WASHINGTON — Who better than the U.S. Postal Service to give advice on mailing holiday packages?
John Budzynski, consumer advocate for the United States Postal Service, Budzynski, tells WTOP it’s USPS’ busiest time of year, and the new emphasis on online purchases and shipping means that it’s expecting to handle about 10.5 percent more packages this season than last — 600 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.
It’s looking at a total of 15 billion pieces of mail — cards, letters, flats and packages — during the holiday season.
Budzynski recommends going to usps.com for “a wealth of information,” including stamps and more information on mailing dates.
He adds that you can do a lot through myusps.com and the Postal Service app for iPhone and Android including the following:
- Manage incoming packages;
- Schedule deliveries;
- View alerts for mail coming to your house;
- Print mailing labels with postage.
Budzynski says that there are a few things you can do to make sure your items get there in one piece.
First, use a good, sturdy box. Budzynski advises that if you send packages via Priority Mail, you get free packaging materials as well as flat-rate shipping.
“Anything you can fit in that box, no matter what the weight, is shipped for one low price.”
And don’t leave out the packaging, whether it’s foam peanuts, crumpled paper or whatever, it’s important to make a cushion inside the box.
He adds that you should put another mailing label inside the box, with either the return address or your recipient’s address, in case the label falls off or is damaged.
And while ZIP codes are not exactly newfangled, Budzynski says a surprisingly large number of people don’t put them on their packages. You can find ZIP codes with a couple of clicks on USPS.
As long as there’s a safe spot outside your home, you don’t even need to go to the post office, Budzynski says — myusps.com allows you to set up a place for your mail carrier to leave a package with a neighbor, or tell him where outside your home the carrier can find a package to pick up and mail. And if you’ve signed up for the app, the postal service can send you alerts to let you know when a package is coming, and you can adjust the delivery if you need.
There’s still time to get your packages mailed off and in the hands of those on your gift list by the time the holidays roll around. If you’re sending something by domestic Priority Mail, the deadline for getting it in the mail is Dec. 21. The deadlines differ for different services, depending on where you’re sending from and — well, how long you procrastinate.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
