Manhattan ZIP Code for Shoes

There are some great domain ideas there

[venice]

Was browsing through this morning's Los Angeles Times when I saw an article about Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York getting their own ZIP code for their 8500 square-foot shoe department.

According to the article, 10022-SHOE will be the name of the shoe section as well as the ZIP code which is legitimately being provided by the U.S. Postal Service.

My domain purchasing mind got me up to quickly check to see if that domain was registered. How much press will this story get (the place opens in August) and on what level will it affect consumer consciousness on the relationship of postal codes to businesses?

As I've heard WebWork say before, there are still lots of great domain opportunities out there, and I believe this event shows a shift we'll see come soon. In the past, having a ZIP code in a domain name may have seemed cheesy, but I believe that will change over the next year or so.

I can think of a number of industries that are local and offer high ticket items or services, two good ingredients in my experience for choosing a potentially successful domain.

Amazing how many of these types of domains are currently available.

[jay5r]

This is just not true... 10022 is midtown east - has been for decades...

Search Google for 'manhattan zip code map' and see for yourself...

[venice]

You may have misunderstood. "10022-SHOE" is the zip code they were given. Search google news for 10022-SHOE to read related articles.

[jay5r]

Oh, so it's just the zip+4... That shows some flexibility on the part of the post office, but isn't that big of a deal...

[jtara]

It's a publicity ploy, on the part of both the store and the post office.

Saks has admitted that they don't expect to receive much mail at that zipcode.

Zip+4 codes are commonly assigned to individual buildings or companies, though we are more familiar with them being assigned to city blocks or other small areas in residential areas.

Apparently, (according to an article) this is the first time the post office has assigned a zip+4 code to an individual floor of a company But is that really true? I imagine many companies have departments large enough to qualify for their own zip+4 code - I am fairly certain, for example, that many large companies, utilities, etc. have a seperate zip+4 code for consumer payments.

This is also the first time the post office has assigned a non-numeric zip+4 code.

I think the post office is just trying to generate some enthusiasm on the part of the public for the zip+4 codes that have never caught-on with them. While universally used by bulk mailers, they have been ignored by the public.

Do you know your own zip+4 code?

[jimbeetle]

From the press release and various articles this is simple a vanity +4 and is not actually going to be used to route mail. The articles also suggest that either there was a monetary consideration or the USPS is piloting this to see if there is a demand for then fee-based vanity +4s.