Creative Ways the Postal Service Can Stop Losing Money?

by: Anonymous Annie

I thought it was now some sort of law that postage rates would increase every year... if any considering is to be done, it's to do with how much the rate increase will be (not whether or if).

The BEST thing that could be done to save the US Postal Service would be for Congress to eliminate the absurd requirement that the USPS must fund health care for retirees SEVENTY FIVE YEARS into the future.

When Congress imposed those mandates in 2006, the Post Office was doing just fine. Digital communication had yet to take such a huge bite out of the amount of mail the USPS processed and delivered. First-class mail volume was about 97 billion pieces in 2006. So there wasn’t much of a backlash when Congress decided that the Post Office was healthy enough to lock in health benefits for future retirees — for the next 75 years, mind you, something no other public or private agency does.

Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/02/07/how-healthcare-expenses-cost-us-sa
turday-postal-delivery/#ixzz2fwNWcWfp

by: Patricia

Annie - its a deliberate ploy to drive USPS into privatization and then we are at the mercy of a for profit company that will raise its rates to compete with UPS and the rest and will not reach out to where folks are and will end up with fewer workers and then you will finally hear the public wake up....but by then it will be too late!  Its just amazing how many people don't know about what congress did to the USPS!

by: Marie

Yes and here is more if you want to read it.  

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/backg
round-on-the-159-billion-loss-by-the-postal-service

http://www.cepr.net/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/killing-the-messenger-the-downsizing-and-death-of-the-postal-service

It is ridiculous that Congress is requiring this.  I honestly do not know why it is even being allowed.  Not just the prefunding for those that not only are not even employed by USPS yet, but for those that have not even been born.  

by: CypressC

Post Office operations are profitable... the thing killing USPS is the union. They have to pay out so much in bloated pensions, follow crazy five-day rules that require an entire second crew just so they can deliver Saturday, and have Congress protecting them from having to streamline. They should open up First Class Mail to private enterprises. UPS and FedEx could make the volume work at 46-cents, no problem.

by: Map

Congressmen & Senators should take 5 Billion Dollars and the entire United States Postal System and just give if all for free to Federal Express.

Fedex could save this Nations Mail service and turn profit while delivering good service and provide good paying jobs.

by: Ric

You mean the recently opened US Postal Service store on eBay is not filling the revenue gaps?

I am shocked!!

by: Rexford

Still waiting to see how much they lost in international shipping when they raised rates over the moon earlier this year. Numbers anyone?

And still waiting to see some details about these new increases they are currently pushing.  The press ONLY talks about postage stamp increases when they cover these increases and they NEVER write about packaging increases which always impact sellers' bottom lines more.  Will there be packaging increases this time?  Anyone know?

As everyone else here stated--funding the pensions is not sustainable.  They will clearly price themselves out of business and some private entity will move in and you will see price increases like you have never seen in your lifetime.

I'm putting my money on Pitney Bowes, who in my most humble opinion must be watching this situation like a hawk and licking their chops.

by: Puck

Here's a revolutionary idea.
Increase their customer base by providing consistently good service.

by: Patricia

No alternative suggestions will work until Congress removes the yoke of oppression they put on the post office.  We can blame the loss on various things but NO company can simply put 7 billion of their profit into this nonsense of funding benefits 75 years in advance and come out in the black!  We should be writing and hounding congress because once USPS is privatized we will all be REALLY SORRY!

by: Ric

Spoke with the senior clerk at my local PO today.

January's price increase is expected to be across the board.

She said expect Priority & Express Mail to be hit rather hard as they will seek to recover the "improvements" they added which nobody asked for such as included insurance and up to 11 scans now able to be displayed.

eBay is hoping that the increases will be large as well since they now profit from FVF on shipping costs.  Leave it to the Postal Service to enable eBay to fatten their wallets once a year.

by: Bloggo

Anybody that thinks privatizing the Post Office would make things cheaper is delusional. Even FedEx and UPS don't claim that.

