Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

I mailed a package from Texas to Australia, but it has disappeared along the way. The only tracking info says"available for pickup", but that appeared w/in hrs of being mailed and workers deemed it a mis-scan. Where do I report the lost piece?Thanks

Asked by Sandy over 11 years ago

It does seem like a mis-scan from what you've described, especially given the time stamp of the "available for pickup" scan and the fact that it doesn't even make sense. You could report the lost piece to your local post office. I don't know the procedure as to what happens from there especially if the item was not insured. Another option is to call 1-800-275-8777 (USPS). Thanks for writing.

751 Votes

there is a blue usps collection box in the parking lot of a group of stores. when the stores are closed security people order you off the premises. is there a regulation requiring boxes to be fully accessible by the public 24/7?

Asked by stephen allen almost 11 years ago

There is no regulation that I'm aware of that requires the collection box to be accessible 24/7. I know that in the town where I work some office buildings have collection slots in their lobby and I think an access card is required to enter the building during "off" hours. The mail collection slots serve the same purpose as the blue collection boxes meaning mail is picked up from those boxes/mail slots on a regular schedule.

750 Votes

can i give the mailman a letter without postage if i give them the money to pay for the postage when the deliver to my house?

Asked by sean about 10 years ago

Sean, it depends on your letter carrier and their willingness to do this. I would do it if it's not too frequent a request and it was just a letter or large envelope, meaning it just needs a stamp or two. On my initiative, I keep some postage stamps in my wallet and will honor that request most of the time. To be honest it doesn't come up too often. If I notice an item has insufficient postage I may just affix one of my own stamps and send the item on its way. There is no requirement that we do any of this and I don't want customers to get in the habit of requesting this service. The reason I have this attitude is because there are easy ways to buy stamps in quantity. The USPS allows you to buy them online, or 24/7 at any PO that has a Sales and Service Kiosk. Supermarkets and Wholesale Clubs sell postage stamps as well. I know this doesn't answer your question, but so many communication and financial transactions are more easily done online that mailing letters is becoming much less significant.

749 Votes

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

Asked by Nixie almost 11 years ago

Yes, it should be fine to pay for postage on a holiday and bring it to a Post Office the next day. If you need to hand it to a window retail clerk, they would hopefully just accept it. At the worst, they might postmark the package to show which day the package was actually entered in to the mail stream. I think that is the same if you happened to pay for the postage on a Sunday but wouldn't actually mail the package until Monday. Thank you for using the USPS for mailing the package.

749 Votes

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Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

Asked by Austin about 11 years ago

This is a bit of a tricky situation and I don't know the right answer. On one hand you have a street that you are allowed to park and some neighborhoods don't have enough available space to leave sufficient room for the postal vehicle to get to the mailbox without the letter carrier having to get out of his vehicle to affect delivery. On the other hand, if the letter carrier feels that the approach/departure to the curbside mailbox is unsafe or too small they don't have to get out to deliver the mail as far as I know. I don't know if there is a set amount of space to be left before and after a mailbox that needs to be left for the postman to deliver. Also, I always wondered what's to stop someone else for parking "too close" to your mailbox on a public street causing you to not get mail delivery. If you live in a public community (as opposed to a gated/private community for example), you have no more right to parking in front of your house than I do. That would be a situation beyond your control. I'm sorry that I don't have a better answer for you. Thanks for writing.

747 Votes

i frogot to put my returning address on the mail i sent out today, what will happen?

Asked by Emily almost 11 years ago

It is fine not to put a return address on anything you mail. The issue that could come about is if the item you sent is "undeliverable as addressed" meaning that you didn't put on the correct destination address. In this case, the letter would likely be sent to the "nixie" or "dead letter" office. I don't know what it is called nowadays and I don't know what would happen to the letter, but you wouldn't get it back unless somebody opened it and your address was found on the inside. I don't even know if that is legal to do or if it is even done. Again, as long as you put the proper destination address on the letter, don't worry at all about not putting on the return address. Thanks for your inquiry.

746 Votes

If I don't empty my mailbox for a week or two but it is not full, is my postal carrier allowed to post notes on my door demanding I empty it and threatening to send it back?

Asked by jordan about 11 years ago

Jordan, first of all, thank you for writing in to this Q and A board. I don't know the rules as far as sending back mail because you haven't emptied your box for a week or two and your box is not full. If I were the letter carrier, I would just continue to deliver mail until the box is full and then probably return any future mail endorsed "box full" to the senders (or discard the mail if it is unendorsed Standard Class mail.) I don't recall ever coming across this situation in my postal career, but if it came about I'd probably ask my supervisor for direction. It is not in my nature to leave any notes (esp. threatening ones) for the most part.

746 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I mailed a package from Texas to Australia, but it has disappeared along the way. The only tracking info says"available for pickup", but that appeared w/in hrs of being mailed and workers deemed it a mis-scan. Where do I report the lost piece?Thanks

there is a blue usps collection box in the parking lot of a group of stores. when the stores are closed security people order you off the premises. is there a regulation requiring boxes to be fully accessible by the public 24/7?

can i give the mailman a letter without postage if i give them the money to pay for the postage when the deliver to my house?

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

Also on Jobstr...

Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

i frogot to put my returning address on the mail i sent out today, what will happen?

If I don't empty my mailbox for a week or two but it is not full, is my postal carrier allowed to post notes on my door demanding I empty it and threatening to send it back?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I mailed a package from Texas to Australia, but it has disappeared along the way. The only tracking info says"available for pickup", but that appeared w/in hrs of being mailed and workers deemed it a mis-scan. Where do I report the lost piece?Thanks

there is a blue usps collection box in the parking lot of a group of stores. when the stores are closed security people order you off the premises. is there a regulation requiring boxes to be fully accessible by the public 24/7?

can i give the mailman a letter without postage if i give them the money to pay for the postage when the deliver to my house?

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

Also on Jobstr...

Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

i frogot to put my returning address on the mail i sent out today, what will happen?

If I don't empty my mailbox for a week or two but it is not full, is my postal carrier allowed to post notes on my door demanding I empty it and threatening to send it back?

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