Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Waterbury Roundabout
The post office on North Main Street in Waterbury sits only a 10-minute drive from the one on Guptil Road in Waterbury Center. But it can cost about three times as much to rent a P.O. Box downtown than it does in the village.
A three-month rental for a small box in Waterbury costs $85; at the Waterbury Center post office, the price tag drops to $31. An extra small runs for $67 at the Waterbury office, whereas Waterbury Center’s office charges $23.
Regardless of P.O. Box size, patrons of the downtown office can find themselves paying significantly more for the same service — even though both post offices fall within town borders.
The U.S. Postal Service has offered little explanation for the gulf in pricing. The federal agency’s website says rental fees are based on box size and “the fee group to which the box’s 5-digit ZIP code is assigned.”
P.O. Boxes downtown rest in a different fee group than those in Waterbury Center; the former are in the 05676 ZIP code, the latter in the 05677. But why are the downtown prices raised to such a sharp degree?
“There are a number of factors that go into it, and part of it is based on the availability of other rental boxes whether it be nearby from the Postal Service or other companies,” said Steven Doherty, a Postal Service spokesperson for the Northeast. “There are a lot of different factors that go into determining what zone that particular office falls into and then the pricing is set accordingly.”
The Waterbury office, at 42 N. Main St., stands across the roundabout from Pack and Send Plus at 38 N. Main. But the competitor offers larger boxes for cheaper: An extra-small box at the post office costs $67 to rent for three months. That box is about 15 cubic inches smaller than the single size offered at Pack and Send Plus for $30 over three months.
It’s unclear why the Postal Service would charge more at a location closer to competition.
Asked if the agency could disclose the specifics of the formula used to calculate fee groups, Doherty responded: “No, because that’s proprietary information. That’s not something that they’d share with you.”
Revitalizing Waterbury Executive Director Roger Clapp, who also serves on the selectboard, said he didn’t know about the price gap across the two ZIP codes.
“I have not been tracking that one,” said Clapp, whose nonprofit uses the downtown post office.
Chila’s Coiffures owner Chila Russell said she’s aware of the difference in price but chooses to keep renting a box at the Waterbury office to avoid the hassle of changing her business’ address.
“We’ve been there for 40, 50 years,” she said in a phone interview. “I’m not about to change my whole address.”