• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

USPS Informed Delivery

akbeemer

SURVIVOR
For those unaware.... the Postal Service offers a service that will email you a daily digest of the mail scheduled for delivery to your home. In our case we get an email each morning that provides images of most pieces of mail that are out for delivery to our home. A small percentage of the items are listed as image not taken. These tend to be unsolicited advertisements or magazines. Images of packages are not provided but they are listed by tracking number and some shipper info.

The service is not available in all locations but is damn handy if you can get it. It offers some protection against mailbox thieves as well. If a listed item is not in your mail box at least you will know in short order and can take steps to mitigate the damage, or you can be present for the delivery if you expect something of special importance.

Check here to see if your location is eligible for the service and to sign-up.
 
I've been using USPS informed delivery for a couple of years now. I don't always receive the mail that should be delivered on the day the image comes but will usually get it at least by the next day. For today I was suppose to get two pieces of mail and two packages. I only received the two packages. I will probably get the pieces of mail tomorrow. Overall I'm pleased with the service. It helps a lot when I travel. I will receive the daily emails even when I have my mail on hold. It just lets me know that that mail would have been delivered if it wasn't on hold. It's good for reminding of bills you've forgotten about but see the image.
 
We have been using it for only 3-4 months. So far I think we have received every piece of mail on the day it was shown on the daily digest.
 
Kevin, thanks for the reminder. I tried several times to enroll a year or so ago but the online verification process was not working, and USPS wanted me to provide proof of residence in the post office. My local office (4 miles away) knew absolutely nothing about Informed Delivery, and after making several calls, said I'd need to go to another office about 20 miles away. I decided it was not worth the effort. Tried again just now and the online verification (code sent via text msg to phone) went very smoothly. Some days it's not worth walking out to the mailbox. I could have saved a trip last Thursday, all recycling material.
informed.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've been using this for most of the last year. I did have to go to my closest post office to verify my residence, but they knew what to do and it was painless. Its primary value to me is knowing when a package for which I'll need to sign (insured, etc.) will arrive so I can manage to either be home or else plan on going to the post office the following day to retrieve it in person since the carriers here only make one delivery attempt for signature mail. This is very similar to the email notification you receive from UPS and FEDEX if you have signed up with them.
 
Before I sign up I would like your feedback on the following paragraph in the Terms and Conditions.

BY ACCEPTING AND AGREEING TO THIS AGREEMENT, YOU CONSENT AND ACCEPT THE RISK IN RECEIVING INFORMATION VIA EMAIL AND/OR TEXT MESSAGING THROUGH THE SERVICE. SUCH ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS MAY PROVIDE THE ABOVE MENTIONED SERVICES, BUT MAY ALSO CONTAIN MARKETING MESSAGES AS WELL AS REQUESTS FOR FEEDBACK FROM YOU REGARDING THE SERVICE. YOU MAY WITDRAW SUCH CONSENT AT ANY TIME, BUT IF WITHDRAWING SUCH CONSENT, SOME FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SERVICE MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE TO YOU. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER MAY CHARGE DATA USAGE FEES (INCLUDING ADDITIONAL CHARGES WHEN ROAMING AS WELL AS FEES FOR SMS OR TEXT MESSAGING THAT MAY BE USED TO RECEIVE UPDATES RELATED TO THE TRACKING OF MAILABLE ITEMS) TO ACCESS THE SERVICE, AND THAT THE POSTAL SERVICE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SUCH FEES AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE APPLICATION OR THE SERVICE. ADDITIONAL FEES OR COSTS MAY ACCOMPANY YOUR RECIEPT OF EMAILS SENT THROUGH THE SERVICE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR WIRELESS OR TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER FOR COMPLETE PRICING DETAILS.

I would like to sign-up, but do not need anymore junk mail.

Thanks, George
 
I started using this service maybe 6 months ago. I don't recall being bombarded with spam messages or other emails. I also haven't seen much benefit so far, but then again I've only had 1 or 2 UPS packages come my way.
 
No spam or unwanted emails yet. Just an email showing the face of each item, received at 8 AM each delivery day.

No real benefit I can see, though it was interesting to see that a letter from the the county auditor was listed on three of four days before it finally reached our mail box. I was in no real hurry to see that property appraisals for tax purposes were going up, so no harm.
 
IT IS OF GREAT BENEFIT:
We travel a couple times a year. Down to the Everglades/Keys and out to the Western states to visit the high country. Usually 5 or 6 weeks at a time. We have a farm sitter come around every day to take care of the place. One of their duties is to bring the mail in and put it in a safe place.
Having this service from the USPS, most of last year, allows us to advise the helper if there is some business that they need to take care of for us. An unexpected bill, a service person coming to perform maintenance, or just junk mail to get rid of. Really glad they offer the service because it really helps us...……...
 
It may also be a good idea to have your packages delivered at your work address if that is allowed/possible. It will reduce the porch pirates ability to steal....
FWIW, for UPS customers it is less expensive to have things shipped to a commercial address rather than a residential one, but for USPS it makes no difference in shipping cost. YMMV
 
I use informed Delivery.
As mentioned above it's not unusual the email will show a letter or package will arrive that day, but it may be a day or two latter.
 
Protection against the results of theft of one’s mail is one of the most significant benefits. Theft from mailboxes is not an uncommon event in some areas, most often rural areas in MT. Informed delivery will not prevent it but can help in mitigating the damage.
 
Looking at my "dashboard" for the past week, on 5 of the 6 delivery days this message appeared: "There is a mailpiece for which we do not currently have an image that is included in Today's mail." Some of those missing pieces were junk mail, but yesterday we received a doctor's bill that was not shown in the email. So there is still potential for important items to go astray without my knowledge.

Another observation about this service: I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that USPS is keeping a record of my mail. I know the mail is sorted electronically, so there has to be some sort of scanner, but why are the results being stored? How long are the pictures being kept? Who has access to the images? Are the images created only for Informed Delivery subscribers or they made for all mail?
 
Another observation about this service: I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that USPS is keeping a record of my mail. I know the mail is sorted electronically, so there has to be some sort of scanner, but why are the results being stored? How long are the pictures being kept? Who has access to the images? Are the images created only for Informed Delivery subscribers or they made for all mail?

Good questions but small potatoes in the grand scheme of all the data warehousing that is happening without your direct knowledge. You really don't want to know the answers or they will keep you up at night.
 
Back
Top