Postal Station
As a USPS contract station, the Bennington College Postal Station can assist in nearly all postal transactions that any hometown post office provides: sell stamps, provide postage on all mail types, provide Priority Mail and USPS Express Mail services, mail certified and insured mail and parcels, as well as preparing and sending international mail and parcels. Also serving as a point of daily delivery from UPS and FedEx Ground, with options for scheduling FedEx Express and DHL parcels, the Postal Station is ready to provide the community with the best possible postal services.
Hours
Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm
The Bennington College Postal Station operates under the Administrative Staff Holiday schedule and adheres to the closures stated within the employee handbook. This includes not only holidays, but also early releases, half-days, and snow days.
Location
Bennington College Postal Station is located in the Buildings and Grounds/Biomass Maintenance building, on the east side of the building, by the loading dock.
Tracy Provensal
Tim Hutton
To Receive Mail or Packages
Use the following format on any orders, mail, or packages:
Your FULL Name
1 College Drive
Bennington, VT 05201
It is important that your full name is on your mail and packages, along with the name you have registered with the Provost’s Office. If you have a preferred name, or a name you go by that is different from your legal name, that you would like to receive mail and packages under, please notify the Postal Station of this name, and wait for confirmation that your request has been received before sending mail or packages under that name.
Perishable Parcels
We are able to accept these shipments and store them in a temperature controlled environment. We ask that these be picked up within a week of receiving, or else it will be disposed of due to risk of spoiling.
Mail Forwarding for Field Work Term and Summer
If you are remaining on campus for FWT or Summer, you must notify the Postal Station by signing up for a summer mailbox to receive mail while on campus. If you are going to be residing elsewhere for FWT or Summer, and would like your mail to be forwarded, you must email the Postal Station the forwarding address you wish to have your mail sent to while you are away.
Package/Parcel Forwarding for Field Work Term and Summer
If you receive a package at the Postal Station while away, and you would like it forwarded, you must contact the Postal Station to begin the forwarding process. Most often, this will require additional postage, and the Shipping and Receiving Clerk will assist you in this process.
USPS Services Offered
- First-Class Mail: This service allows mail and parcels to be delivered within 1-5 business days. First-Class envelopes with multiple pages need to be weighed for needed additional postage. All First-Class packages go by weight; please bring parcel/mail to the Postal Station for weighing.
- USPS Priority Mail Services: This service allows mail and parcels to be delivered in 1-3 business days, depending on the parcel destination. Tracking is included with all Priority Mail, as well as up to $50 of included insurance. Necessary forms and supplies, including boxes and envelopes, are in the Postal Station.
Certified Mail
- Priority Mail Express: This service allows mail and parcels to be delivered the next day, or up to a two day guarantee by 6:00pm ET. Necessary forms and supplies are in the Commons Post Office.
- Media Mail: This service provides a cost-effective way to send educational materials within 2-8 days. This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be shipped. Media Mail rates are limited to: books (at least 8 pages), sound recordings and video recordings, such as CDs and DVDs, play scripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music, printed music, computer-readable media containing pre-recorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media, sixteen millimeter or narrower width films, printed objective test materials and their accessories, printed educational reference charts, loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students. Pricing is based upon weight, please bring parcel/mail to the Commons Post Office for weighing. Maximum weight for Media Mail is 70lbs.
- Retail Ground: Retail Ground shipping is intended for less urgent and oversized packages/parcels. Pricing is based upon weight; please bring parcel/mail to the Postal Station for weighing.
- Stamps: We offer first class, additional ounce stamps, postcard stamps, international stamps.
FedEx Services Offered
- Daily FedEx Ground delivery/pick-up
- FedEx Express Supplies
- FedEx Express for departmental shipments/parcels (with Bennington College account)
To ship personal packages domestically using FedEx Ground, an account must be created online to create shipments, labels, etc. For personal packages, when creating an account, choose “I plan to use fedex.com to create US domestic shipping labels only, and I would like to pay with my credit card at the time of each shipment.” This will allow you to proceed without an account number. Necessary FedEx supplies can be found at the Postal Station. Once you have created your label and package your parcel, please bring it to the Postal Station where it can be placed on the outgoing shelf to the right of. If you are unable to print your label, please email a PDF to the Post Office and we can assist you in printing and finalizing your package.
To use FedEx Ground for international shipping, please refer to their online guide, along with the form library of necessary custom forms. Once your internationally-bound parcel is packaged, it can be brought to the Postal Station to be placed on the outgoing shelf for daily pick up.
FedEx Express allows for parcels to be delivered overnight, or up to 3 days, depending on the service you choose. This process must be completed by 2:45pm for same day shipping. For personal mail and packages shipped using FedEx Express, please visit the website to complete the label. If you need assistance printing the label, please forward a PDF to the Post Office. Packaged parcels for FedEx Express are picked up at the Postal Station. You must call in a pick-up (866-393-4585) for your personal parcel if you intend to ship FedEx Express.
If you are not a student and are shipping for your Departments’ use, the forms can be found with Tracy at the Commons Post Office.
UPS Services Offered
- Daily UPS delivery/pick-up
Students shipping with UPS need to drop parcels off at the Postal Station with a prepaid label. Labels can be made and paid for online by following the guided instructions. If you need assistance printing your label, please email a PDF of the label to the Post Office. If you need the package weight and dimension, stop by the Postal Station with the package for weighing and measuring.
Please note that we are NOT a UPS drop-off point (offered on Amazon returns), and you must choose “UPS Pick-Up.” We cannot accept QR code labels at our location.
If you are not a student and are shipping a package/parcel for your Department, using CampusShip; we are able to charge the Department. Please come to the Postal Station for assistance.