Help me avoid the fiery pits of hell, er, I mean, the Post Office!
May 1, 2015 5:29 PM Subscribe
Has anybody had good or bad experiences with online services for sending USPS certified mail? I need to send letters return receipt requested semi-frequently, and am absolutely unwilling to go to the post office. Usually 2 or 3 letters at a time, not hundreds. Stamps.com (premier subscription), onlinecertifiedmail.com, certifiedmaillabels.com are the ones that show up on the first page of my google search. TIA!
On re-read, you say that you need to send letters return receipt requested (which you can do online), but in your previous sentence you mention sending certified mail (which you cannot do online).
If you just need the return receipt services for a few letters at a time, I'd definitely use the usps.com website; it's not really worth signing up for a paid service like stamps.com. If, however, you actually do need to send certified mail, then to avoid the post office, yeah, you will have to sign up for one or another of those companies. I've used stamps.com in the past and never had any problems. They frequently have promos floating around like these. When I signed up years ago, I took the $50.00 in free postage and free scale deal, then when the trial period ended, I cancelled without any problems. The monthly fees weren't worth it for my modest needs and luckily I discovered a really nice, never busy post office nearby with friendly employees.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 7:07 PM on May 1, 2015
If you just need the return receipt services for a few letters at a time, I'd definitely use the usps.com website; it's not really worth signing up for a paid service like stamps.com. If, however, you actually do need to send certified mail, then to avoid the post office, yeah, you will have to sign up for one or another of those companies. I've used stamps.com in the past and never had any problems. They frequently have promos floating around like these. When I signed up years ago, I took the $50.00 in free postage and free scale deal, then when the trial period ended, I cancelled without any problems. The monthly fees weren't worth it for my modest needs and luckily I discovered a really nice, never busy post office nearby with friendly employees.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 7:07 PM on May 1, 2015
Response by poster: Sorry if that wasn't clear: I need "Certified Mail (Return Receipt Requested)", which cannot be done online. Standing in line only. :(
I do know about the other priority mail services like signature confirmation and tracking, but those don't qualify for the IRS rule I am dealing with.
posted by bluesky78987 at 8:06 PM on May 1, 2015
I do know about the other priority mail services like signature confirmation and tracking, but those don't qualify for the IRS rule I am dealing with.
posted by bluesky78987 at 8:06 PM on May 1, 2015
Are you unwilling to go to your closest post office but reconsider others?
The line at my closest urban post office is usually a half hour long. Driving an extra 10 minutes to the suburban post office results in virtually 0 minutes in line.
Have you considered a drive for better service?
posted by littlewater at 10:30 PM on May 1, 2015
The line at my closest urban post office is usually a half hour long. Driving an extra 10 minutes to the suburban post office results in virtually 0 minutes in line.
Have you considered a drive for better service?
posted by littlewater at 10:30 PM on May 1, 2015
Would you consider going to one of those Mailboxes Etc type of places? Or an unusual post office, like the one in the mall, or the one inside another store (local to me there is one inside of a Hallmark store for instance). Those rarely have lines.
posted by vignettist at 10:51 PM on May 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by vignettist at 10:51 PM on May 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Or, does a post office near you have one of the automated machines? I've definitely sent certified mail with one of those, and I'm 90% sure it gave me the option to also request a return receipt (I didn't need one, so I'm not 100% sure). It's still the post office, but where I am everyone seems to be weirdly baffled by the APC and I have never even seen anyone else use it, much less stood in a line, even when the line for the counter is long.
posted by dorque at 4:54 AM on May 2, 2015
posted by dorque at 4:54 AM on May 2, 2015
I would look to see if there are any USPS contract stations anywhere close-by.
Where I live, the actual post office is way downtown and is always crowded. But, there's a contract station very close to me that does everything a regular post office does (plus sells boxes and packing supplies), and rarely has more than two other people in line ahead of me. They charge the same fee for services like certified mail as the real post office does. Surely you can cope with only one or two people ahead of you in line?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:37 AM on May 2, 2015
Where I live, the actual post office is way downtown and is always crowded. But, there's a contract station very close to me that does everything a regular post office does (plus sells boxes and packing supplies), and rarely has more than two other people in line ahead of me. They charge the same fee for services like certified mail as the real post office does. Surely you can cope with only one or two people ahead of you in line?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:37 AM on May 2, 2015
You can use Fedex or UPS for the "timely mailing as timely filing" requirement (if that's the IRS rule you're trying to meet).
posted by melissasaurus at 6:48 AM on May 2, 2015
posted by melissasaurus at 6:48 AM on May 2, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks everybody. Fedex or UPS are my other (more expensive) options if I can't find an online situation that works.
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:59 AM on May 2, 2015
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:59 AM on May 2, 2015
Can you hire someone via Task Rabbit or Craigslist to do this for you?
posted by Michele in California at 10:35 AM on May 2, 2015
posted by Michele in California at 10:35 AM on May 2, 2015
Do you need your copy postmarked as proof of mailing? If not, I just keep a stack of the return receipts and postcards and fill them out by hand when it's just a few. Calculate the postage on USPS.com, add stamps and drop in any mailbox.
posted by brbmaroon at 8:26 PM on May 2, 2015
posted by brbmaroon at 8:26 PM on May 2, 2015
Yes to the above suggestion. You can get the green cards and the red stickers at the post office, find out the amount of postage you need, and do it yourself. I used to do it as part of my job many years ago.
posted by raisingsand at 7:57 PM on May 4, 2015
posted by raisingsand at 7:57 PM on May 4, 2015
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USPS Extra Services
Back in the day when I was selling a lot on ebay, I used an app provided by the usps website (it was Windows only though) that allowed me to pay for an print postage from within the app on my computer. It was a bit clunky thouhg, but it sure beat going to the post office in person. Nowadays, I just print postage from the website. No problems so far and if at least one of your items is Priority mail, you can schedule a pickup from your regular mailman so you know it'll be delivered.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 6:46 PM on May 1, 2015