View Full Version : But some USPS won't accept general delivery holds
My experience with this has not been with hiking, but just with a general issue.
My hometown USPS says they won't accept general delivery. (We are not anywhere near the AT, but near the Bay Circuit, Massachusetts.) Can the USPS do this?
I ask as I am looking ahead to my thru-hike days. Have any of you experience as USPS that won't accept boxes with no address other than the USPS street address?
If my local post office is incorrect about this, I would be happy to educate the superintendent there. My theory is that my town does have a lot of homeless people, and maybe doesn't want to deal with people who can't afford a p.o. box. I find that sad - where are the homeless suppose to receive mail if they don't have friends or relatives to accept mail for them?
So, have you sent boxes to a USPS facility during the duration of your hike, only to find out they won't hold your boxes for you?
Slightly off topic: one of the things that bothered me about the Cheryl Strayed memoir was the seeming lack of gratitude toward the private operators who held her boxes. However other than that she seems quite kind, and there is only so much you can put in a book or a movie. Do you give little gifts (a bottle of wine, cookies, a gift certificate, etc) to private mail facility employees?
Slo-go'en
01-25-2016, 15:38
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2010/pb22280/html/updt_002.htm
Basically, if there is more then one post office in a city or town (branches), typically only the main office will accept general delivery, but the Postmaster has the option to designate other branches to receive general delivery. There is usually only one post office at the towns you would send a package to along the AT, so this is not a problem.
Just remember their space is limited and will only hold a package for 30 days and you should clearly label the box with "hold for Thru hiker" and an ETA so they know to put the box in the front of the pile or the rear.
4eyedbuzzard
01-25-2016, 15:39
Yes they can refuse to accept GD at an office where that office is part of a multifacility post office (generally in a city or town where there are many post offices but one serves as the main one or hub) http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2010/pb22280/html/updt_002.htm (http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2010/pb22280/html/updt_002.htm They) They assign only one office, usually the main/hub to handle all the GD for that area.
It shouldn't be an issue at any of the post offices commonly used by hikers on the AT - they are used to receiving/handling lots of hiker boxes. Mark your boxes "Hold for AT Hiker".
colorado_rob
01-25-2016, 15:48
One quickly learned lesson is it is more desirable to send packages to hostels/hotels along the trail rather than PO's, simply because sure as heck, you'll arrive in your resupply town at 12:01pm on a Saturday, one minute after the post office closes for the weekend, then you're stuck until Monday morning. I made this mistake on my very first resupply box in Hiwassee.
I'd avoid using post offices, unless you're 99.9% sure you'll arrive on a weekday or Sat. morning. Even then, check the PO's hours, they vary all over the place. Trail hostels and hotels (and outfitters) gladly accept hiker boxes. At least 100% of the ones I used. The AWOL guide usually says if they do/don't. A very few do not. Some charge you 5 bucks to hold a package if you do not stay there. Seems fair.
Thank you Slo, 4eyed and colorado. Much appreciated.
I'd gladly pay a fee to pick up a box if I'm not staying someplace.
Looking ahead ... .:)
Fact about Priority Mail packages: If for any reason you don't take delivery of the package, it can be forwarded free. Say you do miss pickup on a Saturday, holiday, etc. , contact the post office and ask them to forward it to another post office. I would not try this in person. They will say that you took delivery. Except if you arrive before the package. Rather than wait a few days, have the package sent ahead when it does arrive.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
Fact about Priority Mail packages: If for any reason you don't take delivery of the package, it can be forwarded free. Say you do miss pickup on a Saturday, holiday, etc. , contact the post office and ask them to forward it to another post office. I would not try this in person. They will say that you took delivery. Except if you arrive before the package. Rather than wait a few days, have the package sent ahead when it does arrive.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
Thank you, Venchka.
You're welcome.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
I have had overwhelmingly positive experiences mailing USPS Priority Rate Flat Rate boxes from U.S. locations to U.S. PO locations using General Delivery getting my resupply boxes as needed. In the literally hundreds of resupply boxes I've mailed myself on hikes I've only had to wait around on Sun four or five times. It wasn't the end of the world. The sky didn't fall. I found something else to enhance the journey on that day. In hindsight, I don't regret one of those Sundays. C'est la vie. Hiking is NOT just about hiking anyhow!
IMO some make a larger issue of being detained for a day to day and a half but the USPS is usually extremely eager to assist getting a person their package when calling ahead NICELY to communicate the situation. Despite the sometimes bum rap or brunt of jokes the USPO gets some of the nicest most helpful people I've met are Postal Workers.
First, some USPO's are open to 1, 2 or, even a few, 3 p.m. on Sat. When one has options mail General Delivery to the USPO locations having not only Sat hrs but extended Sat hrs. Second, some USPO's have people in the back after 3 p.m on Sat and sometimes on Sunday behind closed doors. Some USPO's have employees working night shifts when the PO main lobby is otherwise closed to the public. USPO's that have separate lobbies open for Post Office Box access have a inner door that is locked shut but can be knocked on if you hear people in the back or see Postal Worker's cars in the USPO parking lot or if by calling ahead during regular hrs telling them what time you will be by will answer the normally closed door if knocked on respectfully often giving you your package especially if you let them know you have emergency meds or such you need in your package. By calling ahead informing the PO they have almost always worked with me leaving my box in the back outside the building somewhere, opening a door to give me my box(with ID!, be patient, be respectful, someone is going out of their way outside of normal procedure to help, be grateful, be kind), a local worker taking my box home with them that I retrieved from them, dropping my box off at a nearby hotel front desk that I could retrieve on Sun/early morning hrs, etc. Plus, when on a long hike being flexible and innovative and working your mojo are keys to greater happiness rather than pacing along like a run away freight train as if one has no control of pace and timing of their hiking logistics complaining about such things.
As said, in some places like large cities, there is sometimes a central USPO where General Delivery is held but it can happen in some rural areas as well. Not all USPO's hold General Delivery and not all, like small PO's, will hold a mailed box for more than 30 days and some very small limited space PO's only for two weeks.