USPS in trouble

[keziak]

I don't know if this link will work if you do not subscribe to the Washington Post but it says the revenue for the USPS has collapsed due to Covid and if they do not get an infusion of funding from the Federal government they could close as early as June.  My husband says Republicans hate the Post Office and want to see it go away, why I can't imagine.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-postal-service-was-in-trouble-before-covid-19-now-its-fi...

[oldwestgold]

I worked in low & high-level positions for the USPS for over 33 years. I recently retired about 3 years ago and stay in contact with my Postal family and friends.  The USPS isn't going anywhere.  If they do, the US economy will collapse and nothing will matter.  The USPS delivers in one day what UPS and FedEx combined delivery in 1 year. The USPS continues to do a great job as I have mailed over 10,000 packages in the past 25 years with not one issue. Thank your carriers and clerks for the jobs they perform, virus or no virus. It is not a walk in the park for any of them. No pun intended.  We should all be thankful for the job they perform for our country. This includes UPS and FedEx.

[oldwestgold]

In regards to your generous benefits, I am a retired Postmaster of 33 years of service. A pretty high-level position when retiring.  My pension is about $21k annually taking out taxes and health insurance. That's below the national poverty rate. And my health insurance has high deductibles.  Mismanagement? Every large company has issues.  I think it's amazing that I can still get a First Class Parcel from Ohio to Alaska for less than $4 in 2-3 days.  The USPS delivers in one day what UPS and FedEx combined delivery in a year.  Just to clarify the facts on your statement.

[earlyant-77]

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@cashvaluerecovery2011 wrote:
A 16.1 oz package going from my home to 12 miles down the street now costs over $7. A 1 oz package going from my house to the west coast is now over $3. Gas is the cheapest its been now since first class packages 1-16 oz were $1.91 anywhere in the U.S. Simple priority was $3.50 to $4.00 and now its $5.75 to $15.

If they cant figure out how to get it done like the rest of us then.......see ya, wouldnt wanna be ya.

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NOW it is - and it just got to that point. It's not going to stay that low.

Maybe now USPS can catch up a little bit. And Fed Ex and UPS should have lowered their fuel surcharge, but I doubt they will.

[kds99]

Our postmaster told me this afternoon they had almost more volume than they could handle due to so many of their customers being home now.

[mrstippie1]

Still waiting for an inventory order from over a week ago. For some reason shipper decided to use Amazon instead of USPS. Pkg went from S. California to Kentucky and is now on it's way back to the West Coast for delivery to WA State! The PO would have had it here in 2 days! This is the first time this supplier has done this. Probably the last time I will be ordering from them. Still waiting for my inventory. 😞 I love the Post Office! Many years, and very, very few problems!

[chapeau-noir]

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@oldwestgold wrote:

I worked in low & high-level positions for the USPS for over 33 years. I recently retired about 3 years ago and stay in contact with my Postal family and friends.  The USPS isn't going anywhere.  If they do, the US economy will collapse and nothing will matter.  The USPS delivers in one day what UPS and FedEx combined delivery in 1 year. The USPS continues to do a great job as I have mailed over 10,000 packages in the past 25 years with not one issue. Thank your carriers and clerks for the jobs they perform, virus or no virus. It is not a walk in the park for any of them. No pun intended.  We should all be thankful for the job they perform for our country. This includes UPS and FedEx.

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In point of fact, as a member of the UPU the USPS is a key player in world trade as well as domestic, working in conjunction with the farthest-flung countries. It would be a lot more than just the US to suffer.

I've been very happy with USPS service, and have told my clerks that, including one (plus one of my carriers) that if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have a job. 

[moondogblues]

"Please don't wish for the day that USPS is privatized. "

I was with ATT/Pacific Bell when Judge Green went after them, saying it was a monopoly and it needed to be broken up. My phone bill at the time was about ten bucks...where are we now? And yes there is the Internet...ooooooooooooo...carried over much the same wiring as the phones. At ten times the cost. I worked telecom for 35 years, don't get me started about the graft, the fraud, and the kick backs.