“Neither FedEx or UPS are even in the same league as the Postal Service, which goes to 100 million addresses every day,'' he tells me. ''What they do, they do well. But they don’t do what the Postal Service does.”

Read more: http://www.minyanville.com/business-news/editors-pick/articles/postal-
service-usps-post-office-post/8/3/2012/id/42951#ixzz2g2012kdy

This from FedEx's website.
Why FedEx SmartPost?
When you need to ship low-weight packages to residential customers, consider efficient, economical FedEx SmartPost shipping service. By utilizing the U.S. Postal Service® (USPS) for final delivery, FedEx SmartPost reaches every U.S. address, including P.O. boxes and military APO, FPO and DPO destinations. You can even use FedEx SmartPost to ship to Alaska, Hawaii and all U.S. territories.

by: Digmen1

Here in NZ our Post Office is asking the government fro permission to reduce mail deliveries from 6 days to 3 days a week.
Most people accept this proposal as it only means one extra day for your mail.

by: iheartjacksparrow

My post office looks like a Hallmark store now. There are racks of greeting cards almost the entire length of the building. I guess they're hoping for impulse buys like when you're standing in line at the grocery store. Don't know how much revenue they are making from that.

by: Massachusets Howler

Patricia is DEAD-ON.

This is a long-term plan by the big wigs UPS FedEx and others to put the Post Office out of business.

The Post office has to put away $$ to pay retirement benefits on employees who HAVE NOT YET BEEN BORN.

If they succeed you will see out postage TRIPLE right into the pockets of FedEx and UPS.

Pitney bowes stock is up because of their THEFT and COLLUSION with ebay.
MH

by: Bloggo

Rural America, as well as Alaska and Hawaii would see prices skyrocket if the Postal System were to be privatized.

by: Bloggo

vice.
United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service Logo.svg
Logo used since 1993
Agency overview
Formed July 1, 1971
Washington, D.C.[1]
Headquarters 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, D.C. 20260-0004
Employees 522,144 (2012)[2]
Agency executive Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General
Key document Postal Clause of the United States Constitution
Website
www.USPS.com
The full eagle logo, used in various versions from 1970 to 1993.

The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office and U.S. Mail, is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution, known as the Postal Clause or the Postal Power, empowers Congress ''To establish Post Offices and post Roads''.

by: Bloggo

Oops, didn't mean to post the top part of that.

by: PowerSeller2007

With fewer surviving US sellers and more Asian mega sellers, USPS needs to keep charging the US sellers much much more to afford giving even more subsidies to the Asian sellers.

by: Bijoux Dragon

Loving your idea of commercial stamps.  Companies would get the advertising visibility and collectors would snatch them up.

As for private companies doing the job, I'd be laughing if it weren't such a serious, crying shame that anybody would consider this a good idea.  Living in a rural area that get to bear most of the cuts, no private company is going to want to deliver to an area that has but a few houses per mile, severe winter weather and and poorly repaired roads.

I'd say ''Congress FIX THIS MESS!  You created it now you fix it by rescinding the 2006 law''  I would say it if I thought there was a prayer our congress could manage to work 5 days a week for just a few months and if I had any thought that, if in session, they could do anything to benefit the people of America and not the corporations!

by: tb

If they HAVE to do this 75 year pre-funding (insane), then the answers are simple. 1) Quit the 1 or 2 cent price hikes. Go for a quarter or more. The cost of having these constant increases is probably more than the revenue it will bring in. 2) Seriously increase the cost of going into the post office. Virtually everyone can use a computer and print their own postage. If you want to live in the stone age, you should pay the cost. Medium Flat Rate online at $11.00. In the post office $27.50. Make all services available online (Media, 1st Class, etc). 3) Reduce personnel. Automate services at the PO. Waiting on line to buy a stamp? What century are we in? My 2 cents.