The U.S. Postal Service celebrates global mail delivery with a uniquely shaped, round, postage stamp.  This stamp will be good for global delivery FOREVER.

Thanks to the Postal Service’s first ever international Forever stamp, Sending international First-Class Mail has become more convenient. The Global Forever stamp allows customers to send First-Class Mail International weighing up to 1 ounce anywhere in the world for $1.10. The stamp also can be used to mail letters weighing up to 2 ounces to Canada. 

Just like domestic Forever stamps, the Global Forever stamp remains valid even with any future changes in the price of First-Class Mail International.  The stamp features an image of the Earth created with a composite of images from satellite and 3D computer technology data. It’s available in panes of 20.

Premium Forwarding Service – By using Premium Forwarding Service (PFS), Postal Service customers can continue receiving their mail while they’re away from home and living at temporary residences anywhere in the U.S.  Customers can use PFS from 15 days to 1 year. For a one-time enrollment fee and an additional weekly flat fee, USPS packages and reships the mail by Priority Mail once each week.  The enrollment fee for PFS is $15, and the weekly shipment fee is $17.

You can enroll in PFS online at usps.com or at your local Post Office. If you enroll online, you also can update or pay online.  If you apply for PFS at a Post Office, you must provide two forms of ID and evidence of residence at the primary address listed in the application. If you enroll at a Post Office, you also must pay for and update the PFS service at the same Post Office.   USPS usually reships bundled PFS mail on Wednesdays. However, Express Mail items are forwarded without delay. USPS reroutes separately and at no extra cost First-Class Mail items that don’t fit in a weekly PFS shipment.

USPS Mobile App – The Postal Service has added new functionality to the popular Post Office (PO) Locator feature on the USPS Mobile App for customers with Android, Blackberry and iPhone smartphones to find Postal Provider and pickup locations.  The updated PO Locator also includes a search function to find specific postal locations with passport and other services.  The enhancements add to the app’s list of functions that allow customers to track and confirm a shipment, calculate shipping prices, scan shipping labels and QR codes, schedule next day pickups, order mailing supplies, put mail on hold and look up ZIP codes.

Tracking Included – In fiscal year 2011, USPS moved over 2 billion packages—a number that continues to increase as more and more consumers shop online.  According to New Products and Innovation Vice President Gary Reblin, “The Postal Service is committed to identifying eCommerce growth opportunities to further strengthen its shipping business.”  And, there are USPS products to do just that. Parcel Post has been renamed Standard Post.  While service standards are the same, Standard Post packages now receive USPS Tracking at no additional charge.

This is a new chapter in the history of Parcel Post, which recently celebrated its centennial anniversary. It was at midnight Jan. 1, 1913, that Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock and New York Postmaster Edward Morgan shipped packages addressed to each other, racing to be the first American to use the fledgling service.