Just a heads-up:
USPS prices just went up a bit, but they only updated their website today.
I also read an article where they said delivery times will be longer for some destinations.

I also had an occasion to get quotes today from a shipping store and a UPS store:
The general place (the kind that does UPS & FedEx, sells boxes, etc) quoted almost double what the UPS Store quoted.
Not sure if that was an anomaly, but thought it was, um, "interesting"...

Those pack-n-ship places are almost always expensive, as they're a middleman and have to take their cut. You're paying for the convenience of a neighborhood store.

Everything seems to be going up since Uhh, January ? And the service / availability of items seems to be heading the opposite direction IMO. Not saying anything political here, just an observation

Due to the lockdown in Australia I can't send a package to my friend there. The only option is priority international so it would cost around $200 to send a 1-1/2 pound small box to her. No first class shipping available

you are correct. unfortunately, it is politics.
i had a pretty good discussion with my mailman on just this subject last week, and the future looks pretty dim.
that's all i am going to say.
pretty sad for an institution i grew up with.
in fact, above the house i grew up in, there was the "old airport". it was a stop for mail delivery and pickup. small planes would land there almost daily carrying mail for this area, then load sacks of outgoing long distance mail. it was carved out of the neighboring farmers field in the early days of flight. it finally shut down in 1964, then reverted back to farm land as a "new" county airport opened several towns over that could accept larger [by far] planes.

I've noticed a USPS price hike since, ahem, January too and it seems more than just a bit! First time I walked out of there after a getting a quote and drove several miles to UPS store only to get same quote. $45 tp ship an air cleaner. More to ship than I sold it for!

I'll say more in unmoderated section.

Hope & change part 2.

Paid USPS $60 to ship a P/B booster core to a rebuilder 2 weeks ago. I didn't have the time or patience to go to UPS or Fedex.

Boom...

While there are many factors that led to the USPS’ current state of debt, there are two primary reasons why that debt has now balloomed. In 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) ordered the USPS to pre-fund employee retiree health benefits for the next 75 years.

From 2007 through the 2019 fiscal year, the USPS lost $77 billion and hasn’t contributed to its retiree health care fund since 2012. “USPS has missed $48.2 billion in required payments for postal retiree health and pension benefits through fiscal year 2018,” the Government Accountability Office reported in March.


They need to cut the FAT. In a 10 mile circle here there in no more then 500 people but there are 3 post offices, each postmaster makes over 70k a year with full benefits and family coverage.

The U.S. Postal Service has the largest retail network in the country, using its more than 31,000 locations to provide vital services like mailing and shipping, passport processing, and money orders to the American public. But did you ever wonder if post offices produce enough revenue to cover their operating costs?

USPS is one of the largest employers in the nation, with 574,000 career employees and thousands of retired employees.

Its easy to find the gov. has been kicking this can for YEARS.

If there was a part of the gov, that needs torn down and rebuilt its the usps...... the only logical answer is SOMEONE is making big money off keeping the current system in place.

I wont even go into Amtrack.....

But hey, as long as folks live on credit and think the norm is 4 cars leased and a huge mortgage vs living within ones means WHO can complain when there own house is not in order.

alot of middle management in government in general. That's where most of the fat is.

After WWII, every wide spot in the road wanted a airport. Many got built. Most disappeared in the 60's. Mine is now a mall.

The Postal Service is referenced in the US Constitution, unlike a lot of other things. There is also the Postal Service Act of 1792. Neither of these things are exactly Johnny come lately.

If you don't like the Postal Service perhaps it would be appropriate to look up some US and US Constitutional history starting with the 1700's.

If the USPS was not there private suppliers would likely 1. Raise rates substantially 2. Stop or charge substantial premiums for any small town service. Then we would hear some serious screaming from every small town oldster and town official from these bergs.

If you want to stop the USPS, knock yourself out. Then pound sand.

Complain all you want, but the set-up of the service is ingrained in our Constitutional system.

Postal employees make pretty good money and have darned good benefits for what they do.

I think the big mistake was made in becoming the US Postal Service instead of the US Post Office. They figured they had a product they could sell, unlike most other federal agencies, and could go it alone. But they chose to do it just before email and online banking hit big and the bottom fell out of their bread and butter market, which was first-class letters. In the before-time, I used about fifteen stamps a month but now maybe ten per year.

UPS drivers make pretty good salary and benefits too. So what's your point?

Everybody does not have to work for nothing. Lots of jobs actually pay a decent salary with benefits.

Work behind a counter at USPS building for 6 months. I don't see that as being a cush fun job.

I could not afford to work for the USPS.

Delivering packages is a money making enterprise.

In addition more and more monthly services/payments are being pushed to auto payments by withdrawing directly from your account(s). And to encourage you to do so a lot of them are charging a healthy premium for paying by mail. Then you have the, I mailed it but it never got there problem. Now you have late fees. But the Junk mail comes though just fine along with the telemarketing calls. BTW, what's that Agencies name ? Oh Yeah, Tthe Do Not Call registry. They're doing a remarkable job Wonder what that's costing us ?

i forgot to add, my airport was built around the beginning of flight, shortly before or after WW1. the local historic society has a few pictures of air mail crashes with the pilot surviving. during WW2, it was used to scan the air for the enemy, as well as mail service.
my mother grew up in the house that was about 500ft from the main building. saw lots of flights coming and going.

The big problem is the USPS can't DO ANYTHING unless it's approved by Congress. Want to close a PO because there's 3 pithing 5 miles? Just get congressional approval. And don't forget that there has to be a public comment period, and the people who have the time to MAKE those public comments are the seasoned citizens who VOTE at a very high rate. Get a few to complain about losing their local PO (and a few letters from the postal unions) and it'll never happen...