Parcel post

Parcel post

Parcel post is a service of a postal administration for sending parcels through the post. It is generally one of the less expensive ways to ship packages that are too heavy to be sent by regular letter post and is usually a slower method of transportation.

UPU Parcel Post Treaty

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) agreement of 1885, initially signed by 19 nations, established an international postal agreement for the orderly shipment of mailed packages and parcels from one country to another according to predetermined rates.

Great Britain and Commonwealth

In 1882 the British General Post Office (later Royal Mail) first initiated domestic, commonwealth, and foreign parcel post services. [Jones, Chester Lloyd, "The Parcel Post in Foreign Countries", The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 22, No. 6 (June, 1914), pp. 509-525] Australia and the other separate postal services of the colonies joined the UPU in 1891. [http://www.earsathome.com/blayney.html]

United States

In the USA, Parcel Post is a United States Postal Service(USPS) method of shipping parcels of books, merchandise, and other bulk goods; items can weigh up to 70 pounds.

International parcel post service between the USA and foreign countries commenced in 1887. [New York Times, "The Parcel Post System", April 24, 1887] That same year, the U.S. Post Office (predecessor of the USPS) and the Post-Master General of Canada established parcel post service between the two nations. [New York Times, "The Parcel Post System", April 24, 1887] A bilateral parcel post treaty between the independent (at the time) Kingdom of Hawaii and the USA was signed on December 19, 1888 and put into effect early in 1889. ["Post Office In Paradise, Mail Rates During the UPU Period" http://www.hawaiianstamps.com/ratesupu.html] Parcel post service between the USA and other countries grew with the signing of successive postal conventions and treaties. While the Post Office agreed to deliver parcels sent into the country, it did not institute a domestic parcel post service for another 25 years. ["Parcel Post: Delivery of Dreams" http://www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/parcelpost/cf/view.cfm]

Domestic parcel post service within the USA was finally inaugurated by Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock on January 1, 1913 under the administration of President William Howard Taft. The advent of parcel post service greatly increased mail volume, and stimulated development of nationwide trade and commerce. ["Parcel Post: Delivery of Dreams" http://www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/parcelpost/cf/view.cfm]

As of May 2007, international Parcel Post service, both surface and airmail, was discontinued by the USPS. In its place the USPS instituted several new international delivery classifications, including Priority Mail International, Priority Mail International Flat-Rate, and Express Mail International.

ee also

*Package delivery
*United States Postal Service
*Universal Postal Union

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Parcel post — Parcel Par cel, n. [F. parcelle a small part, fr. (assumed) LL. particella, dim. of L. pars. See {Part}, n., and cf. {Particle}.] 1. A portion of anything taken separately; a fragment of a whole; a part. [Archaic] A parcel of her woe. Chaucer.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Parcel post — Par cel post That branch of the post office having to do with the collection, transmission, and delivery of parcels[4]. The British Inland Parcel Post was established in 1883. The rates in 1913, dating from 1897, were 3d. for parcels not… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • parcel post — n [U] the slowest and cheapest system of sending parcels by post in the US …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • parcel post — parcel ,post noun uncount the mail service used for sending packages in the U.S …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Parcel Post — A subclass of Standard Mail with rates based generally on weight and zone …   Glossary of postal terms

  • parcel post — n. 1. a mail service and system for carrying and delivering parcels not over a specified weight and size 2. mail handled by this service; fourth class mail …   English World dictionary

  • parcel post — noun Date: 1837 1. a mail service handling parcels 2. packages handled by parcel post …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • parcel post — /ˈpasəl poʊst/ (say pahsuhl pohst) noun 1. a branch of a postal service charged with conveying parcels. –phrase 2. have come up by parcel post, Colloquial to be inexperienced, as of a new arrival …  

  • parcel post — / pɑ:s(ə)l pəυst/ noun a mail service for sending parcels ● Send the order by parcel post …   Marketing dictionary in english

  • parcel-post zone — An area prescribed by regulation for the purpose of determining the rate to be charged for a parcel mailed to be carried as parcel post, there being a number of such areas, each progressively farther from the office in which a parcel is mailed… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

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