The U.S. Postal Service announced yesterday that it is shutting down its Shipping Online evaluation test and has decided not to pursue offering the product on a permanent basis.
A newsletter sent to postal employees said that although the product has appeal, the USPS “feels opportunities are not broad enough for USPS to enter market.”
Shipping Online was designed to offer a way for customers to prepare Express Mail and Priority Mail shipments from their desktop computers. The program has been in limited market test since December 1999.
USPS said the Shipping Online test would close Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. All transactions must be completed by that time. As of Dec. 30, Express Mail or Priority Mail pieces with Shipping Online labels will no longer be accepted and should be returned to sender.
