# USPS - No more Saturday mail?



## pacanis (Feb 6, 2013)

Am I understanding this correctly?
There is to be no more mail delivery (in the US) on Saturdays, but they are still going to be out delivering packages?
Postal Service to stop delivering mail on Saturdays

I'd rather they take a day in the middle of the week off.


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## Zhizara (Feb 6, 2013)

That makes me think that our mail carriers are going to lose a day's work.  I hope not.

I don't get a lot of mail, so that doesn't impact me, but am glad to hear my packages (which I do wait impatiently for) will still be coming.


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## Alix (Feb 6, 2013)

I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?


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## Zhizara (Feb 6, 2013)

Alix said:


> I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?



You don't?  What's your mail service like, Alix?


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## buckytom (Feb 6, 2013)

from what i've heard, they start delivering mail to people whose names begin with the letter "a", but it gets so confusing after that they have to start over and go slower.

sorry, alix. couldn't help it, eh?


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## Zhizara (Feb 6, 2013)

No wonder I don't get mail on the weekend.


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## Alix (Feb 6, 2013)

We've never had weekend delivery. Most new homes don't have door to door service anymore, they have "superboxes" so you have to go pick up your mail. It is not very predictable either. I had a package arrive from Ontario (1864 miles) 2 days after it was sent, and a card from Calgary (186 miles) a week after it was sent. It is ridiculously expensive to send things via mail. Its worth it to use Purolator or FedEx to get it there quickly at roughly the same price or less.


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## Zhizara (Feb 6, 2013)

That's terrible, Alix.  We have a wonderful mail service here.  I'd think that you would too.

I like it that if I order something online, it is always either delivered to my mailbox or to my door within a couple of weeks.

Sorry.


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## pacanis (Feb 6, 2013)

Alix said:


> I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?


 
I have indeed become spoiled with the post office delivering packages on Saturdays now. They have really stepped up their game in this regards.
I don't understand why they are going to do one and not the other though. Are they really going to have someone come in to deliver 6 packages that might be on their route without delivering any mail? That part doesn't make any sense to me.


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## forty_caliber (Feb 6, 2013)

I'm sure that manhours and mileage are the big reasons behind the change.

They can't stop delivering packages on Saturday because the are contracted with UPS and FEDEX to deliver for them.  That happens quite a bit in the greater Houston area anyway.

.40


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## Zhizara (Feb 6, 2013)

I'd think that with the increased competition for delivery $ that the PO would increase their coverage.

We want our stuff, and we want it as now as possible (instant gratifation).

Wouldn't it be more profitable for them to give us more, better service?


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## pacanis (Feb 6, 2013)

It happens here, too, .40. When tracking a package for UPS I will see the scheduled delivery date and half the time it's the mailman bringing it.


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## Addie (Feb 6, 2013)

At one time we used to get two deliveries a day. 

There will be jobs lost. Not every house gets a package delivered every day. Almost every home gets mail, even if it is junk mail. Less overtime. FedEx rates have gone up and up. And UPS has followed suit, but more slowly. The USPS is the least expensive way to ship. Thus their package delivery has increased. With e-mails recognized as a legal document by the courts, less first class mail is being sent when an e-mail will do. Unfortunately and sadly, e-mails are an acceptable means of communications including invitations. Even to weddings. Whatever happened to the written thank you note?


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## forty_caliber (Feb 6, 2013)

Addie said:


> At one time we used to get two deliveries a day.
> 
> There will be jobs lost. Not every house gets a package delivered every day. Almost every home gets mail, even if it is junk mail. Less overtime. FedEx rates have gone up and up. And UPS has followed suit, but more slowly. The USPS is the least expensive way to ship. Thus their package delivery has increased. With e-mails recognized as a legal document by the courts, less first class mail is being sent when an e-mail will do. Unfortunately and sadly, e-mails are an acceptable means of communications including invitations. Even to weddings. Whatever happened to the written thank you note?



The post office failed to keep up with the times, to innovate, and are paying the price.  We've been calling it "Snail Mail" for years.  

.40


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## Cerise (Feb 6, 2013)

The price of postage (stamps) went up again, as well. I wouldn't mind if the delivery days were cut down to five - less dumping of junk mail & a crammed mailbox. As I understand it, the cut was made, in part, due to a suffering retirement plan. Perhaps, they could change to another plan, rather than pass the cost along to the consumer & cut their service.


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## MrsLMB (Feb 6, 2013)

Not having Saturday mail delivery is a good idea.  

The packages will still be delivered.  

Package only delivery will be done by fewer people and so the payroll will shrink.  

I would not be surprised if that is removed in time also.

Reality is that so many people are doing their communicating and purchasing and bill paying online that it has really cut into the profitability of the USPS.

Some employees of the USPS will have their hours cut back but so has most of America.  I know several people who work for USPS and believe me, they are not hurting in the $ department.

People will survive not getting mail on Saturdays and Sundays.  

Now you have a reason to look forward to Mondays !!


