Does US Postal Service deliver oversized packages to your private road?

[mswlogo]

I installed a US Mail box out on the main road recently and filled out a form for delivery.

It stated that they would delivery oversized packages up to 0.5 miles on reasonably maintained private roads.

Well I get nothing but a door tag in the mail box on anything that won't fit in the mailbox and have to pick it up at the post office.

I was not sure if that was a local policy but I looked it up and it's a cross country US Postal Service policy. And I see lots of similar complaints.

Curious what your local post office does.

UPS and FedEx delivery to my porch no problem and use them when ever possible.

[Newbiesaukee]

I am on a private dirt road in Moultonborough and the USPS delivers oversized packages to our porch.

I am adding this as a later poster comment makes this relevant: I am within a half mile of the mail box.

[TheTimeTraveler]

Originally Posted by mswlogo

I installed a US Mail box out on the main road recently and filled out a form for delivery.

It stated that they would delivery oversized packages up to 0.5 miles on reasonably maintained private roads.

Well I get nothing but a door tag in the mail box on anything that won't fit in the mailbox and have to pick it up at the post office.

I was not sure if that was a local policy but I looked it up and it's a cross country US Postal Service policy. And I see lots of similar complaints.

Curious what your local post office does.

UPS and FedEx delivery to my porch no problem and use them when ever possible.

It's actually carrier discretion. If he/she feels your package is at risk of getting wet or being stolen then they will take it back to the office for safe keeping.

Personally, I want my packages dry and secure, so I would rather pick it up at the local USPS office.

Package pirates are out in force these days!

[Descant]

Originally Posted by TheTimeTraveler

It's actually carrier discretion. If he/she feels your package is at risk of getting wet or being stolen then they will take it back to the office for safe keeping.

Personally, I want my packages dry and secure, so I would rather pick it up at the local USPS office.

Package pirates are out in force these days!

Or you could just move to a Gilford Island. Packages are held at the Glendale Police Substation a few yards from the docks. There is no place on the lake as good as Gilford/Glendale for island residents. For those on Bear Island, I will grant, we have no ice cream delivery.

[egodshall]

We installed a mailbox in Moultonborough right at the end of a paved road prior to turning into a dirt road. We were told they will only deliver within a half a mile from your mailbox. If your residence is further than half a mile, you will have to pick up your larger packages at the post office.

[Jdarby]

We’re on a private road in Wildwood on Long Island and we have a mail depot with parcel lockers. With that said, I do have some packages that have been delivered directly to the house. I dread having to expect a package that will be delivered by USPS. Several times I’ve received notification that they “attempted” delivery but the residence wasn’t accessible (not during a snowstorm) or that the item was delivered to a mailbox but it’s not in mine nor one of the parcel lockers! It then has sometimes taken me days to actually track down the package. Sometimes it’s being held at the post office, other times they actually deliver it to the house or to one of the parcel lockers or mailbox a day or two later. On two occasions we’ve had our packages delivered to a neighbor’s house across the street. Our street number is plainly visible at the end of our driveway. Of all the places we’ve lived, this post office is the worst for residential service. I’m sure they are understaffed and under resourced for their task but I have a problem with lying about a delivery attempt which I’m sure they do to drive up some kind of performance metrics they need to meet.


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[CubRun]

Over the last several years the service provided by the US Postal Service has been in constant decline . If i have a FedEx or UPS delivery i rarely have a problem . The USPS is another dismal story . A government run / backed
failure . How is it that UPS and FedEx are so well run without government dollars? Because they are run like a business with accountability .

[Sue Doe-Nym]

When we moved to our current address in Moultonborough 22 years ago, we kept our post office box in Center Harbor. No biggie, you would think. However, it is a big deal because when you order online, they want your street address for shipping…..and then UPS frequently drops your order at the local post office, and then our shipment is sent back. Moultonborough makes no effort to notify anyone; it gets returned to sender. We now refuse to do business with anyone online unless they guarantee delivery to our street address or will accept our post office address. Apparently there are many rural customers who experience this problem.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by egodshall

We installed a mailbox in Moultonborough right at the end of a paved road prior to turning into a dirt road. We were told they will only deliver within a half a mile from your mailbox. If your residence is further than half a mile, you will have to pick up your larger packages at the post office.

Our first USPS notice was where to put the mailbox, and how high it should be from the ground. The road is required to be "suitable for USPS vehicles".

Since our dirt road changes its surface from year to year our mailbox was installed at the end of the town's (mostly) paved roadway. Nonetheless, large packages are sometimes carried down our steep hill and delivered.

This isn't always the case, as a paper card will direct you to picking up the parcel at Wolfeboro's USPS office. The notice has a small checkable box for "re-deliver", which can be checked to "re-deliver" the item.

Check with your carrier. Our carrier can sometimes be seen hurtling past our mailboxes to the very end of our bumpy dirt road. (There seems to be some flexibility with individual carriers).

[TheTimeTraveler]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

When we moved to our current address in Moultonborough 22 years ago, we kept our post office box in Center Harbor. No biggie, you would think. However, it is a big deal because when you order online, they want your street address for shipping…..and then UPS frequently drops your order at the local post office, and then our shipment is sent back. Moultonborough makes no effort to notify anyone; it gets returned to sender. We now refuse to do business with anyone online unless they guarantee delivery to our street address or will accept our post office address. Apparently there are many rural customers who experience this problem.

In your situation you are not handling your package delivery correctly (don't feel bad as most P.O. Box holders are in the same situation and don't have a clue).

Did you know that Post Office Boxes will now accept packages from other carriers such as Fed Ex, UPS, Emory, etc., but, ONLY if they are addressed correctly.

For example: Say you rent Post Office Box #25. You order an item from someone and you provide them the mailing address as follows:

Sue Doe-Nym
44 Main Street, Apt. 25
Center Harbor, NH 03226

Basically, the delivery address is the actual address of the Post Office Box location and the apartment number is the number of your Post Office Box.

When your package arrives, the Post Office will place a yellow slip inside of your Post Office Box notifying you of a waiting package, and you collect it from the clerk at the Stamp Window.

The nice thing about receiving packages at the Post Office Box is that your package is safely contained in a secure, climate controlled environment until such time that you elect to pick it up. Any package delivery service uses tracking and you will always know (using your computer) when a package is waiting for you at the Post Office.

I've received packages using this method for a couple of years now and it works very nicely. It's very convenient also!


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