Buyers/Sellers: USPS delays

tinfoil hat timmy said:
USPS operates independently of the United States Government.

They're a business, run for profit.
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No.

The United States Postal Service (USPS; also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, including its insular areas and associated states. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service
 
Norcaldude said:
No.

The United States Postal Service (USPS; also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, including its insular areas and associated states. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service
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INDEPENDENT AGENCY MEANS WHAT EXACTLY?
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
INDEPENDENT AGENCY MEANS WHAT EXACTLY?
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Independent agencies of the United States federal government are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President.[1] In a narrower sense, the term may also be used to describe agencies that, while constitutionally managed by the executive branch, are independent of presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited.

Still part of the United Stated Government. Not a business.
 
I’ve noticed a lot of lag in getting packages in to WV. I did a trade recently to FL. We both mailed Saturday. He ended up with his Monday. Mine is coming tomorrow. Now I’ve got one stuck in Wisconsin. Hopefully, it hasn’t been looted. Timmy, it is classified as an independent agency, meaning they have no financial backing from the US Government. They have to make their own money. However, they are still required to abide by whatever the Senate requires them to do. The 75-years pension fund they have to maintain isn’t required in any other agency that I’m aware of. It’s unconscionable.
 
I mean, seriously, did you just read till the part that says 'independent agency' and stop? You didn't see the part that says "of the executive branch of the United States federal government" and "explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution."?
 
Independent means just that. They have to make their own money. They're not funded by the government. So.....

They are a business that is run for profit.

Or not.
 
Bought a 5 items on the 16th and 17th. One came the 18th, one the 26th. Other 3 have not been scanned again in over a week after the initial acceptance scan. Most were Priority Mail
 
I have one that shipped yesterday from
OKC, not slated to make it to KC until Monday. I could have driven there myself and picked it up quicker :rolleyes:
 
Have a package from Gritomatic that left Oxford, MS and is arriving late...still en route to destination. For over a week. I'm a bit upset about that. Also have a knife that is supposed to arrive today, but is still en route to destination from Texas, and is arriving late. So yea, it's starting to get delayed here it seems, I'm guessing when coming through Memphis. Hopefully I get my stuff. The gritomatic package is just some diamond stropping paste. The other is a Blade HQ Shaman, so it better get here.
 
Last week,I sent a package from Vancouver to New Jersey and I was surprised in took just 6 days.No delays here.

The knife ship to Germany in May finally cleared Customs a few days ago and just got delivered today after more than 3 months.

Today,I have another packageto the US.I will let your guys know how it goes.
 
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Not really helpful, but I found it interesting a couple weeks ago that after a trade with a fellow member we both shipped on the same day and while mine went USPS priority, his went out First Class and arrived a full day ahead of mine. This between CA and WA.

I also raised an eyebrow the other day while following the tracking info on one that came to me from CA sent USPS priority. It was routed from CA to Maryland before it arrived in WA. Hopefully it had a window seat and was able to enjoy taking the scenic route.

Nothing I've sent or received has been more than a day off of what I used to consider normal so no real complaints, but it does seem like things are a little wonky.

Winston
 
“So future sales & purchases you might want to consider requesting UPS..“
I wonder if I gave UPS $.55 and letter addressed to Anchorage Alaska would they deliver it? IMHO the USPS is the finest postal service on the planet.
 
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sf fanatic said:
“So future sales & purchases you might want to consider requesting UPS..“
I wonder if I gave UPS $.55 and letter addressed to Anchorage Alaska would they would deliver it? IMHO the USPS is the finest postal service on the planet.
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I sent a knife to a guy in AK, from NYS, and I was amazed that it made it there and was delivered on the 3rd day. I had a knife coming from a guy in Illinois, 13 hours drive from my house and it took 9 days lol. Not sure why the disparity but I’ll use USPS to Alaska with no hesitation!
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
Independent means just that. They have to make their own money. They're not funded by the government. So.....

They are a business that is run for profit.