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## CharlieD (Feb 6, 2013)

I do not mind at all. I am usually not home Saturdays and it seems to me that all the missing mail, if it is missing, happens on Saturday. Plus, why should poor mail people work on Saturday, when we are all of, if you work regular shedule? Let them have weekend with their families too.


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## roadfix (Feb 6, 2013)

It seems like they've gotten rid of 90% of corner mail boxes around here in recent years and now mail delivery itself has been very unpredictable and erratic.  We don't even get mail delivery at all quite often during the week.  No sign of mail delivery vehicle in the whole neighborhood.
Often times I'll have several pieces of stamped mail, mostly bills to pay, in my possession for a couple of days simply because I don't pass close to a mail box or see the mail man to hand him the outgoing mail.
Having said that, we still have the most efficient and the cheapest mail delivery system on this planet.


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## jennyema (Feb 6, 2013)

forty_caliber said:


> The post office failed to keep up with the times, to innovate, and are paying the price. We've been calling it "Snail Mail" for years.
> 
> .40


 

The post office's problem is not failing to keep up with the times. 
They've figured out how to make money and be self-sufficient.

Its the strange mandate that their retirement benefits be pre-funded that's sending them into bankruptcy.


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## jabbur (Feb 6, 2013)

Sometime back in the early 70's Congress changed the way the USPS was structured and started requiring them to be revenue neutral.  They must pay their own way but have to have approval from Congress to do much of anything.  When other businesses were restructuring in the 90's to become more efficient, the PO was restricted by Congress in how much change they could make.  It is a terrible hybrid of government agency and private business and that is what is making it unprofitable (besides the benefits for union workers).


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## Claire (Feb 6, 2013)

I'm among those who believe the Saturday no mail thing is just fine.  As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind it if they went to Mon-Weds-Fri deliveries, and those who need more than that can contract with USPS and pay for it.

The exceptions are when patrons pay for overnight delivery.  It should be just that.


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 6, 2013)

Doesn't bother me in the least bit. I pay all my bills online and have opted for electronic communications with most of the companies I do business with (all of which have a vested interest in saving a stamp, as well), so about the only thing I still get via USPS is junk. 

Oh, and birthday/Christmas cards. I do like those.

As we become more and more a tech driven society, I see could eventually see government-run mail delivery fade away and become a thing of the past, much like the pony express. The few physical deliveries that are needed could easily be handled by private companies like UPS or FedEx.

I guess it would also mean that in the future there will also be fewer cases of "going postal"?


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## Addie (Feb 6, 2013)

Cerise said:


> The price of postage (stamps) went up again, as well. I wouldn't mind if the delivery days were cut down to five - less dumping of junk mail & a crammed mailbox. As I understand it, the cut was made, in part, due to a suffering retirement plan. Perhaps, they could change to another plan, rather than pass the cost along to the consumer & cut their service.


 
Even though the USPS is not a Federal department, they employees are under the Federal Retirement plan. Very lucrative. They will never give that up. That is the main reason so many stay on the job. That and the pay is very substantial.


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## jennyema (Feb 6, 2013)

Cerise said:


> The price of postage (stamps) went up again, as well. I wouldn't mind if the delivery days were cut down to five - less dumping of junk mail & a crammed mailbox. As I understand it, the cut was made, in part, due to a suffering retirement plan. Perhaps, they could change to another plan, rather than pass the cost along to the consumer & cut their service.


 
Since 2006 the USPS has been required to pre-fund their retiree health plan obligations.  It's a noose around their neck.


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## Zhizara (Feb 6, 2013)

So long as they don't wait until Saturday to deliver my packages, I'm all for it.


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## CWS4322 (Feb 6, 2013)

I suspect this is a continuation of the 2012 decision to reduce hours of operation at rural post offices (some 3700 across the US). The decision was to reduce the hours of operation (and cut a number of full-timers to part-timers, which meant they lost their benefits). I know the little PO where my parents live in Northern Minnesota is only open a couple of hours a day now.


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## pacanis (Feb 6, 2013)

My Saturday person is a part-timer. At least as far as I know. Maybe she fills in at other PO's during the week. Maybe for people taking vacations or something. 
I'm not sure if this will mean the regular weekday guy will deliver the packages on Saturday, increasing his hours which will surely be overtime, or the part-time person will have their Saturday hours reduced.


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## bakechef (Feb 7, 2013)

I had a co-worker who's wife was a mail carrier.  That job is grueling, the delivery is the easy part, sorting all that mail into hundreds of bundles every day was the hard part (the bundles that end up in your box are still done by hand).  Someone else did it on Saturdays, so that might be why saturday delivery is erratic for a lot of folks, a one day a week "fill in" just doesn't have the speed or the practice to do this job well.

With that said, I won't miss Saturday delivery, it's 95 percent junk mail anyway, I've gone paperless, and pay everything online.  We only check the box once a week anyway.


