Been looking for a way to get USPS physical mail notifications. Worst case scenario everybody will see that I get utility bills just like everyone else.
Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
171–180 of 201 posts
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#172Outside of the (valid) privacy concerns, I use this and considered it an awesome tool. Then I ran into the good old efficiency and effort of the USPS we all know and love... I was expecting a rather important document from the government, so when the image of it showed up in my Informed Delivery email, I knew to go to the mailbox that day, but the letter never arrived. Instructions on the USPS site tell you that even though you see an image of the mail piece, it might not arrive for up to +7 days later and they ask you to wait the full 7 days before declaring your mail missing - there is a feature where you click on a link to report a specific piece of mail as not delivered. So I wait exactly 7 days and what do you know, the link to report that letter is expired. They expire the damn link 7 days after the email is sent, which means if you follow directions you are sent into a literal black hole because apparently no one on the team tested for obvious logical conflicts. The letter never arrived and my report on this glaring flaw was never responded to.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#173off topic: Is there some service by USPS where I can have a P.O. Box, but have my mail forwarded to any address?
I find myself having to move a lot, and trying to keep track of all the addresses I need to update is challenging for myself. I'd love to have a service where I can send my mail and only make an address change on that service when I need to update my mailing address.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#174Worth remembering five years ago there was a startup (Outbox) trying to work with the USPS on this with some disruptive features (spam mail removal). USPS killed it: https://www.insidesources.com/outbox-vs-usps-how-the-post-of... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7667068 Outbox's shutdown note: http://web.archive.org/web/20140712084627/http://blog.outbox... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7097892
I think spam mail removal is an entirely different beast since USPS makes a lot (maybe even most) of their money off of mail that most people consider spam. It's in USPS's financial interest to deliver as much junk mail to you as possible.
As much as I rely on USPS for a lot of things and love them for it, I'm still sore at them for very obviously sharing my postal address with a bunch of spam mailers. I foolishly filed an official change-of-address with them when I moved cities a few years ago -- and immediately started getting junk mail from all manner of companies, addressed to me personally, at my new residence.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
I live in a rural area on a plot of land that has two houses and a total of three housing units on it. We get our mail in one mailbox. When I signed up for Informed Delivery I was told that I couldn't get it because I was an improperly coded housing complex. I asked my postmistress about it and she told me that that was because we get the mail in one box and that we could have it coded correctly if we got three boxes…
Drill a few more slots into the same bin and label each one “separately”.
I was gonna suggest throwing some slabs of balsa wood in the box depending on how big it is and call that a 'separation'. I like your method better, involves power drill. Tim Taylor noise
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#176I tried signing up for this 3 months ago, and was shocked to receive images for the mail of literally everyone in my building (I'm one of seven apartments). Huuuge privacy violation. (It's just images of the envelopes, but that still tells you a lot.) I unsubscribed and then went to file feedback, and got an immediate reply explaining this was by design : > Thank you for participating in Informed Delivery®. You recen…
I mean... Seems pretty normal to me... in the older brownstones in the neighborhood where I grew up (and a lot of my friends still live) all mail for the entire building is pushed through the mail slot into the hallway. Everyone roots through the pile and takes their own and leaves everyone else's in the hallway.
Guess it's just what you're used to.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#177Monetization of the surveillance program they long had in place? Not bad.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#178I tried signing up for this 3 months ago, and was shocked to receive images for the mail of literally everyone in my building (I'm one of seven apartments). Huuuge privacy violation. (It's just images of the envelopes, but that still tells you a lot.) I unsubscribed and then went to file feedback, and got an immediate reply explaining this was by design : > Thank you for participating in Informed Delivery®. You recen…
I frequently get actual mail addressed to my neighbors, so IMO that's a worse problem than seeing the images of the envelopes or packages. I also don't know what problem this really solves. Grasping at straws for the USPS to remain relevant I think. Big waste of money in my opinion.
>Big waste of money in my opinion.
Mail is scanned and archived anyway, and has been for years. This service merely let's you see the images they already have on hand. It costs not very much extra to add a customer side to an already existing system.
It's useful for people whose mailbox is down the street and it's useful to know if your mail is getting misdirected.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#179I signed up for it when living at my old apartment. When I moved out of the apartment, I somehow got locked out of my USPS account so I could not update the settings to indicate that I had moved out. So now everyday I get an e-mail showing the incoming USPS mail of the person currently living at my old apartment.
Re: Digitally preview incoming USPS mail and packages
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
The workaround is to do a temporary change of address, and contact each company that sends you mail forwarded from your old address individually, to update your address record. When the mail stops forwarding, you stop getting mail from anyone that you didn't explicitly inform of your new address. The permanent change of address triggers advertising that targets new residents. Restaurants want to try to snag your regu…
It's also one of the best ways to get the vaunted Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off your entire purchase coupon. Depending on how much stuff you're buying after you move, that can be worth a little junk mail
Agreed, that's how I have gotten that coupon too.
It's time to share the Three Secrets of the regular 20% off one item and $5 off a $15 purchase coupons that BeBo (that's what we call them here) mails out:
0. Ignore what it says on the coupon!
1. The coupons do not expire. No one looks at the expiration date, they just scan the barcode and it always works.
2. You can use any number of coupons in a single purchase as long as they are on different items.
3. If you don't have a coupon with you, you have 30 days to come back with a coupon and your receipt and get the discount refunded.