WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service wants to make sending your Valentine some love as quick and easy as a stop at your local Post Office, where the new “In the Mailbox Love Bear” and other lovely gifts await.

The limited edition “In the Mailbox Love Bear” comes ready to ship — the furry guy is already in a box. He’s holding a red heart, has the 2012 Love Stamp in his right paw and comes with a greeting card for your personal sentiments. Use Express Mail, Priority Mail or Parcel Post to ship your present to that special someone.

The “In the Mailbox Love Bear” is available for just $11.99 at select Post Offices and online at usps.com while supplies last.

“One-stop shopping at the Post Office makes sending some love a little easier to ‘bear’ this Valentine’s Day,” said Kelly Sigmon, vice president, Channel Access.

The Postal Service also offers additional products perfect for Valentine’s Day giving. American Express Gift Cards are available in denominations of $25, $50, and variable dollar amounts between $25 and $100 at nearly 5,000 Post Offices. Place your gift card in one of the Valentine’s Day cards offered for sale at select Post Offices and you’re ready to mail some first-class love.

Also making its debut this year is the Love Tote Bag, featuring an image of the beautifully designed 2012 Love stamp. This eco-friendly item is made using 80 percent recycled materials and sells for just $2. It’s a great gift on its own or it can be used as an economical (and sustainable) gift bag.

Customers also may select from various ReadyPost boxes and bubble mailers featuring Valentine’s Day colors and designs. These items are priced from $1.79 to $4.29 and are ready to use as gift wrap or to ship anywhere.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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