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There will always be physical means necessary to send tangible objects such as credit cards or purchased goods. My new passport came via USPS.
However USPS does not have to be the carrier who carries these tangible objects. It can be any carrier with end point delivery capability.
If USPS suddenly vanished I'm pretty sure the other carriers would invent a new economy class for items such as credit cards and passports.
BTW, those of you sending "happy happy" cards, you can print many of them online. I see no reason to purchase them at stores. You can download them for free or make your own, as follows:
For my Valentine's Day invitation I purchased some nice letter stationary on heavy weight paper (and matching envelopes) and downloaded a calligraphy font online, and printed a beautiful Valentine invite which I presented to my special woman on a preceding date. It looked fantastic and this year's Valentine was the best Valentine I ever had. — And I have a bunch of nice stationary for the future. Also, I'm an artist and may use some of the paper for my art.
If there was a market and a reason to do it, yes. I don't see much of anything happening though to the consumers. Businesses will likely see similar Amazon-USPS bulk rates but I don't see a consumer rate popping up out of thin air.
The other thing is, if the USPS was to end, many methods would need altering. I mean how many of us still have bills that we cannot auto pay at all? How many doctors only use mail for bills? How many of us chose to use mail bills even when we can do auto pay? What about small business owners? Same goes for absentee or opt-in mail-in ballots too. Unless everything goes paperless, this is a bad deal for many of us.
I get it, we all hate junk mail. I tore up several election flyers sent in the mail. I get it we all complain that the postal worker runs rather late or worse has no set schedule. However the USPS is the best option we have and full postal privatization will only hurt the normal consumers and small business owners who can't reach bulk rates.
USPS is the end deliver point for FedEx UPS and DHL because those companies can’t make the final delivery anywhere near as efficiently and cheaply as the USPS.
Maybe in your area... In my area FedEx and UPS deliver to my door. I haven't dealt with DHL. I live in a suburb of a major city. Are you rural? That could explain our differing experience.
I wish I enjoyed and was good at doing homemade things but I know myself. I’d have “make Pop card” on my phone reminder list. Then I’d get home from work late, make my lunch and shower then I’d be tired and move the reminder to tomorrow....then 6 days later I’d be in Rite Aid buying a “Happy Belated Birthday” card lol.
For my mom especially she’s 87 and feels it, so spending $6 on a card she will treasure doesn’t seem like too much. Also for my brother I try to get really funny ones.
That makes total sense. I'm a long time handicrafter and amateur artist, so this type of stuff comes naturally to me.
If there was a market and a reason to do it, yes. I don't see much of anything happening though to the consumers. Businesses will likely see similar Amazon-USPS bulk rates but I don't see a consumer rate popping up out of thin air.
All my purchases that are fulfilled by Amazon travel only the final leg (my central USPS to my home) via USPS. Either Amazon is using their own fleet to deliver to my central USPS or they are using a contract carrier. Probably both.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkpunk
The other thing is, if the USPS was to end, many methods would need altering. I mean how many of us still have bills that we cannot auto pay at all? How many doctors only use mail for bills? How many of us chose to use mail bills even when we can do auto pay? What about small business owners? Same goes for absentee or opt-in mail-in ballots too. Unless everything goes paperless, this is a bad deal for many of us.
Well our situations are different. I don't have doctor bills or co-pays. All such money talk is between my healthcare providers and my insurance carriers. I pay my dental bills via CC at time of service.
As a small business owner I do use USPS although I'm retiring in January.
Mailing in your ballot is optional. You can drop your mail-in ballot at any polling place on election day. Drop it at the US Consulate if you are out of the country.
All I really want is for USPS to become a totally private company, same as FedEx or UPS. Then without government subsidy they can sink or swim on their own.
Private business will always provide any service that is in demand.
If there was a market and a reason to do it, yes. I don't see much of anything happening though to the consumers. Businesses will likely see similar Amazon-USPS bulk rates but I don't see a consumer rate popping up out of thin air.
The other thing is, if the USPS was to end, many methods would need altering. I mean how many of us still have bills that we cannot auto pay at all? How many doctors only use mail for bills? How many of us chose to use mail bills even when we can do auto pay? What about small business owners? Same goes for absentee or opt-in mail-in ballots too. Unless everything goes paperless, this is a bad deal for many of us.
I get it, we all hate junk mail. I tore up several election flyers sent in the mail. I get it we all complain that the postal worker runs rather late or worse has no set schedule. However the USPS is the best option we have and full postal privatization will only hurt the normal consumers and small business owners who can't reach bulk rates.
I don't pay any medical bills now, but when I did, I was paying them online. That was over 20 years ago. My current provider is a small town hospital. When I go to their webpage there is a Quick Resources sidebar. The very first link is Online Bill Pay. If your medical provider can't do online billing, I would strongly suggest changing providers, because they are stuck in the 1980s. If they can't even handle a simple thing like online billing, how can you expect them to be able to take care of your health?
Maybe in your area... In my area FedEx and UPS deliver to my door. I haven't dealt with DHL. I live in a suburb of a major city. Are you rural? That could explain our differing experience.
I have with all three from various sellers and it is true where I live which is outside of a series of suburb though I do see UPS and FedEx trucks too. Must depend on the seller I guess... That said our mail delivery isn't the most reliable.
Unless you have "auto pay" where utilities, cell phone, cable etc are authorized to do automatic withdrawals from your bank, or credit card account, many are now charging FEES to pay on line. I will not authorize automatic withdrawals from my accounts as I have been burnt before. Then it is up to you to argue to get YOUR money back. So, I have gone back to sending a check via the USPS with a single stamp. Much less expensive than the $3.50 FEE many charge for on line processing.
I don't pay any medical bills now, but when I did, I was paying them online. That was 20 years ago. My current provider is a small town hospital. When I go to their webpage there is a Quick Resources sidebar. The very first link is Online Bill Pay. If your medical provider can't do online billing, I would strongly suggest changing providers, because they are stuck in the 1980s. If they can't even handle a simple thing like online billing, how can you expect them to be able to take care of your health?
Well I dropped that quack for other non postal related billing reasons... Haven't found one because Arizona GPS suck.
I have with all three from various sellers and it is true where I live which is outside of a series of suburb though I do see UPS and FedEx trucks too. Must depend on the seller I guess... That said our mail delivery isn't the most reliable.
If it's shipped by Amazon or Amazon fulfillment it goes whichever way is most cost effective for Amazon. If it travels directly from seller to customer then the delivery method depends on the seller's arrangements.
I just ordered some barbecue lighters and they're going all the way from seller to me (not Amazon fulfillment) via USPS. I was surprised, I didn't think USPS accepted flammables.
Unless you have "auto pay" where utilities, cell phone, cable etc are authorized to do automatic withdrawals from your bank, or credit card account, many are now charging FEES to pay on line. I will not authorize automatic withdrawals from my accounts as I have been burnt before. Then it is up to you to argue to get YOUR money back. So, I have gone back to sending a check via the USPS with a single stamp. Much less expensive than the $3.50 FEE many charge for on line processing.
Wait until one of your payment checks gets lost in the mail. I've had that happen with my vendor payments.
I have had no bad experiences in letting my utilities EFT their payments from my checking account over a period of several years. I only do this when there is a fee for CC payments. Anybody who doesn't charge a fee for CC payments goes to my 1% cash back credit card, and THEY do the EFT payment from my checking account.
It's working fine for me so far, and I don't have to worry about my payments being on time.
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