USPS raising Priority Mail prices 1/17/16

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knifehunt said:
I just don't understand what all the complaining is about? They are going up less then a $1.00 on a small flat rate box, and are still nearly three times less then their closest competitor. It is what it is, and your not going to change it. You either use them, or go the FedEx/UPS route.
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I agree..so much whining over what= .90c or so?

No one forces anyone to use the PO..you can always drive your knife to its next destination..at least you want have to worry about tracking loll.
 
Whatever.
As OP, I've stated more than once that the fuel increase isn't my only annoyance, it's also the fact that the Priority service occasionally takes longer than first class mail to arrive.
I'd have no gripe with a price increase if the Priority service were more consistent.
I feel like if I pay extra for 2 day delivery, and it takes 5 days, it would be nice to be able to get a refund for the difference between First Class and Priority mail.

If you go to a restaurant and order nice IPA and they bring you a Coors Light, are you going to drink it and pay the higher price?

Some folks have luckily had consistently better results with USPS than I have in the last 6 or so months.
If I were in your shoes I'd probably be fine with a fee increase.
Why is it so difficult to look at it from my perspective as someone who's not consistently received the benefit of paying the extra cost for faster delivery?
Why does the fact that my opinion may differ from yours automatically = whining?
 
I won't even touch UPS or FedEx. Every time I have had to ship a knife (or anything for that matter), I use the USPS small flat rate boxes. They provide the free box, the boxes are well made and will hold (almost) anything I need to ship. As stated, the increase is <$1 and it is still cheaper than me getting in my car to hand deliver my packages on my own :D
 
Jsega51 said:
Well Cray, I'd rather pay an extra $1 each time I mail a package out then pay an extra $40 at the pump each week haha. I do understand there are probably variables which we can't see or access the information to. Oh well, nothing gets cheaper as we all get older I guess!
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Very true. I could not believe it when I went to the pump yesterday. $2.05!
 
Well, if the fuel prices have gone down and USPS prices have gone up a little, perhaps they will only lose $3 or 4 billion in 2016 instead of $5.1 billion like in 2015. They lost $1.5 billion in 2Q 2105 alone before the fuel prices started coming down.
 
arskrg said:
If you go to a restaurant and order nice IPA and they bring you a Coors Light, are you going to drink it and pay the higher price?
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Well, if it was the only place to get a beer, I might have to :D Just like this price increase. Until the price and service are similar to UPS or FEDEX I will still use USPS. I'll have to. USPS costs less and is quicker in my experience. We have a great UPS carrier here but the FEDEX people are idiots in my area for some reason. The only real failures I have had with USPS were because of my local carrier who is no longer on my route thank goodness. He was truly a lazy grump.

I don't think you are whining. Just like most things different people in different places have different experiences.
 
neffarious said:
LOL you're getting taken. It was $1.72 here
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I drove up and down the east coast a couple times in 2015. It was amazing to see the price differences in fuel. PA was about in the middle. New England the highest. Florida was the lowest.
 
arskrg said:
If you go to a restaurant and order nice IPA and they bring you a Coors Light, are you going to drink it and pay the higher price?

Why does the fact that my opinion may differ from yours automatically = whining?
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^^^
If I may, I would like take a shot at answering these two questions.

Let's start with the beer analogy (excellent choice in hypotheticals btw). I actually did visit my favorite restaurant late yesterday afternoon (right after a long surf session). I ordered a nice 20 oz. glass of Ballast Point Sculpin, :very_drunk: to go with my meal. Had they mistakenly brought me a Coors Light instead....I would've called 911. :bull_head:

On a serious note: I'd be willing to bet that if the few of the sanctimonious commenter's here, had any idea, or actual real life experiences running a business (let alone one the size of USPS), they wouldn't be making such ignorant statements. :bi_polo: There will always be the :miserable: "KNOW IT ALL" :moon: types- thank goodness for the Mod's! :bee:

On topic: I've shipped several hundred packages via USPS. :onthego: I've never had a problem (a few delays but no serious problems). They get the job done, & IMO, there isn't any competition from the other carrier's- price wise.:adoration:
 
craytab said:
...We have a great UPS carrier here but the FEDEX people are idiots in my area for some reason. The only real failures I have had with USPS were because of my local carrier who is no longer on my route thank goodness. He was truly a lazy grump...
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Craytab brings up a great point. All of the three carrier suffer from great inconsistency in service between offices. The USPS for my home is awesome. The USPS for my business is terrible. It is so bad that I have zero business mail shipped there and have all my business correspondences go through a private PO box or my home. There are 12 other businesses in my building, and all of the ones with whom I have spoken have similarly poor experiences with our local USPS office. Complaints to the office and higher management seem to fall on deaf ears.

Regarding the price increase, I am not too concerned. USPS is still cheaper than their competition and, with many notable exceptions, a more convenient option.
 
arskrg said:
Whatever.
As OP, I've stated more than once that the fuel increase isn't my only annoyance, it's also the fact that the Priority service occasionally takes longer than first class mail to arrive.
I'd have no gripe with a price increase if the Priority service were more consistent.
I feel like if I pay extra for 2 day delivery, and it takes 5 days, it would be nice to be able to get a refund for the difference between First Class and Priority mail.

If you go to a restaurant and order nice IPA and they bring you a Coors Light, are you going to drink it and pay the higher price?

Some folks have luckily had consistently better results with USPS than I have in the last 6 or so months.
If I were in your shoes I'd probably be fine with a fee increase.
Why is it so difficult to look at it from my perspective as someone who's not consistently received the benefit of paying the extra cost for faster delivery?
Why does the fact that my opinion may differ from yours automatically = whining?
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What you fail to understand is that Priority in NOT a 2 day service, it's ONLY and estimate. You are basically getting $50 of insurance, that's all. If you want a guarantee, use Priority Express. If you look at your register receipt it states "Expected Delivery Day". You are not paying for something that you are not receiving.
 
Personal experience colors a lot of our attitudes. I've lived here since 1997 and have gotten consistently reliable service from USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

Critiquing USPS prices by evaluating fuel costs is limiting yourr information. Finance is much more complex. People sneer that USPS is so incompetent theyre goin bankrupt. They are not. They have been "taxed" though. Periodically, the Federal government milks them to help with the budget.

Also refused to allow equipment upgrades. Ever complain about tracking? At one time, the government blocked automation. When did we get to replace the fleet of little white trucks? The current financial crunch started with Federal mandates to pre-pay retirement costs. Including for projected staffing that hadn't been hired yet.
 
And cost of living goes up every year, food prices go up every year.. shipping prices have been static for years... Time for the USPS to try to stay in the game and pay their bills. Cost of power isn't going down...

And hey, use someone else if you don't like it.. Or just delivery it yourself.

Everyone seems to want a free ride... Pay up.

I'm happy to pay for the service at the new price.
 
I don't think anyone would complain if products/services cost is increased equivalent to the what national inflation rates are. People are outspoken and voice their opinions when things are increased far beyond inflation rates. In my opinion this is a prime example. However, as many have said, they are still the cheapest, and fairly reliable. What other choice is there? None.
 
Something tells me that USPS uses futures to secure a price for the gas they are burning; hence, in the short term, volatilities in crude oil pricing do not affect them in the same way as they do your average household.
 
You've also got to look at an increase in delivery points from 144.3 million to 153.9 million and a decrease in mail volume from 212 billion pieces to 155 billion pieces. Since delivery to a particular location is essentially of a fixed cost that has to be divided over the total # of pieces delivered-- fixed costs go up, number of revenue transactions decreases... where does this lead?
 
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