[moondogblues]

"Yup, but for us,........................... everything is coming by UPS & FedEx.

Shipping for some of the things that I get, if shipped by USPS, would not happen. $35-45 purchase, 15#, 16#, 26# from Wally, over 1 cu. ft., even from only 1 state away, is not going to ship free by USPS."

Why would you imagine free shipping? I got a Priority box of oranges today, a carpet sweeper, some ACEO's, magazines, freeze dried corn, and letters. I cheerfully paid some shipping! Oh, and a really huge cookbook, which was free shipping.

I've been buying on line for years...one lost package, one broken bowl, one broken plate. I damage more stuff on my own!

[moondogblues]

I must add that I am out in a very rural part of the county and have numerous problems with the relief delivery people, I get mail for other people, they have gotten mine. I got a credit card statement for a next door neighbor...good thing I'm not a crook!

[buyselljack2016]

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@moondogblues wrote:
"Yup, but for us,........................... everything is coming by UPS & FedEx.

Shipping for some of the things that I get, if shipped by USPS, would not happen. $35-45 purchase, 15#, 16#, 26# from Wally, over 1 cu. ft., even from only 1 state away, is not going to ship free by USPS."
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Why would you imagine free shipping? I got a Priority box of oranges today, a carpet sweeper, some ACEO's, magazines, freeze dried corn, and letters. I cheerfully paid some shipping! Oh, and a really huge cookbook, which was free shipping.

I've been buying on line for years...one lost package, one broken bowl, one broken plate. I damage more stuff on my own!

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In one way or another we all pay for shipping. I understand that shipping is not free. It i s often included in the cost of what I purchase. My point was that these items could not have been/are not being shipped by USPS with "shipping included" , or an additional amount paid by me because the shipping cost would have made the overall cost too high.

I ship out hundreds of items a year, exclusively by USPS. 

[dazzlecity]

All this discussion for nothing

Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post - so much for freedom of the press

Couldn't possibly be steering online traffic to himself with his shiny fleet of delivery vehicles

Geez people - do the math

the new King of the Evil Empire

[dirk12955]

To no one in particular.

USPS is the best deal on the planet for the services they offer.

It fits is ships.      Small priority FR box across the country for less than 10 bux   Oh,  and the box is free.   

Send a birthday card 2500 miles to my uncle costs me 55 cents.

Send a birthday card 3600 miles to my auntie in Ireland cost me $1.20

If anything, USPS could charge $$$ more and still be a great deal.   

[andrew547]

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@cashvaluerecovery2011 wrote:
A 16.1 oz package going from my home to 12 miles down the street now costs over $7. A 1 oz package going from my house to the west coast is now over $3. Gas is the cheapest its been now since first class packages 1-16 oz were $1.91 anywhere in the U.S. Simple priority was $3.50 to $4.00 and now its $5.75 to $15.

If they cant figure out how to get it done like the rest of us then.......see ya, wouldnt wanna be ya.

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FedEx 2day for a regular customer went up 15% last week. Sorry, but private companies are structurally incapable of doing better than USPS standard delivery and they always will be.

Your example is priority mail due to weight. It costs me under $3 to mail a light package within a 40 mile radius.

[ten_o_nine]

Are you flippant because you ship by UPS anyway?

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No, but if a company charges more for slow mail than priority is mismanaged.

[heyyoufoundit]

USPS has been horrible for me lately. I've got angry buyers demanding refunds, more in the last 2 weeks than in the last 10 years. These are lg. envelopes sent with tracking which shows items in limbo, getting sent to the wrong city after getting to the right city, or nothing.

I think I might have to shut my little business down for awhile.  

Also saw this when looking for some mail related news...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-lawmakers-warn-us-postal-service-shut-down-june/