Holiday shopping apparently takes place in other locations besides the mall and local shops—such as your front porch.
According to the United States Postal Service, this is the time of year when packages left by delivery services and even the local mailman often disappear. In various California cities lately there have been reports of packages being allegedly stolen from the homes of people waiting for them.
The U.S. Postal Service reports it is geared up and ready for a projected 365 million holiday packages this year, a 20 percent increase over last year.
It offers these four tips to help you protect yourself and your packages:
1. Ask a friend or family member to pick up the pending packages.
2. Ask the company delivering the package to hold it at the post office or delivery center.
3. Have packages delivered at your place of work.
4. Do not leave packages out for a lengthy amount of time; pick them up as soon as possible.
Fun Mail Delivery Facts:
While these methods may not be common in our area, check out these unusual delivery methods according to the USPS web site.
- Most Unusual Delivery Method — mule trains in Arizona. Each mule carries about 130 pounds of mail, food, supplies and furniture down the 8-mile trail to the Havasupai Indians at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, averaging 41,000 pounds per week.
- Another Unusual Delivery Method — by boat in Michigan. The JW Westcott is a 45-foot contract mail boat out of Detroit that delivers mail to passing ships in the Detroit River. The JW Westcott has its own ZIP Code — 48222.
- Another Unusual Delivery Method — dock-to-dock delivery on the Magnolia River in Alabama. A 17-foot mail boat delivers to 180 dock-side mailboxes on a 29-mile stretch of the river.
