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:07:55 -0800

The Postal Service of a few different countries is a factor in where I decide to move. I'm in the USA and am considering moving out of the country for at least a couple years. I've been fairly successful selling stuff online for extra cash, and would like to continue to do so if I move abroad. I'd sell goods I found in my new country of residence. We're talking supplementary income, not a full-time business.

Crucial to this possibility is the quality of the Postal systems of the countries I've narrowed down: Thailand, Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Panama. Cost is of course a factor, but I'm more concerned about reliability and consistency, especially with international shipping. I have to have a reasonable assurance that my packages (which will probably never be bigger than a breadbox, or over a few pounds) will get to where they are supposed to undamaged within a decent time frame.

Has anyone mailed several (a dozen or so) packages a week from any of the countries I mentioned? What were your experiences? What were the laws governing how much was considered to be subject to tariff, or when you were required to get a permit to sell stuff from that country?

For what it's worth, I'll be selling consumer goods and/or souvenirs to individuals (yes, as in online auctions). I would be fine with taking these items to the post office myself (as opposed to pickup by the postal service).

Who's got music recommendations?

53B3L1U5 — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 15:17:13 -0800

Got any band recommendations? I hope people can have fun with this one:
I'm looking for some new music. I've been in a funk lately and want some new tunes. I'm listening to Röyksopp right now and think I want more that sounds like this or The Postal Service.
I also spent some bandwidth today filling out my Ladytron and Asian Dub Foundation album lists. Though that's what I'm jamming to now as I'm doing some writing, I am open to any suggestion.

What've you been listening to? What's inspired you recently?

Rock on, MetaFilter, and happy holidays!

How to be a mail carrier?

magodesky — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:46:29 -0800

How would someone go about getting a job as a mail carrier? Working as a USPS mail carrier seems like an interesting job, but there never seem to be any openings or test announcements. So how do people get in in the first place?

Mailing books from home, cheaply.

craniac — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:41:06 -0800

I mail stuff all the time, usually books, and have to go to our terrible post office (long waits, willfully obstructionist employees, etc.) to mail a book via media mail. Yet I can't just weigh it at home and put stamps on it because the Unabomber had to ruin things for everyone, so there is no anonymous mailing of anything over a lb. or so. Furthermore, the postal kiosk, available 24 hours, won't even print out the $4.05 postage for flat fee priority mailing, let alone media mail postage. Does anyone know if Zazzle stamps meet the postal requirements for non-anonymous mailing? If so, that would be great.

Such a great paycheck.

OmieWise — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 05:37:26 -0800

I was crushed to hear the Iron & Wine version of Such Great Heights played over an M&Ms commercial last night. Who's getting paid, and how much? The original is by The Postal Service. I didn't even know the I&W version existed until last week, when I found out it was included on the Garden State soundtrack. I'm curious who is getting paid for these two commercial uses. The Postal Service for writing the song? Iron & Wine for performing it? Do they get paid each time the ad airs? Who gets paid more?

An even deeper question: I was playing The Postal Service version for a friend, and she said it sounded familiar, but could not place it. Then she recognized the I&W version. After some research we found that the Garden State trailer used the original version, but the I&W version in the movie. Why? Was it just aesthetics?

What's the most you can cost someone who sent you a prepaid business reply mail envelope?

trondant — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 21:27:43 -0800

What's the most you can cost someone who sent you a prepaid business reply mail envelope? I just got one of these, fishing for a tax-deductible donation to a 501(c)(3) group, one I would pay money to see stomped to death. I want to hear from people who've done this and suffered no repercussions, as well as any former or current USPS employees who might know where that fine line is. I'm also open to anything that keeps me on the mailing list, but still costs them more in postage than it's worth.

Lost Post Office Package

fionab — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 07:38:51 -0800

Lost package through the United States Postal Service: I sent a box to myself full of books from one end of the country to the other. One of those three boxes has gone missing, and I want it back. Do you have any ideas (other than to keep hoping it shows up...) to help me recover it? [MI] I sent three boxes full of books from Montana to NC. I didn't buy tracking or insurance for them, since I've done this dozens of times without incident and I was a cheapskate. BUT, I did buy "Delivery Confirmation." On the USPS website, I can see that all three packages basically travelled together for the first two days to the 'sorting' facility here in North Carolina. All three left the sorting facility, but only two made it to my door.

It's now been over a month, so I'm officially allowed to file a missing mail report - Form 15-10. I can also write to two Mail Recovery Centers. Has anyone had any luck with this process? Is there anything else I can do? Each time I call the USPS office, they either tell me something different or don't offer any options unless I ask directly (such as, "What is form 15-10 and where can I get one?"). I'm incredibly upset ("going postal" comes to mind) - mostly at myself that I didn't spring for the tracking option since I know that the mail can be unreliable and I want those books. Any options? After writing this, it seems pretty clear that I am SOL but I thought I'd see if anyone has other ideas. Thanks in advance!