The U.S. Postal Service has been connecting people and businesses since the nation’s founding. Its mission has remained the same for more than 200 years-to provide trusted, affordable, and universal service. The advent of the computer has made it easy for customers to complete transactions at home.

– usps.com is one of the most frequently visited government sites, with 438 million visits in 2008-averaging 1.2 million visitors each day.

– The Postal Store is the nation’s official online Post Office, featuring sales of postage stamps, stationery, philatelic collectibles and other gift items.

– In 2008, stamp and retail sales at the Postal Store totaled more than $442 million.

– Click-N-Ship allows customers to print shipping labels with postage for Priority Mail, Express Mail, Priority Mail International, Global Express Guaranteed and Express Mail International.

– New bill me later feature on click-n-ship allows customers to be billed on a monthly basis for their postage purchases.

– CardStore, Premium Postcards and Click1Mail allow customers to create and send customized mailings from the convenience of their personal computer.

– Internet Change-of-Address allows customers to change their address, sign up for various services and order moving supplies from their personal computers.

– Hold Mail Service allows customers to have their mail held safely at their local Post Office while they are away from home. Scheduling to hold mail can be done online.

– With Carrier Pickup, customers can go online to request that Express Mail and Priority Mail packages be picked up at their home or office-for free. n Carrier Pickup can be requested for a combination of services as long as there is one Priority mail piece to be collected.

– Redelivery Service allows customers to schedule the delivery of the package they missed.

In order of popularity, the top five areas visited on usps.com in 2008 were:

– Zip Code Lookup

– Track & Confirm

– Calculate Postage

– Post Office Locator

– Postal Store

For more information about purchasing stamps, stamps by mail, postal regulations, a free subscription to USA Philatelic magazine, Post Office events, the location of the nearest postal store or contract unit, or for answers to your specific Postal Service questions, contact USPS at 1-800-275-8777, or visit www.usps.com. To schedule a presentation for our community, club or group on how the Postal Service brings the Post Office to your home or office computer, call 239-573-9638.

Mr. Zip’s Tip: Take your mailbox with you. Premium Forwarding Service forwards all of your mail from your permanent address to a temporary address once a week.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation – 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.