# Where do people get the idea the USPS delivers to every address? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637 "2020-04-26T22:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/41 "2020-04-27T22:01:40Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Quoted so nobody can say nobody believes it. > > Where does this obviously false idea come from? It can’t be the law, because the USPS wouldn’t break the law, at least not that blatantly. It can’t be from any other regulation, for the same reason. > > And, yes, it is obviously false. I lived in a place the USPS does not deliver to. There’s ample cites that USPS must deliver to every American. It is probably an innocent misunderstanding that they must deliver to every home. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/42 "2020-04-27T22:17:09Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Obviously not: If you live in a house the USPS does not deliver to and you are too poor to rent a P.O. box, the USPS does not deliver to you. Yes, they give you one for free, either at the PO or in a central location. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/43 "2020-04-27T22:21:47Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > … > 2) What is a letter? 🙂 Nobody sends those anymore. Send an email or a Facebook message or a text… I do. A real letter to the President of a company has always for me gotten more attention that a email. If they closely monitor their FB, then it can be better for simple issues. Email almost always gets a canned response. “Thanks you for your email, we are concerned that you are unhappy with your purchase. blah, blah, blah,…” and it’s always from a no response mailbox. And I pay some bills by mail. If they will only let me pay online if paperless, or they charge a fee, or they insist on saving my CC info, I pay by check. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/44 "2020-04-27T22:24:25Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Agree. I just moved from an address the USPS doesn’t recognize or deliver to, to a new address the USPS doesn’t recognize or deliver to. Double trouble, double fun! > … Note that means you might not be able to vote or fly then. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/45 "2020-04-27T22:32:02Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > There’s ample cites that USPS must deliver to every American. It is probably an innocent misunderstanding that they must deliver to every home. Oh come now. What does “delivery” mean? If I tell you that I have a gift certificate for you but you have to come to my house to get it, did I “deliver” it using the common, ordinary understanding of that word? And before you say, yes I did, because I handed it to you once you came to my house and you can cite a dictionary definition that such an act means delivery, please, again, use the word like you would in other context and not leftyfit it for this purpose only. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/46 "2020-04-27T22:52:10Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Oh come now. What does “delivery” mean? If I tell you that I have a gift certificate for you but you have to come to my house to get it, did I “deliver” it using the common, ordinary understanding of that word? > > And before you say, yes I did, because I handed it to you once you came to my house and you can cite a dictionary definition that such an act means delivery, please, again, use the word like you would in other context and not leftyfit it for this purpose only. Go google “USPS universal service.” I’m not interested in word games. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/47 "2020-04-27T23:49:38Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Oh come now. What does “delivery” mean? If I tell you that I have a gift certificate for you but you have to come to my house to get it, did I “deliver” it using the common, ordinary understanding of that word? The USPS provides a delivery point reasonably close to every American; the definition of ‘reasonably close’ varies somewhat from place to place, ranging from inches outside your front door to miles down the road. For mailable items, however, you never have to figure out how to get the item (such as that gift certificate) from the sender’s location to your local delivery point; USPS does that. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/48 "2020-04-28T00:39:56Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > The USPS provides a delivery point reasonably close to every American; the definition of ‘reasonably close’ varies somewhat from place to place, ranging from inches outside your front door to miles down the road. For mailable items, however, you never have to figure out how to get the item (such as that gift certificate) from the sender’s location to your local delivery point; USPS does that. But I think this is what the OP is complaining about. He cited a post in the other thread where a poster claimed that the USPS “delivers” to “every address.” This thread should have been three posts long with concessions that such a thing is not true, but posters are trying to use words contrary to their plain meaning to say that the OP is wrong and the post he cited is correct. If the claim was that the USPS delivers mail to offices in towns where they choose to set up an office, then the claim would be correct. The post the OP was citing was arguing that those lazy private companies like UPS did not “deliver” to “every address” like the USPS did. The claim the OP makes is unassailable as private companies deliver to addresses that the USPS does not. My objection is that posters are using the term “deliver” to mean “come down to the office to pick it up” and trying to lawyer ball the statement to make it work because that office transferred it to a different, closer to the end customer office. In no other modern commercial context is that considered delivery. