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Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

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Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#21

Post by mattparcher »

Notably, the locator [1] for post offices (or collection boxes, etc.) is still unchanged.

My main use-case for this part of the site is to answer the question “where can I deposit mail and still have it collected today, without driving all the way to the main office?". The top-level results page only shows business hours, which do not exist for the collection boxes on the side of the road, and may even differ from collection times at the official locations. This is in addition to the lack of any Sort function to use this information.

In general, there could be more information presented, and better organized, to really take advantage of the space.

[1] http://usps.whitepages.com/post_office/

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#22

Post by nhebb »

mtogo wrote: post #9

An improvement from their last design, but i really don't think it matters. I've spent maybe 15 minutes total of my life on USPS's homepage. What they really need to work on is their package tracking[1], which basically has two states: delivered and not delivered. [1] Well, and their shipping reliability. Sending packages USPS is about 50/50 for me as to whether it will arrive at all. EDIT: The 50/50 thing is hyperbo…

People like to knock government services, but I have no complaints. I went to the DMV earlier this year - fast, polite service. I got a copy of my birth certificate at the office of records - the workflow was smooth and I was in and out in less than 10 minutes, despite the long lines. I filed for an EIN a few years back, and received a friendly call from a guy at the IRS who walked me through the form, explaining the fields and terminology, and confirmed everything over the phone. On point, standard air mail and priority mail have served me well for my business. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I'm usually impressed with how well our government services do run.

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#23

Post by smackfu »

mattparcher wrote: post #21

Notably, the locator [1] for post offices (or collection boxes, etc.) is still unchanged. My main use-case for this part of the site is to answer the question “where can I deposit mail and still have it collected today, without driving all the way to the main office?". The top-level results page only shows business hours, which do not exist for the collection boxes on the side of the road, and may even differ from co…

And the hold mail pages are still the same: https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/landingView.do

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#24

Post by smackfu »

Only the homepage was redesigned. It seems like all the pages off of it, where you actually do stuff, are unchanged. Like the calculate shipping page, or the store.

The shipping calculator has the particular annoyance of requiring you to provide a bunch of info that is often unnecessary. To/from ZIP code for first class letters?

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#25

Post by bnycum »

dpcan wrote: post #10

IMO, the current price of a first-class domestic stamp should be right on the homepage. On Google, in the suggested search box, if you type: "how much is" The first option to come up is "how much is a stamp" I've performed this search myself many times because I don't mail letters often, but when I do, I go to the junk drawer to get a stamp, see a sheet of $0.42 stamps and wonder, "is that how much stamps are?" It's…

That's why I've always got Forever Stamps since they came out. No more worrying.

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#26

Post by dhechols »

To me, it looks shiny, new, and somewhat useless. Screw those DHTML menus.

The best parts of this redesign are the search bar in the top right and the bottom link area. Everything else looks like Fisher Price Theme (tm). Still, it's miles better than the old one, which looked like the chaos of a mailroom itself.

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#27

Post by username3 »

bnycum wrote: post #25
dpcan wrote: post #10

IMO, the current price of a first-class domestic stamp should be right on the homepage. On Google, in the suggested search box, if you type: "how much is" The first option to come up is "how much is a stamp" I've performed this search myself many times because I don't mail letters often, but when I do, I go to the junk drawer to get a stamp, see a sheet of $0.42 stamps and wonder, "is that how much stamps are?" It's…

That's why I've always got Forever Stamps since they came out. No more worrying.

What are Forever Stamps?

https://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/forever_stamp_f... is broken. First result on Bing and Google. Google gave me the option to Block all www.usps.com results.

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#28

Post by psadauskas »

username3 wrote: post #27
bnycum wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why I've always got Forever Stamps since they came out. No more worrying.

What are Forever Stamps? https://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/forever_stamp_f... is broken. First result on Bing and Google. Google gave me the option to Block all www.usps.com results .

Its a stamp that costs whatever first class postage is when you buy it, but it's always good for that, no matter how much the rates go up. So the Forever stamp you paid $0.44 for now, you can still use it to mail a letter in 5 years, when stamps might be $0.70.

Re: Finally, USPS.com got nice look'n'feel

#30

Post by jamesbkel »

psadauskas wrote: post #28
username3 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are Forever Stamps? https://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/forever_stamp_f... is broken. First result on Bing and Google. Google gave me the option to Block all www.usps.com results .

Its a stamp that costs whatever first class postage is when you buy it, but it's always good for that, no matter how much the rates go up. So the Forever stamp you paid $0.44 for now, you can still use it to mail a letter in 5 years, when stamps might be $0.70.

Depending on your country and postal service these are also known more generally as "non-denominated" or "non-value indicator" postage.
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