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## buckytom (Feb 7, 2013)

i hope the cutback doesn't affect our mail man, carlos. he's a great guy, almost like a distant cousin to our family. but he does our saturday delivery and has monday off. my son used to go for "ride alongs" down our block to help carlos deliver mail when he was 3 or 4 years old.


and just to continue to be a wise guy this morning, there'll be ripple effects in the economy that i don't think are being considered. the market for winter sales of shorts and knee high socks will dry up...


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## Claire (Feb 7, 2013)

I buy a lot of my purchases from catalogs (small town, limited shopping) and most come UPS.  But nothing that can't wait a day or two.  Oh, yes, my husbands Rx.  They send them out so early that we could set up a black market drug store, so that isn't affected.  When I was in the service, I had to take the postal service exam.  If all the delivery people (we call ours the letter lady, and being a small town know her pretty well) still have to take the exam I took, it isn't for dummies.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2013)

I wish my Saturday person would replace my weekday person. The weekday guy is constantly mixing up peoples' mail, delivering to the wrong address and such. And at least once every two months I have a bill come up missing, along with other necessary mail. Without fail. 
I mentioned this to a friend who used to have his mail delivered by the same guy. He told me that one of his old neighbors used to go out of town all the time and not have his mail stopped. When the neighbor's mailbox became full the mailman would start putting the neighbor's mail in my friend's box. He confronted him about it, but he kept right on doing it. Now that doesn't seem right.

I think there comes a time when experience does not outweigh a younger set of eyes or way of thinking.


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## Addie (Feb 7, 2013)

The mail trucks have GPS in them and the main office knows where the mailman is all the time and how many times he moves his truck. We have more than forty mailboxes here for this building. The first thing the mailman does when he opens the three doors is take a bar code reading that goes right back to the office. He is then timed for how long it takes him to deliver all the mail here. He is allotted just so much time. When he has packages, he is supposed to deliver them right to their door. No matter what floor they are on. He doesn't though. And there are a lot of prescriptions that are left on the shelf. When I see them I will deliver them myself. I am so tempted to call his office and report him. But I hate to get someone in trouble or cause him to lose his job. Everyone in the building will deliver the packages if they see them on the shelf. Maybe that is what the problem is. He knows we will take care of the packages. I usually get to do it because I have my scooter and it is easier for me to do it. No walking the long corridors. 

I too have gone paperless and I love it. Only junk mail for me and once in a great while, something from Winthrop. Like a notice for a meeting or the results of my recent blood work.


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## msmofet (Feb 7, 2013)

Steve Kroll said:


> I guess it would also mean that in the future there will also be fewer cases of "going postal"?


They will be "Fed-Ups"?


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 7, 2013)

msmofet said:


> They will be "Fed-Ups"?


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## kleenex (Feb 7, 2013)

The USPS is in some major problems....

They are projected to continue loosing mail volume through 2020.

In March they are expected to only have 4 days worth of cash on hand to pay expenses.

They have borrowed 15 billion bucks which is the federal government limit.

This is only one of many measures they have to take or the USPS fully goes under.  Congress has to pass a bill that will allow them to have more control over the finances of the company.

Gutting Saturday delivery of mail is not going to be that bad of problem, but companies like Netflix could see some pain from this move. 

Gutting Saturday mail service should have been done years ago.

 If they had to gut something like Thursday mail delivery major problems could occur.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2013)

Good point! Netflix isn't going to like this, nor will their customers.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2013)

But on second thought, Netflix will probably change their envelope to some sort of package, barely raising the price of their DVD subscriptions. If that's possible...


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## kleenex (Feb 7, 2013)

pacanis said:


> But on second thought, Netflix will probably change their envelope to some sort of package, barely raising the price of their DVD subscriptions. If that's possible...



Not possible.  A package, even the cheapest package would be too expensive for Netflix even in bulk for them.


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## pacanis (Feb 7, 2013)

kleenex said:


> Not possible. A package, even the cheapest package would be too expensive for Netflix even in bulk for them.


 
I get DVD spam/junkmail in the mail every so often. The box is DVD or CD ROM size. Isn't that a package? It can't be that expensive to mail in bulk, because like I said, it's junk mail offering something if you keep the DVD or something like that.


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## MostlyWater (Feb 7, 2013)

My health insurance only covers the maintenance medications if I get them via the  mail.  As it is, they are kind of slow.  I do not want to run out like I did with Hurricane Sandy.


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## buckytom (Feb 7, 2013)

is it only me that thinks it's pretty incredible to put a few pages in an envelope, scribble someone's name and roughly approximate address on it, and it'll travel thousands of miles to get to that person's house within a week or two for about the cost of about a cup of water?


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## bakechef (Feb 7, 2013)

buckytom said:


> is it only me that thinks it's pretty incredible to put a few pages in an envelope, scribble someone's name and roughly approximate address on it, and it'll travel thousands of miles to get to that person's house within a week or two for about the cost of about a cup of water?



Nope, it's not only you.  I find that a pretty amazing feat as well.

I found the postal service to actually be faster and more reliable this holiday season than UPS, believe it or not.


