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I think a better solution would be to lower the outrageous prices charged by the USPS to us. If you want to send a 1oz 'package' to, for example, France, it wi
by pravda 9y ago
I think a better solution would be to lower the outrageous prices charged by the USPS to us.
If you want to send a 1oz 'package' to, for example, France, it will cost $13.50. It used to cost closer to $3.40, and then they doubled it overnight to $7, and now it is freakishly high.
Why is this? Because the USPS has a monopoly and is allowed to rob us!
- yequalsx 9y agoThe Postal Service can’t just raise prices as it sees fit. It needs approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission. Also they’ve had to pre-pay something like 30 years of retiree health benefits. You can send packages to France without using the USPS.
- robbiemitchell 9y agoYou can’t use Fedex or UPS or DHL?
- ac29 9y agoInternational shipment of small parcels is very expensive via those carriers. Probably on the order of $50-100 for a small box.
- pulisse 9y agoProving the ridiculousness of the claim that the USPS is a monopoly that extorts its customers.
- thaumasiotes 9y agoSince the USPS has a legal monopoly on shipping below the price floor that applies to other carriers... that claim would appear to be completely correct?
- thaumasiotes 9y agoSure you can, but my understanding is that all non-USPS postal services must obey a legally mandated price floor, which prevents them from competing with USPS on cost.
- wutbrodo 9y agoIf I'm not mistaken you have this backwards. USPS is the one subject to a price floor that's tied in some way to cost, since they don't have the profitability constraints that UPS/Fedex do. EDIT: Never mind, there are apparently price floors enforced on both USPS and private postal companies.
- pulisse 9y agoBecause the USPS has a monopoly and is allowed to rob us! What monopoly? There are a number of private carriers providing international service; the USPS has no special market power. (Indeed, it's at a competitive disadvantage, because it's legally mandated to provide service to all domestic addresses, including remote ones that private carriers can refuse to serve.)
- mobilefriendly 9y agoIt is illegal for private delivery companies to deliver to mailboxes. Also, FedEx and UPS have universal delivery that EXCEEDS the U.S.P.S. For example, I live on a rural road and the postal service won't deliver to my home, but FedEx and UPS do regularly.
- hawski 9y agoCan one make a separate mailbox dedicated to private delivery companies? Would it be legal for them to use it?
- talmand 9y agoYes; just get a lockbox to put near your door and clearly label it as for packages. The idea of a mailbox and the laws regarding it tend to be rather specific. For instance, stealing from a mailbox is a federal matter but stealing packages from your doorstep is a local police matter.
- vageli 9y agoSure you can. Newspapers do this in rural areas.
- talmand 9y agoThe postal service won't deliver mail to your mailbox or just packages to your door? I can see they see a difference but if they deliver mail to your box then I fail to see why they would refuse a package to your door.
- Scoundreller 9y agoIt a nutshell, that's why I've stopped buying American* and just wait patiently for the 4-week free shipping from China. *I'm Canadian.
- tehwebguy 9y agoDoes the Canadian USPS equivalent have a similar treaty with China?
- rahimnathwani 9y agoPostal rates aren't (in most cases) determined by bilateral treaties between governments. There's a single organisation that handles things for roughly the whole of the UN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union
- Scoundreller 9y agoYes. But Canada is sloooooow. 4 weeks is being generous. And Canada also called ePacket. It’s faster-ish. It’s the Canada Post int’l processing plant and customs that have decided to be slow.
- pravda 9y agoAs an American, I can't blame you. I have noticed that the Chinese shipping is getting quicker. I ordered two of these [1] from China on the 7th. Showed up on the 28th. Only 3 weeks! ($1.32 for two, shipped) If I wanted to send one to Canada, it would cost $2.29 for postage (because is it a 'flat', so it is cheaper. If it was bulkier, it would cost $9.50). [1] https://github.com/jdesbonnet/RCWL-0516 https://github.com/jdesbonnet/RCWL-0516
- xellisx 9y agoI've had stuff actually show up in a week from China (Actually my 3D printer - FLSun Cube was one of those items). Of course, I've been having stuff show up in about 4-6 weeks as of late.
- 9y ago