SERVICES: Storefront Post Offices

More and more people who have grown weary of long U.S. Postal Service lines are turning to an alternative: small, storefront operations that offer many of the services of a regular post office. This fast-growing industry now consists of several thousand shops across the U.S., some of them members of private “post-office” chains. Typically, these stores accept packages for customers at locations that are more convenient than the outlets of traditional shipping companies like the United Parcel Service. And unlike U.P.S., the private post offices often sell stamps, rent P.O. boxes and even help customers wrap packages.

The industry leader is San Diego-based Mail Boxes Etc., a chain that has sold 400 franchises in 32 states. Its business has doubled in each of the past four years (1985 revenues: $4.6 million). Other private chains include Washington State’s Pony Mailbox & Business Center, which has spawned 31 shops in four states, and New Jersey-based Postmark International, with 14 outlets in Canada and the U.S.

The main drawback to these shops is that they sometimes charge rates for package delivery that are 40% to 60% higher than those of larger outfits like U.P.S. One reason for the higher rates is that most of the private operations turn the packages over to other carriers for actual shipment.