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anniedeighnaugh

USPS Mail notifications

I had no idea you could do this....


You can sign up with USPS for mail notifications and it will send you images of the sorted mail you have coming that day as well as notification of any packages.


Some folks on my local forum mentioned it as they have had issues with people stealing mail out of the boxes. This way you can tell if something important is missing.


In case you are interested...it's called Informed Delivery...you can sign up on line.

Comments (50)

  • Ally De
    last year

    I have this. My local mail delivery has become unreliable, so it's always fun to play the game of, "guess what shows up onscreen which will never arrive in my mailbox."


    I've signed up for e-delivery of everything important, but every now and then some random bit of mail that I never knew I was expecting actually comes through.


    The informed delivery screen has check boxes where you can indicate you never received the mail itself. Fun fact - if you check that box, nothing happens. LOL.


    It's sad. Mail delivery used to be as reliable as the sunrise, but that is no longer the case for me.

  • hounds_x_two
    last year

    I use Informed Delivery! I like it.

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  • salonva
    last year

    I think we actually started doing this before we moved ( which was almost 4 1/2 yrs ago).

    It's really helpful even aside from how unreliable the mail has been lately. I find it helpful even with having so little actual mail, especially if you are waiting for something. I can see from the daily email whih comes anytime between 7 and 9 am, what that day's mail should be.

    It really is a nice feature and easy.

  • Lars
    last year

    My brother does this for our Los Angeles address, and I have been using it for our Cathedral City address, where it is not possible to steal the mail, but the box can get over full.

    We've only had mail stolen from our mailbox in L.A. once, and the thief was caught on our Kuna cam, but all he got was a free calendar that a previous client sends to me at the end of each year. We normally have mail held when we are out of town, unless it is just for a weekend.

  • aok27502
    last year

    I have this for our post office box. I know when something important arrives, and when I don't need to check it.

  • JoanMN
    last year

    We have had this ever since it became available. I love it.

  • Elizabeth
    last year

    I have had this since it was first available. If there is only junk mail, it saves me a long walk down a cold, snowy driveway that day. When we are traveling, I know what is waiting for me and if there is anything that needs my immediate attention. It's a good thing.

  • functionthenlook
    last year

    I've had this service for several years. It comes in handy for us since our mailbox is down at the public road. We only get the mail when we are going out, so it isn't unusual for it to sit for days in the box. If it is important I will make a special trip just to get the mail.

  • rob333 (zone 7b)
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I love it. Although, for some unknown reason, it won't let me track packages. Though, I typically don't care. Because from wherever the package was coming I was given a tracking number I can use.

  • jrb451
    last year

    We've been using this and its been a nice to have. One small caveat, sometimes it may take 2 or 3 days after mail shown for delivery actually ends up in your mailbox.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    last year

    I have a post office box so mail theft is not an issue. And I get almost nothing of importance by mail anyway.....90% of what's in my box is junk mail. I may visit the PO once a week, if that, unless I have ordered something that I expect to be delivered via USPS. And most of my usual vendors alert me to a pending delivery as part of their shipping service.

  • arcy_gw
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Neighbors have it. They have more than once noted missing mail in their mail box (miss delivered to a neighbor) due to the emails.

  • Kathsgrdn
    last year

    I have had this for a while and I like it.

  • foodonastump
    last year

    Another who has it and likes it.

  • dedtired
    last year

    I never heard of this. Thanks,Annie I’ll,give it a try

  • happy2b…gw
    last year

    I have informed delivery and like it. It workes for us since we travel a lot. We have a locked mailbox which my daughter empties weekly when we are travelling. Sometimes there is mail that I ask her to open.

  • Fun2BHere
    last year

    I've been using it for years, too. It doesn't always have pictures of junk mail which is fine with me. Mostly, it helps me know when something important is in the mail and when I can expect packages. Even if my mail is on hold while I am out of town, I can see if something important will be delivered when I get back or if something might need to be handled some other way because of its urgency...IRS or jury summons, as examples.

  • woodrose
    last year

    I signed up for informed delivery recently, and so far it's been accurate about letters and packages.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    last year

    We haven't used it but my SIL does. She let me know a couple of days ago there would be two packages (she thought small) delivered to her house. They've been in Kona for a month. When our mail carrier came here, she said there had been two small parcels and both had gone easily enough through the front door mail slot. Otherwise, she'd planned to bring them here. A real sweetie. That probably isn't regulation but she goes out of her way to be cooperative when either of DH's sisters are away and keeps on eye on their deliveries. He treats her with bottled water, snacks, and many Thank You's during the year. She comes here late in the afternoon, often about the time he's come in to watch news in my office. He sees her drive down our dead end street and goes out to meet her in the driveway as she goes back by. Our mail carrier rarely even has to get out of her truck for us, she hands him the mail ;) He asks about her kids, her weekend, makes sure she knows she's appreciated.

