By Ashley Dickson
BYU students have their choice of two locations for mailing letters and packages from campus. The first floor of the BYU Bookstore houses BYU''s Shipping Department, also known as Pack and Ship. Brigham Young University Station, located on the first floor of the Wilkinson Center, is an official U.S. Post Office.
Similarities exist between the two locations, although some of the services differ.
'We''re not a registered post office, so we don''t have all of the same things,' said Tessa Cannon, an employee of BYU''s Pack and Ship. 'The biggest difference is that we have DHL and UPS and FedEx.'
Pack and Ship doesn''t do insured mail or certified mail with U.S. Mail, but they do offer the services of private companies, such as UPS, FedEx and DHL. The University Station Post Office cannot use the private carriers because of its contract with the U.S.Postal Service.
'We can get you a lot of good rates with the private carriers,' Cannon said. 'The post office just offers U.S. Mail.'
University Station''s services include express, priority, first-class and standard mail.
'Our mail is picked up directly by U.S. Mail,' said Teri Averett, manager of the University Station Post Office. 'We have several pick ups during the day.'
Pack and Ship''s mail is collected by BYU Mail Services daily at 3 p.m.
Jenny Laub, a sophomore from Modesto, Calif., prefers to use Pack and Ship''s services.
'I went to the post office, but they don''t offer DHL,' Laub said. 'If they did offer DHL, maybe I would go there. I usually go to Pack and Ship. It just seems more convenient.'
Many students are not even aware of the choice between two locations.
'I do a lot of mailing from the post office,' said Claire Jones, a sophomore from Kelso, Wash. 'It seems pretty fast for mailing letters, and I''ve always come to this one, because it''s the only one I knew about.'
Pack and Ship and University Station both allow payment forms of cash, checks, debit and credit cards. Debit and credit cards can only be used at University Station until 3 p.m. Pack and Ship also allows customers to use Bookstore charge cards.
The University Station Post office is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Pack and Ship''s hours mirror the Bookstore''s hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.