The one in Lady Lake is accessible by cart. On 441 south of Avenida,

Print your own labels!
 

Why so many people stand in line at PO's is beyond me. You have been able to print paid package labels on the US Postal website for more than 20 years. It's very easy.

Look on the Homepage: Welcome | USPS Read the text in the large navy blue box and see the printed label just to the right of it - that's what they look like and can be printed on regular printer paper.

Here's all you need:
1 - Create an account on USPS.com
2 - Buy an inexpensive scale. Make sure you place it on a hard, flat surface to use. Example: Robot or human?
3 - To get a correct postage quote - weigh package or envelope, measure it and install address (even just the zip code will give an accurate postage rate). You can also check rates without an account using this page. Retail Postage Price Calculator
4 - Print on 8 1/2 by 11 printer paper, cut it down the border line of the label and tape sufficiently to your package leaving the bar code exposed (no tape on that part).
5 - Then saunter into a PO and look for the far end of the counter where they take packages like these dropped off by people (in the know - wink). Or hand it to the clerk, if no line. You can also hand to a USPS carrier if at your Villages mail station when they are delivering.

That's it - you're done! No waiting in line ever again to ship packages. You can also order stamps from your account and they'll be mailed to you. Cheers...

The full service post office across the street from El Ranchito restaurant on the north side of 441/27 is golf cart accessible. A bigger full service post office is on CR25 and might be golf cart accessible as well. If those tee are inconvenient there is another full service post office on 301 just north of 466

Post offices
 

Fruitland Park is on 466A near 441
Wildwood is on 301 in the strip mall just north of 44

We find we can get in and out pretty on the one on 301 just south of 466a

Must be very organized, I buy all my forever, 2oz, stamps usually enough for couple of years. One can even buy stamps online. Have an accurate postal scale, add appropriate postage, walk past any lines at the PO, and drop in the box.

All packages go to FedEx, never stand in line, always get to their destination on time, less than UPS or USPS. Stop to have pool water tested, then donuts at DK, WaWa’s for coffee with cold foam.

Go to Donut King it is what DD used to be.

Not a reliable resource. Many postal stations are not listed.

DK is donut king, I had Dunkin once in my life, that was enough.
Since 1945 a family owned multi gen bakery within walking distance of our house.

Everyday they baked 20 pies, 300 donuts, 40 loafs of bread, 200 cookies and flavor of the day cake. A 900sf building, open 5am sold out before 1pm. We had a standing order pickup every Saturday, passed down from grandparents, when we moved in 2022 , our daughter inherited the spot.

Fourth generation is now teaching their preteens. Recipe still original. Family fav is 6” cinnamon roll with a peanut buttercream frosting.

While donut king is ok it’s still a chain, so not even close. In TV our total donut buy is less than a dozen a year. Ya know if one is going to eat empty calories, it needs to be worth your while. Bonus Four times a year family brings special carry on full of donuts/cookies, and bread, from our favorite bakery.

Dont get that way often but love their donuts. Had no idea it was a chain.

So.... We need to take on more debt (our money pays for these) to have one more failing post office close to home? Nope!

Found this in Epoch Times; The United States Postal Service (USPS) said Thursday it has saved billions of dollars annually by cutting 50 million work hours, closing unnecessary facilities, and increasing plant productivity.
The changes translate to $2.5 billion in annual savings, the agency said in a March 20 statement.
Reductions are part of USPS’ Delivering for America 10-year plan which seeks to implement several changes to boost the agency’s financial and operational efficiency.

I'd say no new PO's were being planned.

BTW,
If you are sending packages, check out pirateship.com

You measure and weigh your packages at home, print labels at home and don't wait in line at UPS drop off locations.

The Post Office could make all of The Villages one zip code. Or several.

There are many places in the US where a single zip code serves two or more communities, even multiple incorporated cities.

I'm not saying it's a good idea (one neg issue is some or all people & businesses having to change zip codes), but the PO, being a quasi-federal agency, can do whatever it wants with zip codes & zip code boundaries. Local governments, HOAs, VCDDS, and individuals can support or oppose, but in the end the PO has 100% control over zip codes and opening & closing POs. Fed legislators can and do force PO decisions via carrot & $tick. But that's on a different level.