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## Dawgluver (Feb 7, 2013)

buckytom said:


> is it only me that thinks it's pretty incredible to put a few pages in an envelope, scribble someone's name and roughly approximate address on it, and it'll travel thousands of miles to get to that person's house within a week or two for about the cost of about a cup of water?



We've gotten mail addressed to "Uncle DH and Aunt Dawg "(pseudonyms), no last name, no street address, in our town, in our state.  Got a Christmas card addressed as such just this year.   I have no idea how we got it.   From our grown nieces, who now are also school teachers, though they started sending them that way while they were in high school.  Our mail service here is exceptional, even though we're rural.


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## buckytom (Feb 7, 2013)

i wish you guys could see the usps motto inscribed in stone over the nyc post office on 8th avenue  and 31/33rd streets. it's an impressive sight, much like the lions in front of the nyc library.


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## jennyema (Feb 7, 2013)

buckytom said:


> i wish you guys could see the usps motto inscribed in stone over the nyc post office on 8th avenue  and 31/33rd streets. it's an impressive sight, much like the lions in front of the nyc library.



Impressive indeed.  I see it all the time when I emerge from Penn Station.


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## jennyema (Feb 8, 2013)

The Postal Service is freaking amazing.  They hand deliver your letters thousands of miles away in only a few days and for less than .50!!!


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## msmofet (Feb 8, 2013)

Fri Dec 21, 2012 at 10:11 PM PST

*‘Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night….*

by shortfinalsFollow 

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”. The above quotation is from Herodotus, and is inscribed around the pediment of the New York Post Office building on 8th Avenue, between West 31st and West 33rd Streets, which was erected in 1912.





This imposing piece of architecture, known as the James A Farley Post Office Building, is in Beaux Arts style, and is significant enough to have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the inscription on the building is not, as some suppose it to be, the ‘Post Office oath’ or ‘the Post Office motto’ (the Post Office has neither), it is, actually, a line from the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (c.484 BCE – c.430 BCE), and he was making a comment about a service of mounted couriers, employed by the Persian state under their ruler, Cyrus the Great (c.576 BCE – 530 BCE). The quotation was selected by Mitchell Kendal of the architectural practice McKim Mead and White, who designed the New York Post Office Building.
Back in 1787, the fledgling Republic of the United States of America realized that a collection of small states, strung out along the Eastern Seaboard of the continent of North America, needed strong communications if it was to survive. Under a provision in Article One of the United States Constitution, the Federal Government was authorized to establish a postal system, and designate post roads (indeed, I live not too far from the old Boston Post Road, which linked Boston and New York). The very first Postmaster General of the United States was no less than Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) one of the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution, who had been a postmaster under the British colonial authorities. Until 1971, the Postmaster General was a Cabinet-level position but a re-organization meant that the USPS still remained a Government agency, but had no political role. Until that time, believe it or not, the Postmaster General was ’last in line of succession’ to the Presidency of the United States, should a ‘mass extinction event’ occur involving the President, Vice-President and every other Cabinet member!
Present-day America still needs postal ’delivery to the door’. For the disadvantaged, the poor, or those in remote areas, the US Government must rely on the US Mail (and its 596,000 employees and fleet of nearly 218,000 vehicles of various types) to deliver official notices, voting data, etc. The private delivery services, such as UPS and FedEx, have a growing slice of the US ‘home delivery’ market, but despite this and the financial difficulties it has, the USPS remains a vital organ of the US Government.
Here we can see one of those dedicated mail carriers, bringing in the mail to our condominium building in Massachusetts during a blizzard. It is good to know that the mailman still gets through!

Daily Kos:





http://openbuildings.com/buildings/james-farley-post-office-profile-7471


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## Kylie1969 (Feb 8, 2013)

I agree Alix...that is wonderful that you guys in the US received mail 6 days a week!

We only get mail delivered Monday to Friday here in Oz 



Alix said:


> I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?


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## buckytom (Feb 8, 2013)

kylie, alix is from canada, not the u.s..

to quote robin williams, she lives in the "loft apartment above the really great party"...



(now i'm going to get a crate full of geese in the mail, aren't i?)


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2013)

I thought Kylie was agreeing with Alix's earlier post, that we here in the US are spoiled to be getting our mail six days a week.
Or maybe she doesn't know Alix lives in the Great White North...
I guess it can be read both ways


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## buckytom (Feb 8, 2013)

that's offensive to canadians!



(i have to start turning my phone the other way so i can read a post as a whole statement, lol)


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2013)

Yeah, OK...


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2013)

bakechef said:


> Nope, it's not only you. I find that a pretty amazing feat as well.
> 
> I found the postal service to actually be faster and more reliable this holiday season than UPS, believe it or not.


 
When I have to pay for shipping, I wish the company would give us the option of how we want it shipped. I would pick the USPS every time. At least they deliver on Saturdays and are cheaper than UPS. Also more reliable. I have had UPS lose a couple of packages over the years.


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 8, 2013)

buckytom said:


> is it only me that thinks it's pretty incredible to put a few pages in an envelope, scribble someone's name and roughly approximate address on it, and it'll travel thousands of miles to get to that person's house within a week or two for about the cost of about a cup of water?