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/49 "2020-04-28T03:04:31Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > … > The claim the OP makes is unassailable as private companies deliver to addresses that the USPS does not. My objection is that posters are using the term “deliver” to mean “come down to the office to pick it up” and trying to lawyer ball the statement to make it work because that office transferred it to a different, closer to the end customer office. > > … While it is true that the USPS doesnt deliver to every address (and I will say that delivering to a mailbox at the end of a driveway, no matter how long, counts) neigher do UPS or FedEX. And they charge very high prices in the few cases they do. Not to mention, they very often use USPS to do their final deliveries. And honestly too much of the time UPS and FedEX deliver notices, not packages, and you have to drive down to their office to get it- and they want to charge you for that. also. We dont want UPS or FedEx taking over the mail, thankyouverymuch. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/50 "2020-04-28T03:33:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > While it is true that the USPS doesnt deliver to every address (and I will say that delivering to a mailbox at the end of a driveway, no matter how long, counts) neigher do UPS or FedEX. And they charge very high prices in the few cases they do. Not to mention, they very often use USPS to do their final deliveries. And honestly too much of the time UPS and FedEX deliver notices, not packages, and you have to drive down to their office to get it- and they want to charge you for that. also. > > We dont want UPS or FedEx taking over the mail, thankyouverymuch. I guess I’m going to be that guy and ask for a cite. If I want to ship a package, the prices are always UPS\ **Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/51 "2020-04-28T03:50:30Z") IMHO USPS is always he cheapest service - by at least 25%. I ship a fair amount of stuff that I sell on eBay, and UPS (or heaven forfend FedEx) can’t touch their prices - especially for heavy items that fit in flat-rate boxes. I’d be curious to know what you are shipping that makes USPS more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/52 "2020-04-28T04:34:33Z")
By the way, the USPS now does offer a service whereby you can get UPS, Fedex, DHL, or other private couriers to deliver to your P. O. Box. They’ve sent me advertisements offering this service. I didn’t pay much attention, so I don’t know if it’s free or if it’s available in all areas. In any case, it doesn’t happen automatically. You have to sign up for the service. It works like this: You want to order a widget from an on-line retailer. But they require a street address and don’t accept a P. O. Box address, because they ship via UPS or Fedex and they can’t ship to a P. O. Box. So you give them the street address of you local post office as your home address, and give them your P. O. Box number but you tell them it’s your apartment number. So you give an address like: P. D. Q. Senegoid, Esq. 1234 Main Street, Apt. 246 Somewheresville, CA. 98765 where “1234 Main Street” is the address of the post office, and “Apt. 246” is actually your P. O. Box number. Then the post office will put the package in your P. O. Box if it fits, or hold it for you and put a notice in your box. I think there’s also an option for them to send you an e-mail telling you it’s there. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/53 "2020-04-28T05:01:09Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Hey, if you guys want to have shitty government service, and I don’t understand why, just keep voting for Dems. And I don’t want that same government deciding my health care options either thankyouverymuch. Are you familiar with the UPS SurePost and FedEx SmartPost programs? Both programs are aimed at volume shippers (not one-off retail shipments, but the companies sending hundreds or thousands of packages a day, every day), and feature the respective companies collecting parcels from the shipper and delivering them to … the post office, specifically a post office local to the recipient, for last-mile delivery. The programs have been quite popular with larger shippers precisely because they’re cheaper than using UPS/FedEx for end-to-end shipping. FedEx, for example, [describes their service](https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/fedex-smartpost.html) thus: > [@](#): > > To give your residential customers fast delivery and money savings for you, we ship your package from our network of 25 strategically positioned hubs to the USPS destination closest to your customers’ residence. From there, USPS provides the last leg of delivery directly to their door. FedEx has been using the post office to deliver two million packages a day. They have announced that they are going to be [bringing that business in-house](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-ups-to-begin-the-great-last-mile-delivery-divergence) by the end of 2020, and have announced price increases for last-mile deliveries. Meanwhile, UPS is expanding into Sunday delivery, [, by expanding their existing relationship with the post office](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/ups-adds-pickup-spots-retailers-plans-sunday-service-starting-jan-1). FedEx also has their “delivery area surcharge”; they charge extra for delivering to areas they consider remote or difficult to access. Take a look at the [surcharged ZIP codes](https://www.fedex.com/content/dam/fedex/us-united-states/services/DAS_Contiguous_Extended_Alaska_Hawaii_2020.pdf) sometime; 66503, for example, is part of Manhattan, Kansas, while 66536 is Saint Marys, Kansas. It will cost you an extra $4.40 (FedEx Ground) to ship a package to these remote areas. (For those not in Kansas, Manhattan has 55,000 residents and is home to Kansas State University; Saint Marys is about thirty miles east, on the road to Topeka and Kansas City.) