If your business or everyday life depends on shipping and receiving, you know how confusing things can get. From providing your consumers with a delivery selection that keeps them happy to finding suppliers and fulfillment partners that keep you in the money, managing your shipping practices is vital to running a company. 

If you’re a private citizen, staying on top of the mail is no less critical. No matter who you are, it’s probably wise to understand the different options and how they work, especially where your inbound mail is concerned. Here’s what USPS Informed Delivery is and how to tell whether it might be right for you. 

The Basics of the Service  

In early 2018, the U.S. Postal Service, or USPS, announced that it would start offering an Informed Delivery option for customers wanting to opt-in. In short, the service entails the USPS taking photographs of the mail it will deliver before it reaches its destination. 

“Wait,” you ask. “Isn’t this the same as what Amazon already offers?” Although the online retail giant does indeed take snapshots of the parcels it sends to shoppers, there’s an important distinction: Amazon only generates photos upon delivery to help consumers know where their items are. Also, Informed Delivery does not take pictures of parcels (packages); it only takes grey-scale (black and white) images of envelopes. 

With USPS Informed Delivery, opt-in recipients get photos in advance. The idea is to let you know what you can expect to receive. If you participate, you can stay in the loop via your choice of text messages, emails, or the notifications that the USPS mobile app pushes to your iOS or Android device. 

Who Might Want Informed Delivery?  

Informed Delivery has apparent advantages for private citizens since it lets them screen their mail. For instance, allowing your junk letters to pile up until the mailbox is overflowing no longer carries quite as great a risk of you missing an important bill or your tax refund. 

On the other hand, small business owners are also likely to appreciate the service. Commercial addresses often receive way more trash mail than their residential counterparts. Still, they typically need more time to sort through it all. Running a firm may become more accessible for those with limited human resources. 

One possible benefit of the Informed Delivery program is that it might make it easier to hold USPS accountable. Suppose something that’s supposed to show up fails to do so. In that case, you can take your carrier to task or initiate an inquiry to uncover the missing parcel’s location. This marks a massive improvement over waffling between waiting or dealing with the United States Postal Service’s customer service department. 

Putting Informed Delivery to Work  

What will you need to take advantage of Informed Delivery? In addition to proving that you have a physical address, you’ll need to demonstrate that you are who you say you are. You can accomplish the whole signup process for free online. 

It’s worth noting that Informed Delivery isn’t a catch-all solution to your mail woes. Still, it does provide a friendly notification service. If you are looking for a full-service virtual mailbox or virtual business address partner, check out PhysicalAddress.com. Not only do we screen your trash mail out, but we also prioritize your tracked item and allow you to take action on your items via our website or online.