I find it even more incredible that I can type out an email, enter multiple recipients, hit send, and within a few seconds people have that message sitting in their inbox.


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## pacanis (Feb 8, 2013)

Addie said:


> When I have to pay for shipping, I wish the company would give us the option of how we want it shipped. I would pick the USPS every time. At least they deliver on Saturdays and are cheaper than UPS. Also more reliable. I have had UPS lose a couple of packages over the years.


 
And they run like the clock! 
I would love to have the shipping option from everybody I do business with. Some places I do and I always request USPS, even though I get rural delivery and he isn't really equipped to handle large packages, at least I know what time it will be arriving.


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2013)

Because our driveway will be cleared tomorrow, we will be one of the few that will receive a mail delivery. 

It has been determined that if it is considered unsafe for a mailman to deliver your mail, dangerous and unrestrained dog, icy or slippery steps, unshoveled sidewalk, etc, he doesn't have to stop at your residence. If you call to complain about not reciving any mail, you will be informed in a very nice voice and will be given the option of going to the post office to pick up your mail. You as a citizen do not have the right to place mail delivery personnel in danger or harms way. A hard lesson a lot of folks had to learn. Also in Boston, you are required to shovel your walkway and steps within so many hours after a snowfall. You are required to provide a pathway from the street to your steps for the mailperson. They should not have to climb over snowbanks.


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2013)

buckytom said:


> that's offensive to canadians!
> 
> 
> 
> (i have to start turning my phone the other way so i can read a post as a whole statement, lol)


 
bt, I know what the first line of your signature translates to, but what does the second one say? I know it is not Veni Jesu, amor mi.


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2013)

Steve Kroll said:


> I find it even more incredible that I can type out an email, enter multiple recipients, hit send, and within a few seconds people have that message sitting in their inbox.


 
But it is not as personable as a hand written note. That tells me that the sender cares.


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## buckytom (Feb 8, 2013)

steve, you can email me a picture of a bottle of your wine, but i'll never know how it tastes. but if you if you _mailed_ me a bottle...

addie, it's irish for "our day will be with us", a slogan for a free irish state. i added it when "downtown abbey" got under my skin one night.


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## buckytom (Feb 8, 2013)

pacanis said:


> Yeah, OK...



lol, no, really. i'm reading "half cocked", to use a gun metaphor, when reading posts in parts.


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2013)

buckytom said:


> steve, you can email me a picture of a bottle of your wine, but i'll never know how it tastes. but if you if you _mailed_ me a bottle...
> 
> addie, it's irish for "our day will be with us", a slogan for a free irish state. i added it when "downtown abbey" got under my skin one night.


 
Thank you bt. I completely understand and have to agree. And I have good news for all. Des Moines holds a *bacon festival!* Watch out Des Moines, a flux of new residents are on the way!


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 8, 2013)

buckytom said:


> steve, you can email me a picture of a bottle of your wine, but i'll never know how it tastes. but if you if you _mailed_ me a bottle...


Au contraire, BT. You just need "USB Wine" and you'll be all set. Now you can get your wine digitally. 

USB Wine, download wine straight from the vineyards ! - YouTube


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## Addie (Feb 8, 2013)

Do you see this blank look on my face? I can't believe what I just watched. Do you have any idea how many snowbound folks would have loved to have this for this weekend? And to think I don't even drink. I think I just may start with this.


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## buckytom (Feb 8, 2013)

lol, steve. fantastique!!!


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## Kylie1969 (Feb 9, 2013)

pacanis said:


> I thought Kylie was agreeing with Alix's earlier post, that we here in the US are spoiled to be getting our mail six days a week.
> Or maybe she doesn't know Alix lives in the Great White North...
> I guess it can be read both ways



Yes, that is how I meant it, I knew Alix was from Canada 

Sorry for the confusion Tom


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## Alix (Feb 9, 2013)

Buckytom, if you look out your window on your commute to work you will see the little feathered babies I've sent to visit you and leave deposits for you to find. Mwa ha ha ha ha! 

Y'all can talk about that loft apartment and the really great party below, but we all know what happens when its cold so long...baby boom! Now THAT'S a party. 

Our stamps are 56¢ and it DEFINITELY takes more than a few days for a letter or package. I wish I could be more definitive but honestly, it is tough to gauge because there is no consistency. I've received a parcel from Katie H take WEEKS to get here and then the one I sent to GB took less than a week. Weird.


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## jharris (Feb 11, 2013)

Doesn't bother me a bit. It seems like a more efficient approach.

Of course the mail carriers union (part of the problem?) is in a tizzy.

http://bostonherald.com/business/bu...s_union_denounces_move_five_day_mail_delivery


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## Addie (Feb 11, 2013)

jharris said:


> Doesn't bother me a bit. It seems like a more efficient approach.
> 
> Of course the mail carriers union (part of the problem?) is in a tizzy.
> 
> Letter carriers union denounces move to five-day mail delivery | Boston Herald


 
The USPS has been telling us for years that they have been operating at a loss. If it was a private business, they wouldn't be reducing their work hours, they would have closed their doors a long time ago. I am all for a five day service.


