Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Post Office testing new "Hold for Pickup" delivery option

About.com, Associated Press and others report that the Postal Service’s new "Hold For Pickup" delivery endorsement option will allow shippers to send bulky and high-value goods they don’t want left at the door.

Under "Hold For Pickup", customers are notified when items are delivered directly to a nearby Post Office. The shipper is responsible for notifying the customer that the package has arrived and is available for pickup at that location. The parcel would be held for 10 days.

The first test of Hold For Pickup involves Dell computers, the articles said, but other shippers have expressed interest in the service. Fruit shippers, concerned about having their holiday packages freeze in northern states, are especially interested, postal package manager Jim Cochran said.

“We expect that 'Hold For Pickup' will be expanded in the future to include all parcel products to further meet customer needs,” said USPS Product Development VP Nick Barranca.

United Parcel Service (UPS) offers a similiar service whereby packages are held at a UPS Customer Service Center.
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posted by Don Schilling at 12:01 AM