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There are two counter-arguments to that: 1) UPS is not allowed to deliver first class mail to a letterbox, or at the same cost as USPS. 2) Why should short-di

by nickff 6y ago

There are two counter-arguments to that: 1) UPS is not allowed to deliver first class mail to a letterbox, or at the same cost as USPS. 2) Why should short-distance mail subsidize long-distance mail?

triceratops 6y ago
> UPS is not allowed to deliver first class mail to a letterbox, So? They regularly leave packages on your porch, they'd do the same for letters. > or at the same cost as USPS. Which is insanely low and money-losing in many cases. And first-class mail is a declining business. Do they even want that?
- nickff 6y ago
  I was responding to a comment that said: "The day that UPS will be obligated to deliver a first-class letter... for 55 cents". UPS is legally required to charge at least six times more, and cannot use letterboxes.[1] The use of letterboxes is a cost-savings; if it were not a competitive advantage, the USPS wouldn't need a law protecting it. Whether or not UPS wants the business is beside the point, and they currently cannot have it. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/601 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/601
  - triceratops 6y ago
    The letterbox might have been a competitive advantage when people weren't accustomed to having stuff delivered to their porch. Not anymore. Ditto for a first-class mail monopoly - advantageous when people actually wrote letters, practically useless today.
    - nickff 6y ago
      Letterbox delivery is a competitive advantage because it saves money on delivery; the driver can often drop letters off in a mail room at a multi-unit dwelling, or by the road in the suburbs/rural areas. We're only talking about first-class mail here, so a 6x cost advantage in first-class mail is very important.
  - vkou 6y ago
    > Whether or not UPS wants the business is beside the point, and they currently cannot have it. It's the entire point actually. The key part of my post is: > The day that UPS will be obligated... to deliver a letter for 55 cents The USPS is forced to provide this service - at a ridiculously low price. The second that UPS and Fedex have to play by the same rules (By being forced to deliver negative-margin mail), they will stop being profitable.

by nickff 6y ago

There are two counter-arguments to that: 1) UPS is not allowed to deliver first class mail to a letterbox, or at the same cost as USPS. 2) Why should short-distance mail subsidize long-distance mail?

triceratops 6y ago

> UPS is not allowed to deliver first class mail to a letterbox, So? They regularly leave packages on your porch, they'd do the same for letters. > or at the same cost as USPS. Which is insanely low and money-losing in many cases. And first-class mail is a declining business. Do they even want that?

nickff 6y ago
I was responding to a comment that said: "The day that UPS will be obligated to deliver a first-class letter... for 55 cents". UPS is legally required to charge at least six times more, and cannot use letterboxes.[1] The use of letterboxes is a cost-savings; if it were not a competitive advantage, the USPS wouldn't need a law protecting it. Whether or not UPS wants the business is beside the point, and they currently cannot have it. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/601 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/601
- triceratops 6y ago
  The letterbox might have been a competitive advantage when people weren't accustomed to having stuff delivered to their porch. Not anymore. Ditto for a first-class mail monopoly - advantageous when people actually wrote letters, practically useless today.
  - nickff 6y ago
    Letterbox delivery is a competitive advantage because it saves money on delivery; the driver can often drop letters off in a mail room at a multi-unit dwelling, or by the road in the suburbs/rural areas. We're only talking about first-class mail here, so a 6x cost advantage in first-class mail is very important.
- vkou 6y ago
  > Whether or not UPS wants the business is beside the point, and they currently cannot have it. It's the entire point actually. The key part of my post is: > The day that UPS will be obligated... to deliver a letter for 55 cents The USPS is forced to provide this service - at a ridiculously low price. The second that UPS and Fedex have to play by the same rules (By being forced to deliver negative-margin mail), they will stop being profitable.