Washington, DC —The U.S. Postal Service knows when to hold ’em.

Express Mail packages can be held at Post Offices for pickup, giving customers both the peace of mind of secure delivery and the convenience of picking up their packages when it best fits their schedules. And now, customers can choose Express Mail Hold For Pickup service through Click-N-Ship® on usps.com.

Hold For Pickup, previously available for Express Mail purchased at Post Offices™ and at Automated Postal Centers® (APCs), is now also available for online shippers. A Hold For Pickup package is shipped directly to a Post Office, instead of being left at the recipient’s address. The package is then held at the Post Office until picked up anytime during office hours, at the time most convenient for the recipient.

“Hold For Pickup provides additional security for shippers who may not want expensive products or heavyweight goods left at home addresses,” said Expedited Shipping Vice President Gary Reblin. “It’s already popular with shippers who use the service at Post Offices and APCs, so we’ve added it to usps.com to give our customers another convenient option.”

Reblin said Hold For Pickup also is popular with businesses sending critical repair parts for field technicians to pick up, with travelers who need to send documents and valuable items ahead to their destination, and with families sending care package to students away at school.

The sender selects Hold For Pickup when preparing an Express Mail shipment through Click-N-Ship, and identifies which of the 31,000 participating Post Offices nationwide should receive and hold the package for the recipient.

The day the package arrives at the Post Office, the customer receives a notice that it’s ready for pickup. On the third day, a reminder notice is sent. If the item hasn’t been picked up after five calendar days, it’s returned to the sender at no extra cost and the customer is notified again. Notices are sent by e-mail or text message for customers who order Hold For Pickup online, or by automated phone message for customers who order at Post Offices or APCs.

Express Mail Hold For Pickup service includes a money-back guarantee, tracking, proof of delivery and $100 of insurance coverage. Additional insurance coverage up to $5,000 in value may be purchased for a minimal charge.

There is no extra charge for Hold For Pickup Service. And, by ordering Express Mail Hold For Pickup online, customers can save 3 percent compared to retail prices. Volume savings of up to 10 percent also are available for commercial shippers. More details can be found at USPS – Express Mail Prices (usps.com/prices/express-mail-prices.htm).

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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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