MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
Mail put in a mailbox on a particular day generally won't be delivered the same day. Usually it takes 1-3 days for a letter to be delivered domestically. Even if the origin and destination for the mail item are geographically very close to each other mail is usually processed overnight at a regional mail sorting facility.
the letter carrier is going to bring the letter back to his post office and eventually (1-2 days) it will get to the addresS where it was intended to go. That's what we do.
As far as I know, all blue collection boxes are checked and emptied if the public can access them. If they were no longer going to be in service they would physically be removed or at least have a very clear notice on them that they are no longer being checked for outgoing mail. To know whether or not the person got the letter you mailed, I would recommend calling them or emailing them. Our delivery rate is very high so I'd say there is an excellent chance they will (or have) received the letter you put in the blue USPS collection box.
Do not put any unstamped mail in someone else's mailbox. it is not legal to do so. In reality,though, a letter carrier might just realize it is something left in the box by a friend or someone nearby and leave it alone. I think the worst that would happen is that the item may disappear if the carrier thinks it is outgoing mail. If you put her full address on there and a carrier takes it, the letter may be re-delivered in the future as "postage due". Finally, I have no information on what is allowed in the Newspaper delivery boxes. Is it something that can be taped to her front door? Honestly, I would just spend the money and legally mail the item. If it is someone you want to surprise (in a good way) they should at least be worth the Cost of the postage.
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Sarah, I would suggest that you speak with either the letter carrier who delivers to your address regularly or call your local PO and speak with a delivery supervisor. I am not sure how either way will result in the package getting to its correct address (you), but I wish you well. As letter carriers we all do make mistakes, but I would hope they aren't too frequent and that the errant recipient of the package would leave it out for a letter carrier to pick up to be brought to the correct address. Thanks for writing.
Danny Mac, thanks for clarifying the question. I hope your postal career works out and always glad to help. As I've mentioned in a previous question, I've have received so much help from so many sources to keep me going when times were tough. Anyhow, regarding the roommate question, that is obviously a very serious accusation/situation. I'm pretty sure that if one is caught delaying or "taking home" first-class mail as mentioned, you could get fired and possibly arrested (though I don't want to be dramatic and say that the latter would happen for sure). Also, why is the writer "stuck" if the roommate is fired? As you can imagine, I hate hearing a story like this. Even though US Mail isn't as important to many people as it used to be it is still sacred in my opinion and should be treated as such, especially 1st Class mail.
Hand Warmers are a great gift. I just bought my girlfriend an entire box from BJs Wholesale Club in NY. They are single use handwarmers which last maybe 8 hours. Lotions are also good to keep hands moisturized. If at all in doubt about the pending weather I try to bring along as many layers as possible just in case I need extra protection. One of the least comfortable situations to be caught outside in is very cold or very wet weather.
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