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WASHINGTON — No matter how much you plan to spend on grandma’s or cousin Al’s holiday gift this year, the U.S. Postal Service offers you the best deal in shipping, starting with free Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes available on usps.com. Postage is the same low rate to any state, and the boxes are available in four different sizes, with prices starting as low as $5.15:

• Small Flat Rate Box, 8 5/8” x 5 3/8” – shipping starts at $5.15
• Medium Flat Rate Box, 11” x 8 1/2” x 5 1/2” – shipping starts at $10.85
• Medium Flat Rate Box, 13 5/8” x 11 7/8” x 3 3/8” – shipping starts at $10.85
• Large Flat Rate Box, 12” x 12” x 5 1/2” – shipping starts at $14.65 ($12.65 when shipping to military APO/FPO addresses overseas)

“The U.S. Postal Service is making it easier to ship packages to family and friends for the holidays,” says Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. “With our free Priority Mail Boxes and discounted online pricing available on usps.com, the Postal Service is the perfect choice for customers seeking value and convenience this holiday season.”

Customers placing orders by Dec. 3 will receive the flat-rate boxes in time to meet the Dec. 21 holiday deadline for shipping Priority Mail packages. Box orders are delivered to a customer’s home or business address in seven to 10 days.

By using the USPS Click-N-Ship service, customers can print shipping labels, receive an online discount for postage and receive free Delivery Confirmation service on Priority Mail packages.

Once you have all of your shipping supplies, make the holidays complete by letting the Postal Service deal with the weather and traffic by requesting free, next-business-day pickup of Priority Mail packages at usps.com/pickup.

Best Holiday Ever! takes on new meaning with free Flat Rate Boxes and Click-N-Ship at usps.com. The time and hassle of shipping gifts will melt away, setting the stage for a merry and bright holiday season.

The U.S. 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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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, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. 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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