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## jharris (Feb 11, 2013)

Yes indeed


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## Addie (Feb 11, 2013)

Alix said:


> Buckytom, if you look out your window on your commute to work you will see the little feathered babies I've sent to visit you and leave deposits for you to find. Mwa ha ha ha ha!
> 
> Y'all can talk about that loft apartment and the really great party below, but we all know what happens when its cold so long...baby boom! Now THAT'S a party.
> 
> Our stamps are 56¢ and it DEFINITELY takes more than a few days for a letter or package. I wish I could be more definitive but honestly, it is tough to gauge because there is no consistency. I've received a parcel from Katie H take WEEKS to get here and then the one I sent to GB took less than a week. Weird.


 
And to think we hit the ceiling because our stamps went up to $.42. And we are screaming again because they want to raise them another cent.


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## pacanis (Feb 11, 2013)

I ordered something over the weekend and the vendor offered "free" shipping, but a $6.95 handling charge. Pretty good deal really, since I'm sure the items cost more than that to ship. The neat thing was, he let me choose my preferred way of shipping between the big three. Normally I would have chosen USPS, but since he lost more of my mail Friday, I went with Fedex. They deliver Saturdays and run a normal schedule, even though I'm sure it will take a few days longer than the mail would have.


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## Addie (Feb 11, 2013)

When I worked at Key Bank as Secretary to the Office Manager, one of my duties were to teach the workers how to use Windows Word, and how to use the equipment in the mail room. Three of the machines were for FedEx, UPS, and USPS in weighing and setting the rates. You would be surprised at the special rates big organizations that do a lot of shipping get. Bulk rate is much cheaper than first class rate. Yet they all travel first class. 

I marveled at some of the help they hired. The majority of the office workers had no skills. They depended on the skilled workers like myself to do all the teaching. That way they could pay lower salaries to the unskilled.


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## Andy M. (Feb 11, 2013)

I have no issue with eliminating Saturday delivery.  All we ever get on Saturdays is junk mail.


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## pacanis (Feb 11, 2013)

No Saturday delivery would affect me from a shopping outlook.
I get the town newspaper on Saturdays. In it they advertise the town grocery store's four day special, which starts on Saturday. If I didn't get that paper until Monday I'd only have two days to know what is on sale and if I want to buy it. 
I'm sure there are other ripple effects by not having mail delivery on Saturday, but I'm sure they could be worked around and gotten used to, also.
BTW, these advertisements are in the paper itself, not in their store flyer, so they aren't available inside the store. You need the paper.


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## Zhizara (Feb 11, 2013)

Pac,  have you checked to see if the ad is online at the store's site? 

Rouses, where I sometimes go, only has the flyer in the store, and not mailed out.  I only go there when they have a good sale on meats, so I don't just take a $7 cab ride without having read the flyer first.

I looked them up online, and found their flyer available there.  I can even download it to a PDF file, so it's really large and easy to read.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 11, 2013)

We got our weekly delivery of catalogs today...instead of Saturday.


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## Steve Kroll (Feb 11, 2013)

pacanis said:


> No Saturday delivery would affect me from a shopping outlook.
> I get the town newspaper on Saturdays. In it they advertise the town grocery store's four day special, which starts on Saturday. If I didn't get that paper until Monday I'd only have two days to know what is on sale and if I want to buy it.
> I'm sure there are other ripple effects by not having mail delivery on Saturday, but I'm sure they could be worked around and gotten used to, also.
> BTW, these advertisements are in the paper itself, not in their store flyer, so they aren't available inside the store. You need the paper.


Ripple effects work both ways. Odds are good that if Saturday delivery is eliminated the store will begin running the ads on Friday. Things have a way of working themselves out.


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## taxlady (Feb 11, 2013)

The one thing I find cool about Canada Post is that they have come up with "Perma stamps". I buy a booklet of stamps at today's letter rate and they count as a letter rate even a few years down the road, when letter rate has gone up.


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## GotGarlic (Feb 11, 2013)

taxlady said:


> The one thing I find cool about Canada Post is that they have come up with "Perma stamps". I buy a booklet of stamps at today's letter rate and they count as a letter rate even a few years down the road, when letter rate has gone up.



We have those, too. They're called Forever stamps.


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## taxlady (Feb 11, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> We have those, too. They're called Forever stamps.


Cool.

It took them long enough to figure that out.


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## pacanis (Feb 11, 2013)

Steve Kroll said:


> Ripple effects work both ways. Odds are good that if Saturday delivery is eliminated the store will begin running the ads on Friday. Things have a way of working themselves out.


 
That's exactly why I said this, "I'm sure there are other ripple effects by not having mail delivery on Saturday, but I'm sure they could be worked around and gotten used to, also."

Other business' will have to change the way they operate if Saturday mail delivery is halted. We'll get used to it, but it's still a change that will need adapted to.

