USPS New Rates Ouch

[Zee09]

People moan and groan about shipping. So do I, but from the other side. This new rate increase is painful 1 ounce to Canada doubled- Cost me $8 to send one seal because it's height is 3/4 inch tall ( Not including my mailer etc.-Just USPS cost) Of course the good USPS folks kick back seals that are 5/8" tall on the cheaper rate. A bunch of nonsense. The customer thinks its a $1. proposition. The old cost looks cheap now Foreign trade on the small scale is doomed

 

[CT8]

What would it cost you to drive there and hand deliver the package? The pension costs are huge. Think about what we pay for the pensions of the government employees or the auto workers pensions that are added to the cost of each vehicle we purchase.I used to live in a small town and tease the post office lady as I would say $15.00 to ship this package to the other side of the U.S !!! I could drive there and back for less. She would grin.

 

[Alfred_B]

Use FedEx, private companies surely are cheaper than government because of competition. And they don't provide pension or good healthcare to the employees thus saving more in costs.

 

[krismoriah72]

I have ordered a few things off ebay in the past month.. FedEx smart post.. i guess FedEx delivers to the post office then the mailman delivers.. also UPS mail innovations UPS delivers to the post office for the mailman to deliver.. I like the service so far...i know when the mailman runs but never have a clue when FedEx or UPS will show up..

 

[Zee09]

Originally Posted by Alfred_B

Use FedEx, private companies surely are cheaper than government because of competition. And they don't provide pension or good healthcare to the employees thus saving more in costs.

In the past Fed EX-DHL-UPS could not compete in the foreign small parcel rates. Their pricing was totally unaffordable. I haven't looked for awhile but the cost then was insane. I ship daily and Priority always seems the cheapest or inline with the others. Plus with PM from the USPS you don't get that "remote area fee" or the "fuel surcharge fee" they can be painful.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted by Alfred_B

Use FedEx, private companies surely are cheaper than government because of competition. And they don't provide pension or good healthcare to the employees thus saving more in costs.

Some times not.

 

[Zee09]

Originally Posted by CT8

What would it cost you to drive there and hand deliver the package? The pension costs are huge. Think about what we pay for the pensions of the government employes or the auto workers pensions that are added to the cost of each vehicle we purchase.I used to live in a small town and tease the post office lady as I would say $15.00 to ship this package to the other side of the U.S !!! I could drive there and back for less. She would grin.

Very true but most consumers unless they have shipped recently just don't know how bad it is. For 40 years I offered folks the option of using their accounts to ship. They go away-research and say no- you do it. Sticker shock. It is what it is but it's to the point, people will go back to dealing locally or big business only.

 

[CT8]

When you have a shop fix you car you pay for the building, the write up and clean up , ordering the parts and some extra for come backs. some times the tech training.

 

[69GTX]

Originally Posted by CT8

.....I used to live in a small town and tease the post office lady as I would say $15.00 to ship this package to the other side of the U.S !!! I could drive there and back for less. She would grin.

That delivery better be within 50-75 miles of your home or the costs are likely to exceed $15. And if your vehicle is fairly new, more like 15 miles from your home. Just mailed a 18"x4"x2" package (2.6 lbs) USPS priority mail to California....3000 miles.....$13 with signature and $50 insurance. The other major shippers ranged from $20-$25. Box size and weight are critical to get a price break. The cheapest method can vary as no one shipper has the best rates all the time. And if utilizing on-line 3rd parties to handle your shipping, you can usually get much better rates. If you don't mind a longer ship and have a Greyhound depot near you, try them. Their package shipping expenses are usually 1/2 to 1/3 of the other major carriers. Works good for large items such as 2-4 ft boxes.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Not true. they cost more and have extra fees for some places But but sure, competition, yea like mulit million dollar CEO salaries. USPS is less expensive, slower most times. And they take care of their employees, not on government aid like Fed-ex. Wait if see if the republicans are successful in their bid to kill the post office, then a letter will cost you over a dollar. Rod

 

[Zee09]

Originally Posted by ragtoplvr

Not true. they cost more and have extra fees for some places But but sure, competition, yea like mulit million dollar CEO salaries. USPS is less expensive, slower most times. And they take care of their employees, not on government aid like Fed-ex. Wait if see if the republicans are successful in their bid to kill the post office, then a letter will cost you over a dollar. Rod

A letter for a $1 is cheap compared to the hit we got on Domestic and Foreign first class. At that rate compared to first class a letter should be $2.66

 

[dbias]

Costs are covering USPS pensions to be fully funded for employees that are not even born yet. stupid requirement that gives UPS and FedEx an advantage in some respects

 

[grampi]

Speaking of shipping rate increases, why didn't FedEx and UPS rates go down when fuel prices went down? Remember when they jacked their rates up back when gas/diesel was $3.50-$4 a gallon and blamed it on the high fuel costs?

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

UPS for sure subsidizes business rates on the backs of individuals. I recently shipped (11) 15lb boxes for work at a cost of 183.00. Before I had entered the company account number for the discount on this shipment, the cost was $430!!!

 

[BigD1]

The price we pay for subsidizing Amazon deliveries.

 

[Driz]

Originally Posted by Alfred_B

Use FedEx, private companies surely are cheaper than government because of competition. And they don't provide pension or good healthcare to the employees thus saving more in costs.

THEY DONT? I was comparing retirements notes with the ups driver who just pulled the plug a month ago. Who baby there's oh so much those guy get for free that us Feds pay through the sphincter for it's unreal. I'd say overall they do as well or possibly a but better than Federal Employees . Now of course recently they have been working these poor guys like rented mules. More deliveries and longer days about drove our guy nuts. I saw him his last night and asked him why he was so 🤬 on his last day and said that I'd been floating on air my last week. He said the cheap 🤬 pulled all the part timers off immediately after Xmas and left the regular guys working till. 7-8 pm just to clear the deliveries. Poor sap got stuck doing overtime on his last shift the day he retired...–. The week before the other girl had a truck all week with no heater. Gauge just barely registered off the pin and it was COLD out. I asked her why they didn't fix it she said it was on order🤥. I told her to get someone to run to autozone or wherever and just grab one for a couple bucks, 15 minute job. She said oh no can't do that she'd already thought of that., gotta freeze all day instead for a week +. Quite an outfit......reminds me of the army🤕

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Seriously with online banking and Email just how many letters do you mail a year? I sent my first on last month. I see no others in the near future.

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson

Seriously with online banking and Email just how many letters do you mail a year? I sent my first on last month. I see no others in the near future.

Yes, that is what it is: they lost in volume tremendously

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

A quasi- government entity that should be turned over to a private contractor. The EEOC saw to it that this organization was filled with individuals who were hired for who/what they were, not because of their ability. They have a strong union that makes it almost impossible to get rid of low performers. Our mail carrier is lucky if all our mail winds up in the box or in the truck. Finding outgoing mail on the ground is common. He also like to put the neighbor's mail in our box.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Originally Posted by dbias

Costs are covering USPS pensions to be fully funded for employees that are not even born yet. stupid requirement that gives UPS and FedEx an advantage in some respects

This is true and it makes up the large bulk of the annual operating deficit of the Postal Service. However, most people on the street see USPS pensions as freebies to postal workers who work 25 or 30 years. Far from true. Average postal workers contribute more than $100,000 to their pension plans over their careers. Another misconception: federal retirees get free healthcare. Wrong. Retirees pay 40% of their annual health insurance premiums.