A Comprehensive Guide to USPS Informed Delivery

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has consistently strived to innovate and make the mailing experience as convenient and user-friendly as possible for both businesses and individuals. One of their recent innovations is the USPS Informed Delivery service. This service is a perfect marriage of mail and digital technology, enabling users to preview their mail and manage their packages from anywhere.

There are multitudes of reasons why individuals and businesses alike are switching to USPS Informed Delivery. Not only does it allow users to view their mail from anywhere in the world, but it also provides real-time information on the deliveries, among other advantageous features.

USPS Informed Delivery is a free and optional service that gives residential customers the ability to digitally preview their letter-sized mail pieces as well as manage and schedule packages. Users can view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of their letter-sized mail pieces arriving soon alongside a list of their incoming packages.

Moreover, the Informed Delivery feature provides some services including text-based email notifications, an online dashboard and a mobile app. Through these platforms, users can interact with incoming mail pieces and manage packages on a computer, tablet, or mobile device.

Particularly useful for individuals who travel frequently or have a busy schedule, this free service offers peace of mind that they are still keeping track of any important mail or packages. It is also a great tool for businesses, enabling them to track their deliveries and ensure their shipments reach the intended recipients.

While USPS Informed Delivery is wonderful for domestic mail management, for international shipments where carriers like DHL may be used, one common issue that can arise is a ‘DHL shipment on hold‘ status. This usually means that the package is not cleared by the customs, or challenges have occurred due to missing or inaccurate shipment paperwork. It’s crucial to understand and take necessary measures to prevent such issues for smooth global shipping.

Setting up with USPS Informed Delivery is straightforward. If you have a USPS.com account, you can log in to your account with your registered address then select ‘Informed Delivery’ in the account dashboard. If you don’t have an account, registration is simple, and the USPS website guides you step by step through the process.

Once you are signed up for Informed Delivery, you will start receiving email notifications containing grayscale images of up to 10 mail pieces. If you have more mail pieces, you can view these on the online dashboard or the mobile apps. For packages, you can view the delivery status of the most recent tracking events.

This feature is not available for every address, and its availability depends on the ZIP Code™. USPS also does not guarantee images of every mail item users will receive. Some mail images may be processed by USPS and appear as a black box image. This box indicates an image was processed, but not all mail items have images that are photographable.

In conclusion, USPS Informed Delivery is an incredible tool that allows customers to manage their mail conveniently and efficiently. Whether it’s avoiding missed deliveries, keeping an eye on important mail, tracking business deliveries, or troubleshooting issues like ‘DHL shipment on hold’, it renders an unprecedented level of control and peace of mind to its users.