Informed Delivery - a free new USPS service

[RunningBum]

As I read the emails they send, it says that they expect that emailed to be delivered that day but it could be delayed. I have seen a couple cases where a piece did not arrive the same day.

I'm guessing tracked mail is scanned by the carrier when they put it in your box, like packages (at least the SurePost packages) are. I've seen my carrier do it at the kiosk for packages. But regular mail is not scanned there.

 

[steelyman]

I'm guessing tracked mail is scanned by the carrier when they put it in your box, like packages (at least the SurePost packages) are. I've seen my carrier do it at the kiosk for packages. But regular mail is not scanned there.

I wonder if this scan is for a bar code (proof/timestamp of delivery), rather than an image of the item. I don’t know.

 

[RunningBum]

I wonder if this scan is for a bar code (proof/timestamp of delivery), rather than an image of the item. I don’t know.

Looked like a bar code scan at delivery, rather than the image scan that comes in email. I'm sure it is because I've gotten the "Delivered" email from Amazon shortly after it was delivered by USPS/SurePost.

 

[sengsational]

I have seen a couple cases where a piece did not arrive the same day.

I've seen one day early and one day late, but the majority of the time, it's spot-on.

 

[PatrickA5]

One of my 1099's that was being forwarded for my late father showed up in an email twice - about 2 weeks apart. It was another 10 days after the 2nd scan that the actual mail showed up in my mail box. I've learned over the last couple of years, with this service, that you can't count on the mail to actually show up on the day of the email.

 

[cathy63]

I've also had a few pieces that didn't get delivered on the projected day, but nothing as important as a 1099. One day last week we didn't get mail delivered at all, despite having six items that should have come. I delayed a planned trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond because I saw that a 20% off coupon was coming, and then it didn't arrive!

I also had an interesting image in my email the other day. It was a hand-written envelope that had next-door-neighbor's name but our house number. We never got that item, so I suppose that the mail carrier noticed it was misaddressed and delivered it to her instead of us.

 

[Jeb-NY]

We have found the service very useful since our mailbox is a quarter mile away, we have skipped a few days since we signed up a month or so ago.

One interesting thing happened, I had a notice that a package was being delivered the next day. I didn't know of any packages that were coming. When it didn't show up I checked the tracking number that they supplied and saw that it had made it as far s our district office and then started back towards California, where it was shipped from. I checked every few days and it was eventually delivered to a different town in CA from where it was shipped. No idea what that was all about.

 

[googily]

I am waiting on two important pieces of mail, both of which are likely in larger letter-sized envelopes and so don't get scanned. I still w*rk, so am not home when the mail arrives, and it bugs me that today all Informed Delivery says is that I have "mailpieces for which there is no image" (three of them, according to the dashboard on the web site).

But I realized I have Informed Informed Delivery when it comes to these--I have a Nest Hello doorbell, and so when I get the notification that the mailman has come, I can just queue up the video and see if any large envelopes get shoved through the door.

 

[folivier]

Googily try logging into the USPS website and at upper right click on Informed Delivery. That might show a tracking number under either Mailpieces or Packages. Then use that number to track the package. You might get better results that way.

 

[googily]

Thanks, but they aren't packages. Just larger envelopes that can be sent via first-class mail but aren't scanned. Package tracking e-mails also now show up at the bottom of the daily e-mail, BTW.

 

[timo2]

Googily try logging into the USPS website and at upper right click on Informed Delivery. That might show a tracking number under either Mailpieces or Packages. Then use that number to track the package. You might get better results that way.

I have found that I logging into the USPS website and looking at the Informed Delivery tab provides me with slightly more useful information, especially regarding packages.

 

[audreyh1]

It’s been super handy. I can see what mail is being collected when it’s on hold.

On longer trips we forward mail. It doesn’t send us informed delivery on those, but we did get a scan of a jury summons, which instructs not to forward, and DH was able to call the jury clerk from Spain to figure out what his options were and get his ejuror number. She rescheduled his summons.