How to Address a Package to a gopost Unit
gopost units are a convenient way to ship and receive USPS packages because they are automated, secure, and available 24/7 in convenient locations. A person with a gopost account can use a gopost unit as their shipping address for all packages or for some of them. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to print a shipping label addressed to a gopost unit, you need to make sure that you’re using the right address format.
Let’s start with figuring out what gopost is. gopost is a system of automated units consisting of a self-service kiosk and several dozen secured parcel lockers that provide a limited number of postal services, namely receiving packages and shipping prepaid and prepackaged parcels. They are installed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) in various convenient locations (grocery stores, pharmacies, shopping malls, transportation hubs) and are accessible 24/7.
To use gopost units to receive or ship packages, one should register for the service in order to receive an account number/access card and PIN that are required to access a gopost unit. Unlike with PO boxes, gopost users are not assigned a specific locker; their inbound packages can be placed in any locker that is currently available and can fit the package. When asked for their shipping address, gopost users can use gopost unit number and their account number instead of their physical address.
Addressing a package to a gopost unit is somewhat similar to addressing a package to a PO box. Both gopost units and PO boxes are identified by a unique number that should be used in place of their physical address (street name + street address number). In addition, each gopost user has an account number, which should be included in the address for notification purposes.
When creating a shipping label addressed to gopost, you must include the following information:
- the recipient’s first and last name
- gopost unit number and gopost account number provided by the recipient
- city, state and ZIP code
For example, when you generate a USPS shipping label with PostageMaker, you should type the recipient’s first and last name, city, state and ZIP code in their respective fields in the shipping label form, and their gopost unit number (in the format 0000 gopost) and account number (in the format #XXXXXXX) in the Address field where you would normally type the recipient’s residential or office address. Keep in mind that you should not include the street address of the gopost unit even if you know it.
If you print your shipping labels yourself, you should know that some types of packages cannot be delivered to a gopost unit. They include letters and flat-size envelopes that are less than ¾ inches thick (except for Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express mail peaces, which can be of any size), packages exceeding the maximum locker size of 12x15x18-½ inches, domestic and international packages shipped with certain extra services, and international packages that require customs fees.
Extra services that make it impossible to ship a package via gopost include Adult Signature, Certified Mail, Collect On Delivery, and Special Handling for domestic packages, and Registered Mail, Restricted Delivery, and Return Receipt for domestic and international packages.
Remember that the recipient of the package must be registered to use the gopost service. If they don’t have an account number and access card, they won’t be able to access the self-service kiosk and retrieve the package from the locker. One more thing you need to remember is that USPS gopost units are for internal use only, which means that you cannot use UPS, FedEx, or other private carriers to ship a package to a gopost unit.
So, as you see, there is hardly anything complicated about addressing a package to a USPS gopost unit. With PostageMaker, creating a shipping label addressed to a gopost unit is just as easy as creating a shipping label with a residential or office address.