Express Gifts for Easter Delivery

Sending Gifts by Express Mail Ensures On-Time Arrival

BALTIMORE, MD — The U.S. Postal Service is ready to help family and friends separated by distance this Easter season. Gifts can be sent as late as Saturday, March 22, for delivery on Easter Sunday by the Postal Service, the only shipping service that delivers on Sundays. Express Mail, the Postal Service’s premier package service, provides overnight delivery to most destinations nationwide at prices lower than other carriers provide and includes a money-back guarantee, tracking, proof of delivery, and insurance, all at no additional cost.

Unlike the expedited services offered by other companies, Express Mail has no hidden surcharges. Other commercial carriers have increased their rates for 2008 and have surcharges for residential delivery and fuel costs that are often higher than the base price of shipping. Express Mail has just one fixed price to most destinations in the United States.

“Express Mail is the only overnight service that delivers seven days a week, and we offer it at an attractive price, with a guarantee,” said U.S. Postal Service Expedited Mail Services Vice President Gary Reblin.

Customers can even send Express Mail without leaving their homes. By visiting usps.com, customers can print shipping labels and postage for Express Mail and schedule a postal carrier to pick packages up through Carrier Pickup or Pickup on Demand services. Customers can also use usps.com to look up ZIP Codes and find nearby USPS Express Mail collection boxes or Post Offices.

USPS Express Mail includes, at no additional cost, insurance up to $100 against loss or damage, proof of delivery, tracking information, and free ecologically friendly packaging.

The Postal Service also offers another value, Priority Mail, with nationwide delivery in two or three days. Customers may choose any of three different flat-rate Priority Mail boxes that will hold a variety of candy and possibly a stuffed bunny.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.