Postal Service...shutting down???

[Harry Dresden]

gees i said you were right......what more do you want?

but it is an obsolete service....plus face it...do you mail important stuff with the usps or do you use another carrier....i know i dont mail anything of importance with the usps.

Obsolete......not in the least.
As I posted earlier - direct mail has the most successful response rate than any other media...and not by a little. Absolutely nothing compares to the response rate of direct mail.
Again - if the USPS was to "shut down"...businesses of all kinds would be dramatically affected...the ability of a business to reach potential consumers is not an option, and direct mail offers the most effective advertising to date.

Kill the USPS....

the groupon concept is getting better response, BUT it is also losing advertisers money (80% say never again)

you got me fooled.....junk mail never stops......its always there....

 

[FuelRod]

I'd be interested in knowing what the top line item costs for the Postal service is (is it wages, benefits, fuel?).
In my lifetime the cost of a first class stamp has tripled. I am sure the costs of the above three costs have more than tripled.
Therein lay the problem of the postal service.

 

[dcbl]

Obsolete......not in the least.
As I posted earlier - direct mail has the most successful response rate than any other media...and not by a little. Absolutely nothing compares to the response rate of direct mail.
Again - if the USPS was to "shut down"...businesses of all kinds would be dramatically affected...the ability of a business to reach potential consumers is not an option, and direct mail offers the most effective advertising to date.

Kill the USPS....

the groupon concept is getting better response, BUT it is also losing advertisers money (80% say never again)

you got me fooled.....junk mail never stops......its always there....

the email deal of the day is on fire right now, but it is costing merchants & businesses.

It's great for consumers, but businesses are not seeing very many viable repeat customers.

 

[Harry Dresden]

I think NOW is the time to REQUIRE the USPS to adopt a huge Electric vehicle fleet and infrastructure. That would be the progressive "help" that they need right now wouldn't it? ?

Oh -- their gasoline is completely UNTAXED?? Nevermind....

they have been trying to do that for years.....and no their gas is taxed.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Postal Service on verge of going broke, shutting down

Yaaayyy! The flood of bills and junk mail finally stops!

That didn't say anything about junk mail. Junk mail is what funds the post office. I'm not sure how eliminating Saturday delivery will change their cost. The person who works Saturday but is off another day will just be working on the day he would have been off.

no he would not.....mail delivery would then be Mon-Fri.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

it will start slowly.....drop saturday deliveries etc...do we really need daily mail?

you might not.....but there are more people who do then you would ever realize....

 

[Harry Dresden]

I know many home-bound, on a strict budget that only can afford to mail their bills via their mailman and will even buy stamps off of her/him to do so. (Yes, some mail carriers are that consumer aware and considerate.) They have home healthcare providers that come and take care of their concerns between doctor appointments. Most of those individuals could not possibly afford a computer much less learn the basics to use one well enough to pay their bills. It may happen... it just won't be in the near future.

it is also against Postal Regulations to do so......

Stamps are available through my rural carrier. They leave the flyers in my mailbox routinely. I have never known a time when you could not buy stamps from your rural carrier.

individual Stamps or Books?.....i can sell you Stamps after you order them from the PO and pay for it,and then when i deliver them you have to sign for them......but not individuals that i have on me (well im not supposed to anyway)......if he can sell you a few Stamps that he has on him,then he is either doing something he is not supposed to be doing OR Rural Carriers have a different set of rules than City Carriers involving Stamps.....but it should not be any different for him than me....you order them,he delivers, you sign for them....

 

[Harry Dresden]

if its doesnt have a first class stamp its junk mail simple as that

no its not.....Magazines are 2nd Class.....and many Parcels come 4th Class.....they are not considered Junk.....

LOL. Once my credit union decided to save some postage. That year, they changed everyone's credit card to something new and sent them all out second class. Seeing that it was not first class mail, I chucked it thinking it was one of their ads for insurance or some such. Then when the card I had didn't work I called them. Apparently I was not the ONLY one who did that. Not only did they have to replace all the cards, they had to pay more postage and saved NO money in the fray!

well they should have known better.....especially with good credit cards.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Several laws will need changing as many depend on official notifications thru the US mail.

like Certified Mail.....

They should call it 'certified nothing.' The last certified thing I sent was lost. They don't track that from point to point. If you want it tracked from point to point you have to overnight it or go UPS.

yep.....the Carriers have bitched about that as long as i have worked there.....Certified's should be treated with much more accountability than they are now....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Please note that the stuff you get on a weekly & mothly basis is coming from the SAME people over & over again.

maybe to you.....i deliver catalogs and ads from places i have never seen before.....as well as the known stuff.....

The same companies send direct mail with great consistency. I'm confident you've noticed that.

Nice points BTW

sure i have.....and im sure those Companies get enough sales from that to do it again next week....