Zhiz, the add in the paper is just in the paper, like I said. There is a separate flyer (not available online), but that is for the weekly sales, not for the Sat to Tues sales.
I doubt the local store will go online, but like I said, it's a ripple effect. Maybe they will go online and pass the cost on to us, since the PO will be dropping their services... or have to start print a day early, on their day off.

The post office might see costs cut, but I doubt the consumer will.
 Someone will have to pick up their slack.


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## pacanis (Apr 10, 2013)

Yay 
Congress finally got something right and nixed the PO's plan to stop Saturday delivery 
Whew.


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## jharris (Apr 10, 2013)

I'm disappointed. 

I was looking forward to another day that I wouldn't have to sort through all the junk that gets stuffed into the mail box.

Oh well, it would have only resulted in $2,000,000,000.00 annual savings for the USPS (taxpayers)

Sigh.......


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## Dawgluver (Apr 10, 2013)

I guess I'm OK either way.  I get a lot of Mom's junk mail too.  I do admit that I enjoy the anticipation of checking the mailbox on Saturday, and even if it was stopped, the PO would deliver packages no matter what anyway.  Would have been nice to save the $$.


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

Dont you guys have "No Junk Mail" sign that you can stick onto your letterbox?

We have one and we get no junk mail at all...it is great!


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## Addie (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> Dont you guys have "No Junk Mail" sign that you can stick onto your letterbox?
> 
> We have one and we get no junk mail at all...it is great!


 
No, we have to go through a process of registering with the Post Office and some organization that places our name of a list. The people who send out this junk are supposed to honor it. But most do not. A waste of time.


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## vitauta (Apr 12, 2013)

for a congress ostensibly concerned about a staggering national deficit, and stressing the need for curbing spending in virtually every other area, it is difficult to understand its seeming opposition to attempted cost cutting efforts by a usps that is hemorrhaging  billions of dollars every year.


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## jharris (Apr 12, 2013)

vitauta said:
			
		

> for a congress ostensibly concerned about a staggering national deficit, and stressing the need for curbing spending in virtually every other area, it is difficult to understand its seeming opposition to attempted cost cutting efforts by a usps that is hemorrhaging  billions of dollars every year.



Thank you!


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## Andy M. (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> Dont you guys have "No Junk Mail" sign that you can stick onto your letterbox?
> 
> We have one and we get no junk mail at all...it is great!



A "No Junk Mail" sign would annoy the mail carrier.  They would have to push it out of the way to put your junk mail into the mailbox.


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## Addie (Apr 12, 2013)

I have no problem with no Saturday delivery. Folks no longer write little notes of 'I am thinking of you' anymore. They send an email. They don't receive bills anymore. They have gone paperless. No Christmas cards. Send an Ecard. Same with birthday cards. If you aren't sending an email, then you are on Facebook talking to your friends. Quicker than picking up a phone and actually talking to them. You don't need to be sitting at your desk anymore to do all these things. You have a smart phone. No more mailing you taxes in. Do it all on the computer. 

I have a book of stamps in my wallet that has been there for more than a year. Only three are missing. When I make a purchase, no cash, I swipe my debit card. I only write one check a month. The rent check. A book of checks last me longer than the stamps. The only thing I mail might be a package. And if I use their boxes, I already know the cost. I cram the goods into the smallest box. No wonder the USPS is broke and failing. I too am part of the problem.


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## Addie (Apr 12, 2013)

Andy M. said:


> A "No Junk Mail" sign would annoy the mail carrier. They would have to push it out of the way to put your junk mail into the mailbox.


 
We have forty plus mailboxes. Depending on who delivers the mail, some of them just leave a pile of the junk mail on the shelf. Other mail folks put them in the individual boxes. Then when the residents come to get their mail, all the junk mail ends up on the shelf anyway. 

I am sick of getting junk mail from Comcast everyday.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> Dont you guys have "No Junk Mail" sign that you can stick onto your letterbox?
> 
> We have one and we get no junk mail at all...it is great!



I'm not sure I'd want the mail carrier deciding what's junk and what's not.


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## Cerise (Apr 12, 2013)

I'm a little disappointed too.  Sometimes, when I'm expecting a package, I feel like I have to be "Tied" to the house on the weekend.  Depending on the carrier, the package is either crammed in the mailbox with the junk mail, or brought to my door w/ the junk mail.

Re the junk mail... If I understood my carrier correctly, they love junk mail, & get paid to haul & deliver it.


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## DaveSoMD (Apr 12, 2013)

Just read that this may not be happening now. Congress needed to vote to lift a ban on 5-day only delivery and they failed to do so.  Unless the ban is lifted the post office will continue to deliver mail on Saturdays.


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## bakechef (Apr 12, 2013)

I've noticed a very big improvement in USPS package delivery.  In my experience 2-3 day priority is just that.  I'm usually very happy to see something shipped USPS.  I mailed a return to California on a Tuesday from NC, it arrived on Thursday.  They shipped the replacement from their NJ warehouse via UPS, it took 6 buisness days and two weekend days to arrive.  That's a pretty poor delivery time considering it was only a few states away.


