WASHINGTON, DC — Last-minute gift-givers need not worry: Customers can ship Valentine’s Day gifts as late as Feb. 13 for guaranteed Feb. 14 delivery using the U.S. Postal Service’s Express Mail service.

Express Mail, the Postal Service’s premier package service, provides overnight delivery to most destinations nationwide at prices lower than other carriers, and includes a money-back guarantee, tracking, proof of delivery, and insurance at no additional cost.

Unlike the expedited services offered by other companies, Express Mail has no hidden surcharges. Other commercial carriers have increased their rates for 2008 and have surcharges for residential delivery and fuel costs that are often higher than the base price of shipping. Express Mail has just one fixed price to most destinations in the United States.

“Express Mail is the only overnight service that delivers 365 days a year, and we offer it at a competitive price, with a guarantee,” said U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Services Vice President Gary Reblin.

Customers can even send Express Mail without leaving their homes. By visiting usps.com, customers can print shipping labels and postage for Express Mail and schedule a postal carrier to pick packages up through Carrier Pickup or Pickup on Demand services. Customers can also use usps.com to look up ZIP Codes and find nearby USPS Express Mail collection boxes or Post Offices.

USPS Express Mail includes insurance up to $100 against loss or damage at no additional cost, as well as signature proof of delivery upon request and tracking information. The Postal Service also offers ecologically sound packaging at no additional cost.

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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. 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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