 

[Harry Dresden]

I'd be interested in knowing what the top line item costs for the Postal service is (is it wages, benefits, fuel?).
In my lifetime the cost of a first class stamp has tripled. I am sure the costs of the above three costs have more than tripled.
Therein lay the problem of the postal service.

im sure Management will tell you its the Employees wages and benifits......but somehow not theirs......anyone who has ever worked in the place can tell you stories about how these guys blow millions of dollars....i see it all the time.....seeing it right now....

 

[Harry Dresden]

the groupon concept is getting better response, BUT it is also losing advertisers money (80% say never again)

you got me fooled.....junk mail never stops......its always there....

the email deal of the day is on fire right now, but it is costing merchants & businesses.

It's great for consumers, but businesses are not seeing very many viable repeat customers.

could it be no one wants to open E-Mails they are not sure of?......

 

[dcbl]

you got me fooled.....junk mail never stops......its always there....

the email deal of the day is on fire right now, but it is costing merchants & businesses.

It's great for consumers, but businesses are not seeing very many viable repeat customers.

could it be no one wants to open E-Mails they are not sure of?......

you're not familiar with groupon & their knockoffs - eh?

it works like this:

groupon collects 100,000 + email addresses in a market, then they find local businesses that will offer the "deal of the day" - these deals offer services at 50% off or more

groupon splits the proceeds from selling the deals with the merchant - it started at 50/50; but the industry has gotten very competitive (even clipper magazine is now offering groupon type deals)

merchants get 25% on the dollar - it would be OK if they were building a loyal new customer base; but too many of the groupon consumers are basically acting like "deal whores" - they spend only to the dollar of the deal & only shop where the deals are offered

this groupon concept is all the rage (fwiw - groupon is now an industry term used to define the industry - kind of like 'coke'; 'kleenex' or 'q-tip')

the deal of the day concept is getting better results than anything right now (but it ain't so profitable for the advertisers)

here are 2 articles worth looking at:

Why Groupon Is Poised For Collapse | TechCrunch

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/business/smallbusiness/10sbiz.html

 

[Harry Dresden]

the email deal of the day is on fire right now, but it is costing merchants & businesses.

It's great for consumers, but businesses are not seeing very many viable repeat customers.

could it be no one wants to open E-Mails they are not sure of?......

you're not familiar with groupon & their knockoffs - eh?

it works like this:

groupon collects 100,000 + email addresses in a market, then they find local businesses that will offer the "deal of the day" - these deals offer services at 50% off or more

groupon splits the proceeds from selling the deals with the merchant - it started at 50/50; but the industry has gotten very competitive (even clipper magazine is now offering groupon type deals)

merchants get 25% on the dollar - it would be OK if they were building a loyal new customer base; but too many of the groupon consumers are basically acting like "deal whores" - they spend only to the dollar of the deal & only shop where the deals are offered

this groupon concept is all the rage (fwiw - groupon is now an industry term used to define the industry - kind of like 'coke'; 'kleenex' or 'q-tip')

the deal of the day concept is getting better results than anything right now (but it ain't so profitable for the advertisers)

here are 2 articles worth looking at:

Why Groupon Is Poised For Collapse | TechCrunch

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/business/smallbusiness/10sbiz.html

to be honest with ya .....i dont pay much attention to the Advertising shit i have to deliver.....when you have to deliver some of this shit daily you get to the point were it is just a bunch of paper going in a box....some of it is Packaged horribly......others go off nicely....

 

[uscitizen]

Says the dipshit who runs down to DMV the day before an election to get an ID card

lol....anyhoooo

USPS should be privatized, in order to keep it functioning

not to many private companies want Postal Inspectors looking over their Shoulders...and the cost said Company will endure to turn their building into a place the Inspectors will approve of wont go over to well.....one of the reasons UPS and FedX want no part of 1st Class Mail delivery.....the expence and scrutiny....

yeah well that and no profit for them at current USPS rates.
The got to skim the cream off in the parcel business.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I'd be interested in knowing what the top line item costs for the Postal service is (is it wages, benefits, fuel?).
In my lifetime the cost of a first class stamp has tripled. I am sure the costs of the above three costs have more than tripled.
Therein lay the problem of the postal service.

That isn't it. It is the amount of mail that has fallen.
Your carrier, the sorters who work for the P.O. he comes from - their building costs, fuel costs overhead etc. etc. - all cost nearly the same whether he delivers 4 pcs. of mail to your house or 1.
It isn't that the cost have risen - revenue is down.
And because the Unions have a contract that stipulates that no postal employee can be laid off...there is no way they can sustain themselves.
Blame the morons who accepted such a deal with the unions.

 

[Wolfmoon]

Oh my Gosh, how will I get my junk mail???

 

[Harry Dresden]

It isn't that the cost have risen - revenue is down.
And because the Unions have a contract that stipulates that no postal employee can be laid off..

i told you thats not true......you have to put in 7 years before that goes into effect....for carriers.....i dont know about the clerks....

 

[whitehall]

Let 'em have saturdays off if they can save a couple of billion. I don't give a damn.

 

[franmarc8]

It is not entirely unbelievable if this would happen.