  • Elmer J Fudd
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I've had it for years too, two locations. Fun2BeHere's words are on the money.

    PS - I have no squawks about our mail service. We had a great guy for years, we couldn't imagine anyone had a more thoughtful and reliable provider. After he retired, it was a mess for several years with too much turnover and no consistency in who handled the route. About two years ago, a new guy came along. He made an effort to apologize to all he encountered about the past interval and promised better days were ahead. He's kept his commitment and I think he's better than the first guy we grew to appreciate so much.

    My takeaway - the dedication or lack thereof of the last hands to touch one's mail in the system can make a big difference.

  • Alisande
    last year

    I'm another one who's had it for years. It's not always accurate about packages, so I don't pay much attention to what's supposed to be in my mailbox and what will arrive "soon." But all in all, I like it.

  • Rusty
    last year

    I, too, have had it for a few years now. I've never had any issues with incoming mail, nor do I remember why I subscribed to it. Just because it was new to me, I guess. But I really do like it, and it has been consistent and accurate here. One of the advantages of a fairly small town, I guess.

    Rusty

  • aziline
    last year

    We are on a Rural Post Route and it isn't available dang it. Our area is getting big enough that I'm hoping they'll soon change from having a 3rd party delivery service to a USPS truck. There has been a lot of turn over on the delivery driver and we have problems with missing packages and mail being late.

  • Suzieque
    last year

    We have it and it's great. Except when I'd like to surprise my DH with a card in the mail ....

  • maifleur03
    last year

    I have had it for a number of years but have also changed most of the bills to either ACH. There are still a few company's like my tree trimming company that send manual bills but very few.


    I did notice a change a couple of months ago in the statement to "Arriving soon". After I did not receive a 1099 in a couple of days I did check the box that it had not been delivered. I received it the next day. I like it but would also prefer that large oversized envelopes be added. From the local post office staff I was told oversized envelopes like birthday cards are physically sent through the scanning process so they should be available. Most of my junk mail is actually shown other than the Wednesday flyers that are a bulk mailing.

  • Adella Bedella
    last year

    I think mail theft is a problem all over. Students at my daughter's college often don't get mail parents send them. I only use UPS and FedEx to send stuff. Some of my neighbors have complained about stuff sent to them. I dropped off a package at a local pack and ship place last month. They said some of the mail going through them isn't getting there either. It sucks for everyone.

  • Elmer J Fudd
    last year

    I haven't heard from people I know that mail theft's a problem in their neighborhoods. Nor has it been in mine. So maybe it's an issue in some places but, hopefully, not everywhere.


    Wouldn't installing a mailbox with locked access solve the issue for people who regularly find their mail missing?

  • Lars
    last year

    A friend of mine who bought a house in Long Beach (unfortunately across the street from a park popular with teenagers) had her mail stolen regularly until she got a mailbox with a lock.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    last year

    When we bought this house, our mail carrier could have just as easily insisted we put a box on a post at the street. It had been a few years since mail to peoples porches rules had changed and anyone at a new address could be asked/told to provide a streetside box.

    I didn't want to have mail at the end of our upward sloped 500' drive, locking or otherwise. For the safety of the mail and the convenience to me in weather. This house has a mail slot built into the garage wall where mail drops into a wooden box inside the attached garage, Two sheltered front doorways for packages. DH became his most charming and begged. The carrier, since its a circular drive and no walking required on their part, agreed to grandfather us in. Mail theft isn't a rampant problem here but it does happen. Twice in our neighborhood that I know of since we've lived here. I'm so grateful for our cooperative carriers.

  • jewelisfabulous
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I, too, signed up for Informed Delivery. Some months later, I needed to log in to that account for some reason but forgot the password. The "forgot my password" function on the USPS site takes a person in circles. So, in order to do what I needed to do at that time, I created a new Informed Delivery account. Now, I get two identical emails a day telling me what mail is coming. (Face/hand)

  • Adella Bedella
    last year

    Our neighborhood has the mailboxes with a key. The postal service has the master key. Apparently, there are copies of the master keys out there. Thieves apparently do target the mailboxes. Some people think that some of the postal employees are also stealing things.

  • sephia_wa
    last year
    last modified: last year

    "Wouldn't installing a mailbox with locked access solve the issue for people who regularly find their mail missing?"

    No. Thieves use a crowbar to pry them open. In my area anyway. There's a brand of locking mailboxes called "Mail Boss" that are popular around here that aren't able to be pried open. People end up getting one after they've had their mail stolen a few times.

  • Elmer J Fudd
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I think my unstated intent was to suggest that the problem of having recurring incidents of stolen mail isn't something to continue to suffer from. Whether the solution is changing the master key the mail carrier uses, getting sturdy boxes not easily tampered with, setting up a camera, informing the local USPS site manager of items shown in Informed Delivery that don't arrive, whatever. Action rather than inaction is more likely to resolve the problem.

