Postal Service moves East Bay machines

Lines at the 557 East Bay St. post office may be getting longer.

The location's automated postal center, which allowed customers to buy stamps and mail letters or packages any time of day, was moved to Conway on March 30, and some customers are upset at the inconvenience.

John Chase, 58, said he normally uses the post office on Broad Street near his work, but since the window is open for only a short period of time, he went to the East Bay location.

"I come all the way down here and I find there are no machines," said John Chase, 58. "It's frustrating. The only thing slower than the mail is the purchase of stamps."

Harry Spratlin, U.S. Postal Service communications coordinator in South Carolina, responded in an email that the machine was not being used enough.

"Because of the cost of the machines and the economic realities of the Postal Service, it isn't prudent to allow under-producing machines to remain when they can help more customers and generate viable revenue at another location," Spratlin responded. "The Postal Service does not receive tax subsidies, so since their first placement in 2004 it has been the policy to monitor their use and move unproductive units."

The USPS, which lost a record $7.8 billion last year, is considering shuttering seven post offices in the Greater South Carolina Postal District, none of which are in the Lowcountry.

This month, the USPS will open two contract postal units, which offer many of the services of a regular post office, at Liberty Tax Service locations in Orange Grove Plaza in West Ashley and Eastpointe Plaza in North Charleston.

Reach Ryan Quinn at 937-5906.