The USPS facility on 301 in Wildwood does not have sufficient storage for goods or vehicles to provide TV service. I was quoted a price of $91/mo to have our mail and boxes shipped there rather than Fruitland Park.

Some villages have the same street name, or extremely close. One of homes had a common street name, and we would get multiple pieces of mail in 32162 that should have gone to Blvd, or Rd, not streets.

Since TV is so large, where would you put just one Villages Post Office, and not anger 75% of the residents.

No, it can't make all of The Villages one zip code. The Villages aren't even in one COUNTY. They're in THREE counties, in several towns, each with their own set of zip codes.

They're not "supposed" to break even. They are a federal expense, not a commercial profit-making corporation.

The Army doesn't make a profit, how about we shut them down? Let's privatize all services nationwide. No more social security, no more medicare. No more housing authority, no more veterans department, no more immigration services, no more Homeland Security. Contractors only, from now on, and they would be commercial profit-making entities. You could even buy stocks from them. But no more SEC either, you takes your chances when you buy shares from now on.

Heck let's do away with the federal reserve too. It doesn't profit. So no more money.

You see how inane this argument is? "If the government can't profit from it, get rid of it, it's wasteful" - the Postal Service is NOT intended to make money. It is intended to spend it.

Zip codes are not restricted by county lines. The 32163 zip code includes both Brownwood in Sumter County and Kramer Ct in Lake County.

Zip codes are not required to be contiguous. The 32163 zip code includes the Villages immediately north of 44 and south of the Turnpike but not the area between which appears to be in the 34785 zip code.

Not all zip codes have a physical post office. When I needed to speak to someone about my mail delivery I was told to visit the Teague Trail location which is in the 32159 zip code.

The USPS *could* give all the Villages the same zip code but I suspect they do not because it would defeat the purpose of the zip code.

Here is a 2020 article from the Brookings Institution about the Post Office and funding issues.

Is there a reason federal agencies cannot be run efficiently?

Post office typically has been rather inefficient in its operation.

BTW Fed reserve does operate at a profit and returns profit to the treasury.

Leaving aside that the USPS is not a Federal Agency....

Efficiently and profitably are not synonymous. The US military *could* be run efficiently, for example, but we should never want it to be profitable. Frequently, if a business is profitable then there is less concern over whether it is efficient.

We should all want the Federal Agencies to be reasonably efficient but there are few that have any means to turn a profit.

No good answer. I don't have a problem with the way it is now.

So what? Zip codes change, boundaries move. They sometimes include [parts of different counties or cities. And they don't even have to be a single contiguous area. The final word on zip codes is that of the USPS.

The USPS can do whatever it wants unless a fed congressman or senator steps in and threatens/bribes. The Post Office is a FEDERAL agency, (tho quasi-gov't). Top of the food chain. Cities, counties, VCDDs, other agencies have no say, although they can and do make suggestions and sometimes even donate land to encourage post offices to locate here or there. Way more in the past.

County & city boundaries are local and state issues, the PO doesn't care. It doesn't have to. Not their problem. The PO will do what's best for the PO. If the PO wants, they can just stop delivering to certain addresses or entire areas. This has happened when places get too dangerous due to crime, loose animals, too expensive to serve, etc. If someone or some agency doesn't like it they can bring on the lawyers, good luck. The lawyers are going to want money up-front, obviously.

Why does something need to be done?

Not On Point
 

I’m fine with driving to Wildwood for stamps, priority mail, receipt mail and passport work. I just was commenting on the obvious omission of a centrally located US mail station in the middle of the Villages. Do I like driving to Wildwood, no, but that’s just the way it will have to be. “Better to not have the beard stuck in the postbox.”

No passport services at Wildwood po. You have to go to Summerfield to find a post office with passport services.

But you don't have to go to any post office for passport services. The county clerk offices all offer that service, in various locations. For Lake County, there's even one on Avenida Central in The Villages, it's the North Lake branch office.

The UPS store in Pinellas will take photos. Don't know if they provide help filling out the form.