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

Andy M. said:


> A "No Junk Mail" sign would annoy the mail carrier.  They would have to push it out of the way to put your junk mail into the mailbox.



You dont have the sign sticking "over" the slot of the letterbox...you place the sticker above or below the slot

There are some posties that still ignore the sign, but the majority dont ignore it and you do not get the junk


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> I'm not sure I'd want the mail carrier deciding what's junk and what's not.



GG, the junk mail that we get here in Australia is things like supermarket pamphlets, pizza coupons, department store catalogues, things like that!

What do you class as junk mail over there?


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## Dawgluver (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> GG, the junk mail that we get here in Australia is things like supermarket pamphlets, pizza coupons, department store catalogues, things like that!
> 
> What do you class as junk mail over there?



Kylie, here's an example:  I now get Mom's mail, which consists of life insurance offers (she's dead), credit card offers, numerous catalogs, Publishers Clearinghouse junk,  little plastic catalog packages that Mom subscribed to.  I wouldn't want the PO to determine what is junk and what's not, but at the same time, I would love to not have to rip out and shred everything with name and address on it.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> GG, the junk mail that we get here in Australia is things like supermarket pamphlets, pizza coupons, department store catalogues, things like that!
> 
> What do you class as junk mail over there?



Depends on who you ask. Some people consider credit card offers, insurance offers, and free samples to be junk. Some companies you already do business with send related stuff they think you might be interested in.


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

Dawgluver said:


> Kylie, here's an example:  I now get Mom's mail, which consists of life insurance offers (she's dead), credit card offers, numerous catalogs, Publishers Clearinghouse junk,  little plastic catalog packages that Mom subscribed to.  I wouldn't want the PO to determine what is junk and what's not, but at the same time, I would love to not have to rip out and shred everything with name and address on it.



DL. on all those you should put "return to sender" on them, see if that helps


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> Depends on who you ask. Some people consider credit card offers, insurance offers, and free samples to be junk. Some companies you already do business with send related stuff they think you might be interested in.



With the companies you already do business with...they usually have an option where you say no to receiving third party related mail or mail from that very company for different offers etc


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## Dawgluver (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> DL. on all those you should put "return to sender" on them, see if that helps



Might try that!  Thanks Kylie, we're looking like a version of "Hoarders" here with all the paper stuff.  Had to laugh at all the solicitations and surveys asking Mom how she liked her stay at the hospital....


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

Your very welcome DL 

There are a lot of mixed emotions when you receive letters like that when a loved one has died...I recall when my dad died and we were getting all this mail for him

We would write return to sender on everything and put it in a mailbox, it did finally all stop


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## pacanis (Apr 12, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> With the companies you already do business with...they usually have an option where you say no to receiving third party related mail or mail from that very company for different offers etc


 
They do? Is that where you live or where all the rest of us live? BTW, Good _Evening_ Everybody! 
Seriously, Kylie, you have to realize things might be done just a little differently where you live. Junk mail is big over here. It's a form of advertising after all. You can sign up over here to be exluded (somewhat), but it doesn't always work. And the mail carrier (postie) sorts it all out and delivers it. He's not going to want to carry it back with him. It's one of those things that needs stopped at the source. And that ain't happning.


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 12, 2013)

Over here...we get lots of junk mail in the form of pamphlets etc that is not addressed to us or anyone for that matter...so our no junk mail sign stops that form of it 

Yes, the option to "not" receive third party related mail happens here, not sure about anywhere else


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## GotGarlic (Apr 13, 2013)

Kylie1969 said:


> With the companies you already do business with...they usually have an option where you say no to receiving third party related mail or mail from that very company for different offers etc



I know. I'm just saying that some people consider it junk and some don't. I would not want to mail carrier to make that decision.


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## Addie (Apr 13, 2013)

bakechef said:


> I've noticed a very big improvement in USPS package delivery. In my experience 2-3 day priority is just that. I'm usually very happy to see something shipped USPS. I mailed a return to California on a Tuesday from NC, it arrived on Thursday. They shipped the replacement from their NJ warehouse via UPS, it took 6 buisness days and two weekend days to arrive. That's a pretty poor delivery time considering it was only a few states away.


 
A very well hidden secret. USPS, UPS and FedEx will ship via air if there is room even when ground shipping only has been paid for. A family member used to work at the airport for UPS.


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## bakechef (Apr 13, 2013)

Addie said:


> A very well hidden secret. USPS, UPS and FedEx will ship via air if there is room even when ground shipping only has been paid for. A family member used to work at the airport for UPS.



I have a customer that works for USPS that told me about that.  Your package is likely to go on a ups plane, since the usps pays them a flat rate, during the holidays, when shipping is very busy, only priority will be shipped air.


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## Kylie1969 (Apr 13, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> I know. I'm just saying that some people consider it junk and some don't. I would not want to mail carrier to make that decision.



Got ya


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