Products & Services

ETSU Postal and Passport Services

Here you will find a list of our general USPS services offered at the Service Window, as well as a listed description of optional mailing services offered.  For any questions about services, please feel free to come by the ETSU Post Office window. For details on a specific mailing type please click one of the following choices:

First Class Mail:

  • First-Class Mail is one of USPS's premium services and is often as fast as Priority Mail.
  • Any item whose weight is less than or equal to 13 oz.
  • Typically arrives in 1-3 days (estimated), depending on distance.
  • Postcards: 6"x 9" max cardstock not in an envelope
  • Letters:  Is no more than 3.5 ounces, 1/4" thick, or 6-1/8 inches high and 11-1/2 inches long
  • Large Envelopes and Flats: Is no more than 13 ounces, 3/4" thick, or 12 inches high by 15 inches long
  • Packages: Is no more than 13 ounces or 130" when measuring the distance of the longest side, plus twice the width and twice the height.

Available with First-Class Mail:

  • Certified Mail
  • USPS Tracking: - Available only when mailing large envelopes and packages measuring at least " at thickest point
  • Insured Mail
  • Registered Mail
  • Restricted Delivery: Available only when purchased with Certified Mail, Insurance over $200 or Registered Mail
  • Return Receipt: Available only when purchased with Certified Mail, Insurance over $200 or Registered Mail
  • Signature Confirmation: Available only when mailing large envelopes and packages measuring at least " at thickest point
  • Certificate of Mailing (Can be used with Priority but it has Free tracking) 

Priority Mail

  • Flagship USPS service where you can ship anything using your own packaging or select from many flat rate packaging. 
  • Up to 70 lbs. with a maximum size of 108" in length and distance around thickest part combined.
  • When using this service the USPS will provide FREE envelopes and boxes.
  • Typically arrives in 1-3 days (estimated), depending on distance.
  • Free Tracking up to 11 scans
  • Balloon Pricing applies in Zones 1-4 for packages weighing less than 20 pounds but that are 84" in dimensions or greater;

Available with Priority Mail:

  • Certified Mail
  • USPS Tracking Available only when mailing large envelopes and packages measuring at least " at thickest point
  • Insured Mail: Includes $50 Free insurance and Additional USPS insurance is paid at the full value price
  • Registered Mail
  • Restricted Delivery: Available only when purchased with Certified Mail, Insurance over $200 or Registered Mail
  • Return Receipt: Available only when purchased with Certified Mail, Insurance over $200 or Registered Mail
  • Signature Confirmation: Available only when mailing large envelopes and packages measuring at least " at thickest point 

Priority Mail Express

  • Insurance: Priority Mail Express is already insured up to $100. Additional USPS insurance is paid at the full value price
  • Return Receipt: Get a postcard signed by the person who accepted your package

Available with Priority Mail Express:

  • USPS's fastest service with guaranteed next-day service to most locations or your money back
  • Automatically insured up to $100 against loss or damage.
  • Up to 70 lbs. with a maximum size of 108" in length and distance around thickest part combined.
  • When using this service the USPS will provide FREE envelopes and boxes
  • Free Tracking up to 11 scans 

USPS Retail Ground

  • Parcel Select:USPS Retail Ground is ideal when shipping heavy items and cost is more important than speed of delivery.
  • Up to 70 lbs. with a maximum size of 130" in length and distance around thickest part combined.
  • Typically arrives in 2-8 business days (estimated) depending on distance.
  • No free Insurance or Tracking but both can be purchased
  • Pricing for Priority and Parcel Select are the same going to Zones 1-4
  • Balloon Pricing applies in Zones 1-4 for packages weighing less than 20 pounds but that are 84" in dimensions or greater.
  • Oversize Pricing applies when the distance of the longest side plus twice the width plus twice the height is more than 108".

Available with USPS Retail Ground:

  • Signature Confirmation 
  • Restricted Delivery: Available when using insured for more than $200.
  • Return Receipt: Available when using insured for more than $200.
  • Return Receipt for Merchandise: Available when contents are merchandise.
  • Certificate of Mailing 

Media Mail

  • Up to 70 lbs. with a maximum size of 108" in length and distance around thickest part combined.
  • Cannot contain advertising except for incidental book announcements.
  • Typically arrives in 2-8 business days (estimated), depending on distance.
  • Mailpieces can include ONLY the following:
    • Books of at least 8 pages,
    • Film (16mm or narrower),
    • Video recordings (Including, but not limited to, VHS and DVD),
    • Sound recordings (including, but not limited to, LP, cassette tape and CD); can include guides or scripts made especially for the recording,
    • Loose-leaf pages and binders of medical information,
    • Printed music (bound or sheet),
    • Printed educational or test materials,
    • Playscripts, screenplays or manuscripts,
    • Printed educational reference charts,
    • Computer-readable media (CD, DVD, etc.),
    • No other kind of material can be sent Media Mail,
  • USPS Tracking 
  • Only a packing slip (address) may accompany the media in the same package.  Any other correspondence in the package may be considered mail fraud by the USPs for attempting to circumvent Federal shipping fees.  Even a birthday card included with DVD;s and/or bound books is a violation of Federal USPS law.  Personal cards and notes have to be mailed separate because it is not Media Mail.
  • USPS routinely inspects packages that are sent via Media Mail because it is less expensive & shippers abuse it or misunderstand what the USPS Federal law means by Media Mail.  Plain & simple, it means already printed, copyrighted, bound, and published Media materials only. 
  • Packages inspected by the USPS and found not to be ALL Media material will be “Returned to Sender” for the proper postage.

