Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994                   TAG: 9412130023
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SO MANY CHOICES:

Priority Mail costs about $2.50 more than a regular 29-cent stamp, but that extra money doesn't necessarily mean faster service.

It usually does take two days for Priority Mail to reach its sender. But it could take three or four days or even a week. There are no guarantees.

That's in the proverbial fine print that many fail to read or don't understand.

So, here's a quick look at some of the services the Post Office offers, and what your stamp really buys.

First-class mail: Most of your letters and checks go first class. It costs 29 cents to send most first-class mail, but next month that rate will increase to 32 cents. Postcards are also considered first class. Postage for them is 19 cents. Within a designated region - for Roanoke that region includes most of Southwest Virginia - delivery of first-class mail is supposed to be overnight

Second-class mail: Only magazines and newspaper publishers are eligible for this rate.

Third-class mail: This is mostly business mail like catalogs and circulars and bulk mail.

Fourth-class mail: People use this to mail packages, and for a small fee you can buy insurance on your packages. Also, special rates are available for sending books.

Priority mail: It's used for first class mail that weighs more than 11 ounces or mail that people want to get to the destination faster. Priority mail costs $2.90 for items weighing less than 2 pounds. Delivery is usually two days, but two-day delivery is no longer guaranteed.

Express mail: This is the only guaranteed service that the Post Office offers. Guaranteed overnight delivery costs $9.95 for mail up to 8 ounces.