How Do I Check If My Street Address Is Recognized By The Postal Service

Look for the U.S. Post to undergo a vast makeover in coming years. The quasi-public establishment is adjusting its operations in light of falling mail deliveries and record red ink, every bit electronic media and other delivery options proceed to consume into its business. Coming changes are necessary to reverse heavy losses — $20 billion over the past four years.

This year, USPS is expected to lose an additional $10 billion.

Click the navigation arrow below to run across five ways your service will change.

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Fewer Post Offices, More than Kiosks

AP Photo/Orlin Wagner

Upward to 3,500 postal service offices and well-nigh 300 processing plants will shut their doors by 2014. Get-go to close: locations with expiring leases or overly burdensome maintenance issues. Many of these are in rural areas. Meanwhile, the viability of as many every bit 16,000 mail service offices — roughly half the nation's total — is under review equally office of the USPS' toll-cut measures.

The mail plans to replace shuttered offices with kiosks in nearby grocery stores, shopping centers and other high-traffic locations. Mail Function counters, for instance, tin already be plant in almost all of Office Depot's approximately 1,000 stores nationwide.

Though closings are inevitable, they will be lamented. "Any extensive closing of small, rural mail service offices and the associated withdrawal from serving rural America fosters an image of an organization in retreat from its mission," notes Mark Strong, president of the National League of Postmasters. "Despite its 'quick prepare' appeal, it paves the path for both the postal service and the communities that lose their post offices to slowly dry out upwards and fade away," he says.

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Goodbye to Your Saturday Mail Delivery

Although Congress must ultimately decide, the Postal Service says it could save $3.1 billion annually by doing abroad with the sixth delivery twenty-four hours. Post offices would still remain open up on Saturdays. Moreover, Limited Mail would go along to be delivered seven days a week, and large postal distribution centers would stay open to procedure incoming mail over the weekend.

Retailers that depend on direct mail advertizing can await to accept the biggest striking with the loss of weekend delivery, since they'll no longer be able to rely on flyers landing in consumers' mailboxes on Saturday mornings. The motion is sure to drive even more businesses that rely heavily on direct postal service to shift to online promotions.

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The Outset-Form Stamp Stays at 44 cents

Here's some good news: Later several gradual increases over the years, USPS has no plan to enhance the toll of the ubiquitous outset-class stamp in the foreseeable future. As of April 17, however, First-Grade Postal service costs xx cents per ounce after the offset ounce. The midyear increase falls in line with changes the postal service is immune to brand for inflation. Looking alee, the agency will seek to gain more than control over its pricing models -- and that will lead to more than frequent increases in the toll of stamps.

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Partnering With Competitors

Closer partnerships with private delivery services are also in the works. One such partnership with United Parcel Service (UPS) already allows customers to render UPS-delivered packages via postal mailboxes or by dropping them off at a local post office.

UPS representatives will pick upward the packages from post offices and return them to senders using UPS resources. The program expands UPS' achieve and makes greater use of the post facilities.

A partnership with eBay over the next five years will boost the mail service's role in delivering packages for the online sales company. USPS already does about $700 meg in concern with eBay and the new arrangement is expected to double that. The post will also offer straight mail marketing programs for small businesses that sell through eBay.

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More Autonomy. More Flexibility?

Over fourth dimension, the mail service will work to proceeds more than control over its own business organisation operations.

One reason the agency has lost ground to private-sector contest in recent years — UPS, FedEx and DHL — is considering it doesn't accept the same flexibility to modify its concern plan. USPS must receive congressional approval to increase prices, make changes to its commitment schedule or close a post office simply because it is non producing a profit.

"The postal service is consistently inhibited, if not outright prevented, in any try to systematically reduce the number of post offices…to reflect the realities of today's postal service volumes," says Arthur Sackler of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. "We accept an urgent financial situation which much be addressed; one way is to loosen the USPS' ability to conform, while still taking into business relationship the concerns of its customers — both commercial and the mailing public."