  • foodonastump
    last year

    What of value do people mail with such regularity that makes mailboxes such a desirable target? I can think of exactly one house with a locking mailbox by me, and for all the warnings about crime we're warned about on FB, ND, etc. I've never heard anything about mail. For the most part, I'd say help yourself!

  • jrb451
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Replacement credit cards are targets. I’ve had one hijacked enroute. Checks are another, targeted for a ”check washing” scam it seems.

  • functionthenlook
    last year

    I've never heard about anyone stealing mail around me, but if someone wants to steal my bills and pay them , be my guest.

  • arcy_gw
    last year

    DH just got a picture from Fed Ex of a package they delivered to our home. Now it seems they are PROVING things get delivered so home owners don't point fingers at them!!

  • nickel_kg
    last year

    I appreciate new technology that makes my life easier. The proliferation of cameras and pic's of various events can be great, can help fight crime, find missing people, etc. We're lucky to have reliable mail service and I don't want another email to check every day so we've passed on this USPS service.

  • chisue
    last year

    Oh great, another email...from the post office. I suppose I should sign up, since our mail regularly comes hours after dark. This started when the current Postmaster General was appointed by you-know-who. Complaints fall on deaf ears. We are collecting our mail the following day.

    Chicago and suburbs have been hit by mail thieves to a surprising degree. We've been told to take important mail INTO the post office because even the boxes right in front of the building have been burgled. Mail carriers have been held up and forced to hand over master keys, enabling thieves to open whole flanks of mail boxes in apartment buildings and condos.

  • woodrose
    last year

    chisue, don't local post offices set the delivery schedule ? I've never heard of anyplace where mail is delivered after dark until now.. Perhaps you need to go higher up the chain with your complaints, I certainly would.

  • Patriciae
    last year

    The PS has been closing sorting centers so your sorting center can be much farther away and the time of day that each local PO gets its mail changes. The mail cant go out until the mail has come in,

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    last year

    Woodrose, there are days when our mail comes long after dark in the winter. It can be 6 PM, or later. I always feel badly for the mail person. The young woman we have now, who campaigned long and hard to be assigned this route full time, has small children and lives out at the beach and the south beach at that. Probably a half hour drive in good weather to home to her kids who I hope have been fed by the time she gets there.

  • Elmer J Fudd
    last year

    Whether mail is delivered when light or not is a seasonal and geographic (whether north or south, and where one is in the time zone) phenomenon.

    I think we're kind of in the middle of the time zone, cardinal direction wise. With wintertime sunsets sometimes around 5pm, there are many days the mail comes later.

  • dedtired
    last year

    Its anyone’s guess when my mail arrives. Some days early morning, some days late afternoon. Today mine is still outside because its too cold to open the door.

  • terilyn
    last year

    We haven’t received informed delivery in two days. Did not get mail at all yesterday.

  • maifleur03
    last year

    There is such a shortage of carriers in this area that some are delivery very late at night. I cannot state how late my delivery was but it was one time after 9 because that was when I got home and checked. The next morning when I put the trash out just after 6 I had mail.

  • greenshoekitty
    last year

    I got on it somehow. guess because I used to buy stamps from the post office. I like it , does not show all the things I get, but it is nice to know when a bill, or a note from my sister is coming, and if a package is doe. My mail often does not come till after dark (5 to 8 pm.) so I know if it has come yet.

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    last year

    We signed up for this service a few days ago and it's working perfectly so far. Our first notice sent 2 early morning pics of 1 ele bill and 1 junk mail, both arrived later in the day as predicted. The next day there was no notice and we got no mail. This will help because our mailbox is on the street and the carrier will always stop his truck at the box but I cannot tell if he put anything in the box due to my viewing angle. Sometimes I go to the mailbox after he stops but it's empty, from now on I'll depend upon the sent pics (or none) to save me a trip to the mailbox.

  • rob333 (zone 7b)
    last year
    last modified: last year

    While I am unhappy, I'm very happy I have had USPS notifications this week. I would never have known what was going on with my seed packet from SelectSeeds. I saw it get to my village, and then go back, over a six day period.

    I couldn't figure out why?! Until I looked closer at the address and I missed one digit. One. But in the zip code. I understand it's my fault. Sad, but understand. I might've been far unhappier if I had to contact SelectSeeds and hear it from them. Oops. But there it was in black and white.

  • woodrose
    last year

    I'm just blown away by some people getting their mail after dark. I have never in my 70+ years had mail delivered after dark, and it gets dark by about 5pm in winter here, too.. Packages delivered by other carriers, yes, but nothing by USPS. I must be blessed to live where there's been no shortage of carriers my entire life.

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