Or not.
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There's more to it than that.
If the USPS were merely another for-profit business, they could decide that it's not profitable to deliver to rural addresses. It's similar to the reason Bell Telephone was allowed monopoly status for so long, since they were required to build infrastructure to service every home in America, even if it wasn't cost effective at the time.

"The mission of the Postal Service is to provide the American public with trusted universal postal service. While not explicitly defined, the Postal Service's universal service obligation (USO) is broadly outlined in statute and includes multiple dimensions: geographic scope, range of products, access to services and facilities, delivery frequency, affordable and uniform pricing, service quality, and security of the mail. While other carriers may claim to voluntarily provide delivery on a broad basis, the Postal Service is the only carrier with a legal obligation to provide all the various aspects of universal service.
 
This thread has been pretty interesting. I think everyone that has posted here has some valid thoughts and points.
I guess my take initially was really that most of the inherent issues that they are experiencing - certainly financially - is that they have been a quasi governmentally run. I would hope most of us agree that the government is generally not the most efficient or cost effective apparatus.
The PO has several key issues at the moment: 1. As mentioned prior - the pension contribution rules are pretty nonsensical, having to prefund at the rates they do is not sensible and does add cost. But, that is not the only issue they have nor the only pension "cost issue". The reality is that the pension payment amounts to former employees themselves is very excessive and not market based - this is due in part to political intervention and allowances. It's not much different than what major city unions have been able to negotiate over the years due to political pandering. At some point the piper has to be paid and city governments realize they can't afford it. 2. There are many work rules etc. that create inefficiency and excessive costs - that does not have to happen. 3. The volume mix at the PO has change dramatically in the last 10 years.
First class mail has gone from 50% of their volume 2009 to just 34% in 2019. Those are small envelops that don't take up a lot of room and have sheer density per stop. On the other hand their "packages" have gone from 15% of volume in 2009 to 32% in 2019. That is huge as well - these take up more room. One related issue to that is that they truly may not be charging enough for those pkgs and that is partially the fault of the government. In essence the governmental rules are artificially holding the rates at the PO lower than what they should be.

What really creates an interesting debate is when you consider the fact that the PO does not pay taxes - like UPS and FedEx do. In fact you could (and should because it is) competing directly with UPS and FedEx in that package market. Is that fair - probably not.

Anyway, I like the PO - use them for most of my knife shipping. Often they are cheaper than the other options - but is that fair (see above)? I will end with saying that there are changes that can and should take place there to run it more like a business and more efficiently. That is not to say that it should be run like a business across the board- that's not realistic either. Since no one has seemed to have the appetite to truly try and address some of the PO issues till now - there is going to be resistance - whether that is unhappy employees or politicians pandering for votes or selfish agendas. However, some changes need to be made and responsible leaders can not keep kicking the can down the road.
 
Gastonknife said:
The PO has several key issues at the moment: 1. As mentioned prior - the pension contribution rules are pretty nonsensical, having to prefund at the rates they do is not sensible and does add cost. But, that is not the only issue they have nor the only pension "cost issue". The reality is that the pension payment amounts to former employees themselves is very excessive and not market based - this is due in part to political intervention and allowances. It's not much different than what major city unions have been able to negotiate over the years due to political pandering. At some point the piper has to be paid and city governments realize they can't afford it. 2. There are many work rules etc. that create inefficiency and excessive costs - that does not have to happen. 3. The volume mix at the PO has change dramatically in the last 10 years.
First class mail has gone from 50% of their volume 2009 to just 34% in 2019. Those are small envelops that don't take up a lot of room and have sheer density per stop. On the other hand their "packages" have gone from 15% of volume in 2009 to 32% in 2019. That is huge as well - these take up more room. One related issue to that is that they truly may not be charging enough for those pkgs and that is partially the fault of the government. In essence the governmental rules are artificially holding the rates at the PO lower than what they should be.
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All your points are valid, but the impact of the three on USPS profitability are WILDY imbalanced. If the first point was addressed the USPS would immediately be profitable again and addressing inefficiency could come with time.
 
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