Amazon, USPS Team Up For Sunday Delivery In Select Cities

Amazon Prime members in New York City and Los Angeles can now receive packages via the United States Postal Service on Sundays, Amazon has announced. That means that even if a customer places an order on a Friday, the two-day shipping will still apply. The arrangement will also soon be extended to other cities.Update: Amazon has directly informed SlashGear that Sunday delivery works for all Amazon orders for the selected cities, not just Amazon Prime deliveries as the company's original announcement stated. Let the Sunday deliveries roll.

The perennially financially strapped USPS seems happy with the arrangement, if the press release is any indication:

"As online shopping continues to increase, the Postal Service is very happy to offer shippers like Amazon the option of having packages delivered on Sunday," said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer. "With this new service, the Postal Service is now delivering packages seven days a week in select cities. Customers can expect the same reliable and valued service that the Postal Service currently provides."

Why the USPS is making special arrangements for Amazon is unclear, but we expect Amazon is doing a little something nice for the struggling private-public hybrid courier. If you recall, the USPS considered cutting off all deliveries on Saturdays back in 2011, citing a budget shortfall that would have rendered the company bankrupt by the end of that year. As it turned out, the USPS was able to stay afloat and keep on delivering on the first day of the weekend come rain, come sleet, come snow.

Sunday delivery for Amazon Prime two-day shipping will also be available in other cities, including Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix. Amazon says that will occur sometime in 2014. If the system works out, we'd like to see the USPS extend Sunday delivery to other large corporate clients, eventually working down to ma-and-pa businesses and finally individuals. A tech news website can dream, can't it?

SOURCE: Amazon