Washington, DC — Any weight, any state.

That's the simple message and the simplicity of shipping holiday gifts with a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box.

Ship letters or packages in an average of two to three days with Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes and Boxes. For one low rate, ship as much as can be properly secured in a flat rate envelope or box to any U.S. destination. Saturday and residential deliveries at no extra cost.

"If it fits, it will ship," said Nick Barranca, vice president, product development. "Flat Rate boxes and envelopes take all the guess work out of mailing this holiday season. Customers pay the same price no matter where they're shipping."

The Flat Rate Box must close securely and retain its shape when taped with adhesive. The shape of the box can't be changed or enlarged to fit its contents.

Other shipping options include:

• Priority Mail service delivers in two to three business days. The Postal Service also offers flat-rate priority boxes and envelopes. Customers pay one price regardless of weight or destination.
  
  
• Express Mail service delivers overnight, guaranteed, 365 days a year to most U.S. cities. Express Mail delivery to most major American cities is scheduled for Christmas Day.
  
  
• Global Priority Mail service is designed for delivery in four to six business days to more than 50 countries. Economical way to send packages weighing up to 4 pounds.
  
  
• Global Express Mail service is guaranteed to be delivered in three to five days to nearly anywhere in the world. Now available to businesses in the Pacific Rim through an agreement with postal administrations for Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, the United States and the Republic of South Korea.
  
  
• Global Express Guaranteed is a date-certain service that delivers in one to three days to thousands of destinations in more than 190 countries.
  
  
• Premium Forwarding Service lets customers take their mail with them. Mail is forwarded weekly to a temporary address for up to a year.

The peak mailing day is expected to be Monday, Dec. 18, when an estimated 280 million cards and letters will be mailed, nearly three times that of an average day.


Since 1775, the United States Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, have connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency that visits more than 144 million homes and businesses every day, the Postal Service is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. It receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of $70 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves ten million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.