| REVIEWS
Cruising
Cyberspace
Web
Site Pick Of The Month
By Pam Wegmann
What’s the zip code
for the 400 block of Fifth Street in Los Angeles? Did my express
mail package get to my client? How much does it cost to send a 9
ounce letter to the UK ? You can get the answer to these and many
other questions at the Web site of the U.S. Postal Service:
http://www.usps.com
This site is easy
to navigate and can answer most quesitons you would have to ask your
local post office. Unlike your local post office, this one is open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This site used to
have a great deal of redundancy, but its new design has eliminated this
issue. The opening page has six links along the top you can take
to get to mailing related information or purchase mailing supplies. There
are four other page links along the right side of the screen, one to the
Business Center which is one of the most valuable pages at this site.
It is at the Business
Center page that the latest innovations in U.S. mail can be found.
Here you learn about
the ability to purchase e-postage (not just stamps for delivery), a capability
that was launched by the USPS in August 1999. Clicking on the PC
Postage link takes you to the Information Based Indicia Program page. Here
you’ll find an explanation of products for purchasing and printing postage
from a computer using standard ink jet and laser jet printers. The
products are developed by commercial providers and approved by the USPS.
The page lists six vendors, but four are still in field testing as of this
writing. Two are ready and approved for commercial use. You
have to go to their sites to proceed with your transaction, however the
sites are not hot linked from this PC postage page which is a weakness
of the USPS site.
The Business Center
also will give you information on another innovation, Poste CS, which stands
for Post Electronic Courier Service. This is a new secure electronic
service provided by the USPS which addresses concerns regarding transmitting
sensitive business documents via e-mail. At the Poste CS page, you
can click links to learn how it works, get a demo, and get a free trial.
Other Business Center
page links will give you information for bulk mailing and advice for direct
mail advertising campaigns.
Back at the top
of the USPS home page, clicking on Zip Codes provides a zip code
lookup feature. Type in an address or a town and it will search and
return the zip code for that location.
There’s also a tracking
system at Track/Confirm. Type in the tracker number from a global
or express mail package and receive the status of your package. You
can confirm delivery for a parcel post or priority package.
Clicking on Rate
Calculator takes you to an interactive postage calculator. Choose
the type of item you want to send, i.e., letter, large envelope, package,
etc. The calculator will ask you the weight. (It gives you
a hint if you don’t have a scale handy: one ounce is about six sheets
of regular sized paper.) It also asks you to input the originating
zip code and the destination zip code. Once done, it will tell you
the amount of postage you need to affix to send it via a particular option:
regular first class mail, priority, express, etc.
Other
links are Stamps Online for online ordering and physical delivery of stamps
of all denominations, Change of Address for moving related tips and info,
and Post Office Locator for locating the post office that delivers mail
to a particular address.
The site has also
added a search feature for perusing the Postal Service’s policy manuals.
Check out this site
soon. Sooner or later, your office will need some piece of what it
offers. And there are no lines at this post office!
Knowledge is Power!
:-)
October 1999
Questions/Comments
can be sent to pam@info-matters.com
or faxed to 504.738.0016. You can also reach Ms. Wegmann at 504.738.0070.
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