E-cards offer alternative

Monday’s expected to be the busiest day of the year for the postal service due to everyone wrapping up their Christmas card chore this weekend. For Iowans who still want to send cards but who don’t want to dedicate that much time to the task, there’s an alternative. Richard Watkins, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service’s Hawkeye District, says you can buy and send personalized cards on-line. Watkins says the website, “usps.com”, offers a combination of the convenience of the Internet with the traditional allure of a real old-fashioned greeting card sent through the mail. He says it’s -not- an e-card that recipients get on their computer’s e-mail account, but a real card they’ll receive in their mailbox.You can go onto the website to chose from a variety of cards and postcards, provide your own text that’ll be printed in the card, download your own photos, download your address list, choose a stamp and pay for it on-line with a credit card. They’ll go out with the next day’s mail and may take up to three business days to arrive.Watkins says the cards ordered via the post office website are -not- very costly.The website, “usps.com”, offers cards and postcards year-round, not just during the holidays.