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/54 "2020-04-28T05:27:57Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > FedEx has been using the post office to deliver two million packages a day. They have announced that they are going to be [bringing that business in-house](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-ups-to-begin-the-great-last-mile-delivery-divergence) by the end of 2020, and have announced price increases for last-mile deliveries. Right. FedEx would never be able to provide the kind of service USPS does, and they can’t even provide the kind of service they _ **do** _ provide without depending on the USPS. The USPS is the consistently [rated as Americans’ favorite Federal Agency](https://news.gallup.com/poll/257510/postal-service-americans-favorite-federal-agency.aspx). For 55 cents they’ll take a letter from my door to my sister’s door in NYC in a couple of days–I’m not complaining. I can’t remember when they ever lost anything of mine. (Can’t say that for UPS or FedEx – UPS is often just incompetent, and FedEx has several times mis-located my deliveries.) There are some situations, though, where I’ll use one of those two. The percentage of homes which don’t receive door delivery from the total that do receive door delivery must be extremely low, when you consider they have 160 million delivery points. They also handle passport applications quickly, so we don’t have to wait forever at USCIS. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/55 "2020-04-28T08:04:25Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I would venture to surmise that the P.O. in many tiny towns serves as a neighborhood nexus and information center that would be sadly missed if the neofascistcapitalists have their way with it. Next will will public schools, parks and public libraries. Don’t imagine that they don’t hate those too. Anything of public benefit that doesn’t turn a profit is being gone after and done to death. As I’ve mentioned nearby, the Right believes **We, the People** do not exist - only owners and the owned. No public interest exists, only private commercial interests. > [@DrDeth](#): > > While it is true that the USPS doesnt deliver to every address (and I will say that delivering to a mailbox at the end of a driveway, no matter how long, counts) neigher do UPS or FedEX. And they charge very high prices in the few cases they do. Not to mention, they very often use USPS to do their final deliveries. And honestly too much of the time UPS and FedEX deliver notices, not packages, and you have to drive down to their office to get it- and they want to charge you for that. also. I mentioned Bisbee Arizona upthread. UPS, DHL, FedEx et al don’t deliver to the 40% of Old Bisbee homes on stairways, not roads. Our paved road was too narrow for their trucks so we, like stairway folks, had to make our way several miles for pickup. No, NOBODY delivers to all porches, but USPS comes closest. > [@](#): > > We dont want UPS or FedEx taking over the mail, thankyouverymuch. They work to benefit shareholders, not customers. USPS serves **We, the People**. Big difference. Why not run government agencies like businesses? Because they ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/56 "2020-04-28T10:34:49Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I lived in a small community in California where there was no home delivery, and P. O. boxes weren’t free. Everyone who wanted to receive mail had to rent one and pay the fee just like everywhere else. > > Strangely though, that same post office did deliver to all the rural addresses for miles and miles around in the surrounding farmland. Are they PO boxes with the fees going to the PO, or something like a HOA and you are renting the box from them? Around here many new communities are getting each house or unit’s mail at a central location, typically at the entrance, instead of at the address. I assume the PO doesn’t have the resources to add that many home deliveries to their route, so for a new development they put in those instead. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/57 "2020-04-28T11:15:20Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I guess I’m going to be that guy and ask for a cite. If I want to ship a package, the prices are always UPS\ > If you are grandma sending a letter to your kids, then the 55 cents you pay for USPS is by far your best deal. Otherwise, I don’t use USPS…and I ship a lot of stuff. > > And I just have to argue…no, the end of your driveway, while nice, while convenient, while whatever, is not “delivery.” Would you be okay if the pizza guy dropped off a pizza at the end of the driveway after the store offered “Free Delivery!”? Then I guess only people who live in cities with walking carriers get delivery, as [these](https://www.alamy.com/suburban-street-neighborhood-development-with-sidewalk-mailbox-flowers-image8186191.html)[curbside](http://www.ranchlifeplastics.com/accessories/mailbox-posts) mailboxes wouldn’t be delivery by your definition. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/58 "2020-04-28T11:52:59Z")
We had a new neighborhood built and they did not install the required cluster mailboxes at first. For a month or so everyone had to go to the PO to get their mail. FYI cluster mailboxes have slots for around 10 addresses and they are on the edge of the street. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/59 "2020-04-28T17:41:52Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > FedEx has been using the post office to deliver two million packages a day. They have announced that they are going to be [bringing that business in-house](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-ups-to-begin-the-great-last-mile-delivery-divergence) by the end of 2020, and have announced price increases for last-mile deliveries. That’s big news, I wasn’t aware FedEx was going to do that (we use SmartPost). USPS is getting hammered. FedEx is going to take the high density routes, just like Amazon is doing to USPS/UPS (and was to FedEx). USPS is left with UPS volume (that’s good), plus the crap that costs more that Amazon and FedEx don’t want. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637/60 "2020-04-28T18:55:29Z")
This was decades ago but I too lived at an address that the USPS did not service. The builder had somehow created a new address that was not recognized and we all had to get PO Boxes. It’s since been officially rectified, but for the couple of years I was there, we didn’t exist according to the USPS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-people-get-the-idea-the-usps-delivers-to-every-address/852637.md?page=4)