Postal

A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service told EcommerceBytes that a database migration on the agency's Click-N-Ship website on July 16 was the cause of technical issues that online sellers experienced, and she extended an apology to customers. The USPS extends a discount to sellers who purchase postage online. So when its Click-N-Ship service went down earlier this month, it was a time-consuming and costly problem for merchants who use it.

How small retailers (both online and brick-and-mortar) can compete with Amazon and its vast resources, cheap pricing and fast delivery.

How do you compete if you can’t offer same-day delivery? Doug Sternberg offers his expert thoughts in this webinar.

Staples said it will end a pilot program with the U.S. Postal Service to set up mini-post offices in the company's retail outlets, after several protests outside the stores. Postal workers have protested the program for months, objecting to expanding post office services to Staples stores, staffed with nonunion workers. The news comes days after the American Postal Workers Union won the support of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) after it approved a resolution to boycott Staples.

No. 1 on the list of chores the Internet has done away with: dragging yourself to the store to stock up on unwieldy items and carting them home. Many e-commerce companies - led by Amazon.com and the sites it owns, like Diapers.com and Soap.com - have made it easy to order even items like toilet paper and diapers without paying a cent for shipping. So when FedEx announced last week that it would change its shipping prices to

In 2020, when your supplies of milk and butter start to run low, your refrigerator will know to send out a call to the grocery store and, later that day, the Postal Service will show up at your door with fresh provisions. Sound far-fetched? Not to Nagisa Manabe. Manabe, the chief marketing and sales officer with the USPS, offered a preview of an array of initiatives that the agency is working on to improve and expand its services through the use of technology, tapping into unused infrastructure and by forging new partnerships. 

The long road to getting a bill passed in Washington is rarely smooth. The efforts of the last few years to pass a postal reform bill, whose primary purpose is to efficiently downsize the USPS in light of its diminished use in today's society, has been no exception. During the 112th Congress, the Senate passed a postal reform bill, but the House was unable to counter with one of its own. So far, a year-and-a-quarter into the 113th Congress, a similar pattern has ensued. Here's a recap of where things stood as of press time

A new collaboration between the U.S. Postal Service and fashion startup Poshmark could mark a significant milestone for e-commerce brands, large and small. The latter has introduced a scheme dubbed "PoshPost," a new USPS shipping label designated specifically for retail. The model follows a similar pricing plan already set up for books, DVDs and whatnot, all shipping at

The value of attending conferences is significant: learn from a combination of expert and peer-led presentations on trends and strategies to improve processes, enhance quality, reduce costs and do your jobs more effectively; network and make new connections; seek certification and professional growth opportunities; peruse the exhibit halls to better understand vendor capabilities and services; and more.

There are signs that same-day delivery may not be as winning a model as some had hoped. The USPS suspended one of two pilot programs called Metro Post due to a lack of participation from retailers, and eBay CEO John Donahoe recently downplayed the company's same-day delivery service eBay Now during a presentation to Wall Street analysts. The USPS Office of Inspector General is concerned about a movement it calls "crowdshipping" that retailers use to deliver same-day orders to their customers. Donahoe cautioned analysts about how to think about the demand for same-day delivery.