Is the postal slowdown affecting you?

[Jstpssng]

Here is the USPS' response [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif]https://www.wabi.tv/2020/08/21/us-postal-service-launches-new-election-mail-website/[/FONT]




to concerns about mail-in votes this fall.

 

[two_bit_score]

My :2cents: on USPS. It is a service that once upon a time could only be run by the government. Now that there is far more interstate commerce at the consumer level and several competing companies to transport 'light' packages, along with email, e-billing, and other more efficient 'mail' methods... the USPS has become a burdensome dinosaur.

I understand that for many, the USPS is still a life line for them. It's not for me. I bank online, I electronically correspond 99.9% of the time vs. traditional mail. If the USPS ceased, I am not sure it would be much of an inconvenience for me.

Mailing a letter at $0.55 is a bargain too good to be true. Expecting a human to come to your private mail box to pick up deliver a 1oz package anywhere in the USA for that price is ridiculous in my opinion. And that is not to mention the huge pension burden the USPS has to service.

I'm pretty sure the current competing companies such as UPS, FEDEX, DHL, Amazon, or others would emerge to take up the slack if the USPS went away. The free market would then dictate cost/price model. More of a pay per use model than everybody subsidizing a government service where some folks (including large corporations) can take advantage.

Time for USPS to go IMHO.

Not long ago I would have agreed 100%. But looking into it and talking to people I know it seems to be very factual that all these private delivery services use USPS service or infrastructure some how in almost every delivery they make. The USPS is limited legally on what they can charge the private carriers. Any other real private business would be charging them more.

All those Free Prime deliveries are subsidized by the post office.

 

[KennyG]

Not long ago I would have agreed 100%. But looking into it and talking to people I know it seems to be very factual that all these private delivery services use USPS service or infrastructure some how in almost every delivery they make. The USPS is limited legally on what they can charge the private carriers. Any other real private business would be charging them more.

All those Free Prime deliveries are subsidized by the post office.

This is another issue that's way more complicated. USPS has negotiated contracts with each of the shippers it services and these are confidential. They are not prescribed by law. The rate that USPS charges for packages shipped completely through the mail is set by the USPS Board of Governers (not law). Whether or not shipping is subsidized depends on how you allocate costs. The USPS already has (and must maintain) an infrastructure that services all addresses. The additional cost to deliver more packages is small if you don't count the cost of that infrastructure, but much larger if you do count it. Which way is correct? That argument could go on forever.

 

[dragoneggs]

Not long ago I would have agreed 100%. But looking into it and talking to people I know it seems to be very factual that all these private delivery services use USPS service or infrastructure some how in almost every delivery they make. The USPS is limited legally on what they can charge the private carriers. Any other real private business would be charging them more.

All those Free Prime deliveries are subsidized by the post office.

Exactly to my point. The USPS is being taken advantage by corporations.

 

[Pixguy]

But why would the board of Governors agree to losing money?

I'd gladly pay an $25 for Prime if I knew it would go to the PO.

 

[Diggin It]

I haven't had many packages coming by any carrier lately, so I can't really compare. Regular letter and junk mail has been arriving normally. Got one package by FedEx Saturday, right on time as per their tracking, and two days after ordering. Have more coming this week, two from FedEx scheduled Tuesday and one from UPS scheduled for Thursday, so I guess we'll see.

 

[KennyG]

But why would the board of Governors agree to losing money?

I'd gladly pay an $25 for Prime if I knew it would go to the PO.

Clearly, they wouldn't. But that's a business decision. If they didn't deliver for Amazon, they would lose a lot of income, but would still have to deliver to all addresses. Yes, there would be some savings in not delivering as many packages, but would it offset the income loss? I'm sure they analyze the impact when they negotiate contracts.

To provide an example to think about. Let's say you have a customer and you agree to deliver 1/2 truckload of something to him, 100 miles away for a set price. Now, you get a call and another customer wants 1/2 load, if you give him a good price and he is on the way. Do you insist on your full normal rate and lose the sale, or give him a discount?

 

[two_bit_score]

Clearly, they wouldn't. But that's a business decision. If they didn't deliver for Amazon, they would lose a lot of income, but would still have to deliver to all addresses. Yes, there would be some savings in not delivering as many packages, but would it offset the income loss? I'm sure they analyze the impact when they negotiate contracts.

To provide an example to think about. Let's say you have a customer and you agree to deliver 1/2 truckload of something to him, 100 miles away for a set price. Now, you get a call and another customer wants 1/2 load, if you give him a good price and he is on the way. Do you insist on your full normal rate and lose the sale, or give him a discount?

I think a lot of the argument is that many of these contracts are sweetheart deals not in the best financial interests of the USPS.

 

[Mat4644]

Nothing complicated or corrupt about it. USPS must do the "final mile" deliveries less cost than any private shipper can do it or they don't get the business. Amazon, UPS, FedX would just simply do it themselves. There are always economy of scale. The more you do the less cost per unit. They are trying to get enough business to make it profitable. The Post Office is desperately trying to modernize but politicians and internal bureaucrats resist.

 

[tallyho8]

This morning I had 12 orders that I put out in my mailbox to be picked up. This is a normal procedure for me. The mailman came about 3PM and had one box that would not fit in my mailbox and he put it on my front porch. He had another smaller package that he was able to squeeze into my mailbox. He did not pick up the mail I had in there. I pride myself in giving super fast service to my customers but how can I when I have to deal with idiots like that?