is not the Simpsons, Eternal stamps etc, the problem is that so far the administration are a whole bunch of MORONS THAT HAVE DRIVEN THE SYSTEM TO A TOTAL BANKRUPTCY, who's fault? Themselves! and no one else! Each one of us must follow your very own feelings. In my case, I buy a booklet of the FOREVER STAMPS every time I go to the PO and ONE and only ONE stamps or set of the few Commemoratives. I am not propossing a rule, I am just sayin what I am doing and will continue to do also we use the computer more and more in order to make our payments, etc. Philatelically yours, LuisM Sefardisafran APS # 104143
The other problem with the USPS is that first class lettermail volume is down to a trickle. E-mail is rapdily replacing it.
Also management doesn't truly appreciate the collecting community who purchase stamps (income to USPS) and demand no service from them. (USPS doesn't have to provide a service by delivering mail for those stamps purchased.)
I partially agree with Louis, and I fully agree with Steve on both counts.
The current postal administration, who I do not love, inherited or were handed decisions that affect the business model.
The biggest was USPOD's decision to essentially concede overnight package delivery to UPS and FedX. If you have to show up at someone's door tomorrow, you might as well deliver the $25 package as well as the 44c letter. For whatever reason, they chose NOT to compete; in fact, their decisons to close ever more locations dries that up further and further. It doesn't really matter, that customer base is long gone, but it was a huge profit center they let evaporate.
The corrollary of this is the junk mail and 2nd class magazines, all of which are delivered at huge discounts, none of which UPS or FedX has to carry.
They're also carrying their own union costs PLUS those related to pensions incurred by their workers prior to joining USPS when they were part of DoD.
The stamps sold to collectors really is a minor thing, but it's silly to kill that for no good reason. Coil collecting just shut down because of their decisions on PNCs; no need for that. And if they were really -- i mean really -- concerned about production costs, they'd eliminate a couple of issues yearly to cover the cost of the water soluable layers. I mean, think about it, they printed 4 different series of the 25c eagle pre-sort coils, only 2 of which have ever been used. Eliminate a couple of the various commemoratives each year; they've already demonstrated that they don't need as many as they issue by slowing down the issuance of the flag of our nation series as a cost-cutting measure. Why not more? And consolidate all those durn flag definitives: you don't need 8 varieties of them.
And Steve is completely correct, first class mail is going away and there's nothing the smartest guys in the world can do about it.
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
carrier pigeons, guys, carrier pigeons!!! And mark my words, it'll be horses that will take to the roads in the future. 40 miles on a bale of hay!! Dan
Support the Hobby -- Join the American Philatelic Society 13 Aug 2009 11:56:11am
re: 13 oz rule and other postal issues
My pet peeve concerning inefficiencies and waste in the US postal service is the 13 oz rule. Established in the aftermath of 9/11 it disallows mailing of items heavier than 13 oz by dropping them into mailboxes or by having them picked up from your local carriers.
I hope everybody feels a lot safer because of this rule. A very questionable increase in public safety comes with an enormous economic price tag. Unnecessary trips to the post offices. Millions of productive working hours wasted waiting in PO lines. If economists would make a computation of the cost to the economy, similar to computations being made for the cost of traffic congestion, I am sure it would be staggering.
Of course we as collectors can also decry the further reduction in the use of stamps as mailing at the PO invariably means use of label franking. I put stamps on my 13oz+ mail which generally arrives either uncancelled, with pencil cancel, or if I get them to hand cancel the stamps, it is with a red ink circular postmark that does not show on stamps with dark background and has a tendency to wash off anyway.
BTW -- collectors of auxiliary markings -- put a heavier than 13 oz package in your mail box for pick up; it will be returned to you with some great markings and labels.
Post deleted by Bob Ingraham as off-topic to this discussion. But I'm still irritated by stupid rules which make life more difficult while doing little or nothing to decrease the threat of terrorism!
Support the Hobby -- Join the American Philatelic Society 13 Aug 2009 01:36:31pm
re: 13 oz rule and other postal issues
I am sorry, Bob, it really sounds more like an off-topic rant then it needed to be. I concede, though, that I am maybe in the wrong thread. I believe there was another very simlar one going recently talking about the deficit of the USPS and the ever incresing postage rates.
The postal service implications are the cost of separating 13oz+ mail from the general collection. There still must be tons, even though all collection boxes have warning labels these days. It used to be 16oz, but they reduced it to 13oz to make us all safer. Like I said, they have it down and you will get your occasional package swiftly returned with labels advizing you to never do it again. So you patiently have to wait in line at the PO to have a "$0.00" franking label affixed to your already stamped and ready to go package to prove that it has been mailed from a post office. This certainly wastes the customer's time; but more importantly in this context it is a total waste of USPS human resources -- in my opinion. I really don't see how this rule accomplishes anything but serious inconveniencing of customers and waste of dollars in postal operations.
My favorite with the 13 ounce rule was a package I had mailed to go about 35 miles from NYC. The 13 ounce rule is intended to protect airplanes. the return address was my own (i live 100 miles from nyc). I figured the USPS would never fly 35 miles, so i thought i was exempt. Apparently not. the USPS sent the package to my home, 100 miles away rather than actually ship it 35 miles.
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