Available with Media Mail:

  • Insured Mail
  • Delivery Confirmation 
  • Signature Confirmation 

Below you will find a description of what each optional service represents: 

Registered Mail

  • Registered Mail is the most secure service that the USPS offers. It incorporates a system of receipts to monitor the movement of the mail from the point of acceptance to delivery.
  • Registered Mail provides the sender with a mailing receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made.
  • USPS maintains a record of delivery (which includes the recipients signature) for two years.
  • Postal insurance is included in the fee for articles with a value of at least $0.01 up to a maximum insured value of $25,000.
  • Cannot be mailed in padded, Tyvek or plastic envelopes.
  • Window envelopes allowed if the transparency was part of the manufactured envelope. 

Certified Mail

  • Certified Mail service provides the sender with a mailing receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made.
  • Customers can retrieve the delivery status online.
  • Certified Mail is dispatched and handled in transit as ordinary mail. 
  • No insurance coverage is provided
  • USPS maintains a record of delivery (which includes the addressees, or their agents, signature) for a two year period. 

Insured mail

  • Insurance for mail can be purchased at Post Offices and online through Click-N-Ship.
  • Provides up to $5,000.00 indemnity coverage for articles that are lost, damaged or have missing contents. In order to be eligible for insurance indemnity, a mailpiece must have received at least one USPS processing scan or the customer must provide proof of insurance.
  • Insured mail provides the mailer with a mailing receipt. No record of insured mail is kept at the office of mailing; however, the USPS maintains insured delivery records for a period of time.
  • An item insured for $200.00 or less receives a delivery scan. An item insured for more than $200.00 receives a delivery scan and the USPS obtains the recipient's signature for delivery records.

The following types of mail may not be insured:

  • Parcels containing matter offered for sale, addressed to prospective purchasers who have not ordered or authorized their sending. If such matter is mailed, payment is not made for loss, damage, or missing contents.
  • Nonmailable matter.
  • Articles so fragile that they cannot be carried safely in the mail regardless of packaging.
  • Articles not adequately prepared to withstand normal handling in the mail. As a rule, any mailable package should be insurable.
  • Standard Mail letters and flats. 

Return receipt

  • Return receipt service provides a mailer with evidence of delivery (to whom the mail was delivered and date of delivery), and information about the recipients actual delivery address.
  • A mailer purchasing a return receipt at the time of mailing may choose to receive the return receipt by mail (Form 3811) or electronically by email.
  • Mail bearing a return receipt (Form 3811) must be endorsed Return Receipt Requested above the delivery address and to the right of the return address.
  • Endorsement - Restricted Delivery placed above the address and to the right of the return address. 

Restricted Delivery

  • Restricted delivery service permits a mailer to direct delivery only to the addressee or addressees authorized agent. The addressee must be an individual specified by name.

Return Receipt for Merchandise

  • Return receipt for merchandise is a form of return receipt service that provides the sender with a mailing receipt (Form 3804) and a return receipt (Form 3811)
  • After delivery, the return receipt is mailed back to the sender and also supplies the recipients actual delivery address 

Signature Confirmation

  • Signature Confirmation provides the mailer with information about the date and time an article was delivered or the date and time of the delivery attempt.
  • A delivery record, including the addressees signature, is maintained by the USPS and is available electronically or by email, upon request 

USPS Tracking

  • USPS Tracking provides the mailer with information about the date and time an article was delivered or the date and time of the delivery attempt.
  • USPS Tracking is available only at the time of mailing. No record is kept at the office of mailing. USPS Tracking does not include insurance. 

Special Handling

  • Special handling service provides preferential handling, but not preferential delivery, to the extent practicable in dispatch and transportation.
  • Does not itself insure the article against loss or damage.
  • Special handling service is mandatory for material that requires extra care in handling, transportation, and delivery. 

Certificate of Mailing

  • Certificate of mailing service is available only at the time of mailing and provides evidence that mail has been presented to the USPS for mailing.
  • Certificate of mailing service does not provide a record of delivery and the Postal Service does not retain copies 

Money Orders

A postal customer may buy multiple money orders at the same time, in the same or differing amounts, subject to these restrictions:

  • The maximum amount of any single money order is $1,000.
  • Any customer whose daily total of purchased money orders is $3,000 or more, regardless of the number of visits made by the customer to one or more postal facilities, must complete Form 8105-A, Funds Transaction Report (FTR), and show identification bearing the purchaser's photograph, name, and address.

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