Dear Bee-L,

This is a letter I sent to the Postmaster General.
The letter explains my dilemma.
There has not been enough time elapsed for the Postmaster to reply,
but I thought it might be helpful to some to share on the Bee-L.
Bill Bartlett 
PS I left off my telephone number and email address on this post, but it was included in my letter.



United States Postmaster General                          April 30, 2018
The Honorable Megan J. Brennan
475 L’Enfant Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20260

Dear Postmaster General Brennan,

On 3/31/2018 I ordered 2 packages of honey bees from the Kelly Beekeeping Company.  I gave them the shipping address as the Valley Lee, Maryland post office.  The reason is because to get mail delivery to my home I have to have a Leonardtown address.  The Valley Lee post office is just over 2 miles from my home.  Leonardtown is almost 20 miles.  
I was told I could not use the Valley Lee post office to have my bees delivered in the future since I do not have a post office box there.  I was told that I could have the bees shipped by my regular mail to my Leonardtown address.  I did not want the mail carrier in his own private car carrying the bees around all day since I am near the end of his route and he probably knows nothing about how to handle bees.   

I was threatened twice that if I did this again my bees would be returned to sender.  I paid $53 to the USPS for delivering my bees.  I left my business card at the post office so they could call me when the bees came in since some people feel uncomfortable with live bees in a cage.
Getting the bees into my possession as fast as possible was my goal in having them shipped to Valley Lee  as bees are obviously perishable and need prompt care and handling  after undergoing a stressful journey. It seems like the USPS could relax (or modify)  their rules for such  unique opportunities as this one in order  to  save this perishable product from additional  stress and thereby both  better serve the customer and the bees in so doing.'
Over the years my wife and I have shipped many packages and letters through the Valley Lee post office.  It seems strange that I can’t receive just one.
I hope we can resolve this problem in some equitable manner.
Sincerely, 

William A. Bartlett
19124 Lake Drive
Leonardtown, MD 20650


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