How
to Address an Envelope:
(Your
Return
Address Here) |
|
|
[Name
of Addressee]
[Street Number] [Street Name], [Apt.#]
[City], [State] [5- or 9-digit zipcode]
|
Where
to Mail your Letter or Package:
A
Mail Box
You may
mail a letter or package under 16 oz. in a mailbox, a blue box found
on many street corners around U.S. cities and towns. Each mail box should
have pick up times clearly posted on top. When dropping in your letter,
check to see it has gone down the chute.
!
Packages over 16 oz. placed in a mailbox will not be sent. Bring the
package to the post office or retail mailing shop instead. The clerk
will process it for you.
The
Post Office
In the
larger cities, when you go to the Post Office you must take a number
and wait in line. Post offices tend to be extremely crowded around Christmas.
Try to go as early in the morning as possible. Post office branches
open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. while main branches close at 6 p.m.
Buying
Stamps
!
The cost of a first-class postage stamp
to mail a letter is currently 39 cents, although rates tend to change
often.
Stamps
are sold individually or in booklets of 10 ($3.90) or 20 ($7.80) or
in rolls of 100 ($39.00)
You may
buy stamps at the following locations:
- online,
if you have a PC. Link to the U.S.
Postal Service website (http://www.usps.com)
and click on "stamps
online".
- at your
local post office
- at some
ATM (automated teller) machines
- at some
pharmacies and supermarkets
- by mail
- retail
mailing stores (you may have to pay a surcharge for stamps and to
mail packages through the USPS)
Postal
Rates and Fees
The U.S.
Postal Service's online postage calculator lets you determine the cost
to mail a letter or package anywhere in the world as long as you know
the weight of the package and the zip code of the package's origin and
destination:
http://postcalc.usps.gov/
Alternatively,
you may view text
charts for both domestic and international rates.
If you
don't know the weight of the letter or package to be mailed, you may
go to your local Post Office and the postal clerk will weigh it for
you.
