Can anyone advise what the current, official USPS policy is on how long a maildrop will be held by post offices? In other words, is there a guaranteed MINIMUM number of holding days? Does the time held correlate to whether the drop is sent first class, or not?
In the past I have planned on a 30-day window - but some publications seem to suggest as little as 10 days recently.
Brutus
There is no"official" policy; it’s at the discretion of each individual postmaster.
In my experience, every place will hold a parcel at least two weeks, and most for significantly longer, tho I wouldn’t send something more than 3 or 4 weeks in advance of your arrival unless you call the postmaster ahead of time to be sure it’s OK.
To be on the safe side:
Label your boxes well, be sure you’ve sent your stuff to the right place, with the correct zip code
Put down on the box “Hold for A.T. thru-hiker” and put down your approximate ETA. This way, there’s no doubt that uour mail will end up with other hiker mail and not be mis-placed.
Make sure you have a return address on the mail, and you might want to put another one INSIDE the box in case a label is lost or damaged
If you have to have a box mailed or shipped elsewhere, follow the correct USPS procedures re. a properly filled out change-of address card, etc.
If you’re going to be significantly late on arriving at a mail-drop site, call them and make sure they know you’re still coming so they continue to hold nto the mail; if you’re not going to make it and need the box sent elsewhere, they’ll tell you how to do this, or you can just send them a USPS change-of-address request card.
Hostels, motels, and non P.O. sites will hold hiker mail formuch longer. You should consider sending mail to these places as well as Post Offices; by doing this, you’ll also have the advantage of being able to pick up your mail 7 days a week, on holidays, etc.
Jack Tarlin
It’s worth mentioning that PO’s do not have to accept General Delivery at all. Many don’t, especially those that see fewer thru-hikers.
Several of my friends had this problem in Kent, CT. The postmaster there said they don’t accept General Delivery unless you call ahead. Their maildrops had been returned to the sender immediately.
statler
Wow, that’s a new one! I’ve sent mail General Delivery to Kent every year since 1995 and never had a problem there; however, maybe there is a new policy I’m unaware of.
I have NEVER heard of a trail-town Post Ofice that didn’t accept correctly labeled and packaged General Delivery hiker mail, so when I hear someone say that “many don’t” I’d be very curious as to which places these are; as a rule, the Post office personel you’ll encounter will be some of the friendliest and most helpful folks you’ll encounter on your trip.
Jack Tarlin