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No private company would take it on its current operational terms, especially the one that requires delivery to every address on US soil. The private services are profitable only because they (1) simply don't deliver to the remotest areas and (2) charge 20X the rate for a one-page letter. A national postal service has neither option.
It's a government function and needs to be done — diligently — by the government, whether it's "profitable, y'know, like a bidness" or not.
Post office doesn't deliver to every address. Some places only have cluster boxes; at my last house, I could only have a box at the post office 7 miles away. This was common in my semi rural area.
Odd factoid; some places will accept only USPO registered addresses. If you're not on the PO list, they won't accept an order from you. The previous owner of my current home chose to have a po box, so this address wasn't on the list. It took six weeks of rejected orders and missing mail to get that sorted out.
Post office doesn't deliver to every address. Some places only have cluster boxes; at my last house, I could only have a box at the post office 7 miles away. This was common in my semi rural area.
I'm well aware of suburban and rural cluster boxes; I didn't say they delivered to every doorstep. They will go a long ways for curbside delivery even on a rural route, but at some point really isolated residents have to meet them halfway. They still deliver to that household, whereas the parcel services would probably refuse or charge an extra fee.
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Odd factoid; some places will accept only USPO registered addresses. If you're not on the PO list, they won't accept an order from you. The previous owner of my current home chose to have a po box, so this address wasn't on the list. It took six weeks of rejected orders and missing mail to get that sorted out.
Yes, I've shipped books for decades, and nothing was more frustrating than an address that the USPS postage site wouldn't validate. Common with universities where "Purdue University, Lafayette IN" is the only addy needed to get it to their mail center, but uck f'me if I could send a book to their library using that. (The actual address was often as complex as anything in NYC or Seattle.)
Most ruralites also have a "real" address that's some absurd string of arbitrary designators for the validation system, when "Jones, 7 RFD 23" will get any letter there.
But if you're resident on US soil, the USPS is mandated to get you your mail, or at least real close. Even by bush pilot making ten landings a day.
Frankly, I don't care if the post office is losing money. The cushy postal jobs that paid really well are going or gone. I'm fine paying taxes to keep what's there open. It's useful.
Their losses are huge though...maybe 1-3 Joint Strike Fighters a year.
The USPS is being targeted by tRump in an attempt to cripple it so that voting by mail won't be possible. He believes that voting by mail will increase participation and threaten his reelection.
Apparently he doesn't feel his raging incompetence is a factor.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 limits price increases for market dominant products to no more than the rate of inflation based on the CPI. What is the probability of this getting repealed? Hopefully, it doesn't and Forever stamp prices will increase slowly.
I hope Priority Mail rates for consumer don't increase dramatically. I would think politically, members of Congress would be reluctant to raise postage rates for consumers.
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 limits price increases for market dominant products to no more than the rate of inflation based on the CPI. What is the probability of this getting repealed? Hopefully, it doesn't and Forever stamp prices will increase slowly.
I hope Priority Mail rates for consumer don't increase dramatically. I would think politically, members of Congress would be reluctant to raise postage rates for consumers.
You just identified what is wrong with a government run entity trying to be like a business. You need an act of congress to make any changes. Imagine if Amazon had to go to congress every time it wanted to make a change that streamlined things? Its no wonder the post office is in a failed state.
You just identified what is wrong with a government run entity trying to be like a business. You need an act of congress to make any changes. Imagine if Amazon had to go to congress every time it wanted to make a change that streamlined things? Its no wonder the post office is in a failed state.
If package prices double, average Americans may not be able to afford shipping costs. Thankfully forever stamp price increases seem to be capped by the CPI.
If package prices double, average Americans may not be able to afford shipping costs. Thankfully forever stamp price increases seem to be capped by the CPI.
I believe forever stamps are prepaid, so they have nothing to do with the CPI. Once you buy them that is your price. Forever stamps are fine for letters. If you are an online seller using those stamps to ship packages it not really viable. I pay a deep discount rate with the post office when I buy the postage online. I would have to pay full retail with actual stamps.
I sell a lot of merchandise through Amazon warehouses. And they ship a lot of items on their own trucks. I ship big boxes UPS to them at their corporate rate. In this case post office prices will not matter. But people who sell through eBay or other online sellers who ship themselves could be priced out of business. If prices double Fedex and UPS will be less expensive in comparison but still more than today. But sellers would be forced to not use USPS. That will plunge the post office into even more financial problems.
Another thing on USPS going to every address. I have shipped for at least 15 years with Fedex for some items. I don't recall ever having an address in the lower 48 that Fedex could not deliver to. Only exception would be a PO Box address which they could deliver to but are forbidden by federal law. I am sure there might be some exceptions. But I have never run across it. I lived in a small town years ago where all the mail was delivered to the post office. But even there UPS and Fedex delivered to the town you just had to provide your physical address.
Last edited by Oklazona Bound; 05-23-2020 at 08:11 AM..
Another thing on USPS going to every address. I have shipped for at least 15 years with Fedex for some items. I don't recall ever having an address in the lower 48 that Fedex could not deliver to. Only exception would be a PO Box address which they could deliver to but are forbidden by federal law. I am sure there might be some exceptions. But I have never run across it. I lived in a small town years ago where all the mail was delivered to the post office. But even there UPS and Fedex delivered to the town you just had to provide your physical address.
My wife works for one of the two major players you just listed and there are plenty of areas they don’t deliver. Just because you haven’t experienced it doesn’t mean anything. The coverage network domestically between USPS and fedex/ups are ridiculously incomparable.
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