PDA

View Full Version : stolen from another forum.... will the USPS be around in 10 years?



gold-n-rod
11-16-2007, 06:58 PM
The topic came from another forum, but realistically, will the USPS be around in 2017? :smash:

I doubt it. Most of my utilities offer on-line bill paying and those who don't would surely get with the program right away, pronto!!!

Email (with attachments) could handle the rest of the letter-type communication and there's several choices of parcel delivery.

Plus, I'd get a whole lot less junk. Of course, the printers and pre-sort business would suffer, but if they can't read the handwriting on the wall...... too bad, so sad!

If I was employed by USPS and had less than 25 years of service, my digestive system would be processing rectangular mansonry materials right now!!!!!!!

The downside is that the post-service options for vets would be reduced, i.e. less civil servant jobs. That would be bad. Vets need our support. But lifetime jobs at well above the average wage? I'm unsure about that. (not a vet bashing comment, BTW!).

Truthfully, I view the USPS right now about where the pay phone business was in 1985. The future is very bleak. In 10 years.......... outta here!

gcarter
11-16-2007, 07:57 PM
Well, for one, magazines aren't as much fun to read on line as they are on a hard copy......although I would like to get it both ways.
As you mentioned, the direct mail busines, while it may be changing, is still very healthy, and there has to be some vehicle to get all those grocery and pizza coupons to households.

chappy
11-16-2007, 08:15 PM
I hope that never happens Randy. :( Because if it does, the next logical step would be for everyone to obtain degrees and doctorates online, thus eliminating the majority of jobs at major universities, filled no doubt with above average wages for alumni.:biggrin.:
Just kidding my friendly Spartan. It's a good question, one that merits discussion. The pieces are in place for what you described, but there are some obstacles. Some people are afraid of electronic transfer of funds. I do it all of the time, but there are people who avoid it because of fraud and the potential of identity theft, similar to what's been discussed here. Some people enjoy getting their mail. We're also a society of people that enjoy getting and giving occasion cards; birthday, holiday, valentines day, mothers day...........and so on. Lastly, some people just view emails as impersonal.
Based on all this, the USPS will be gone in 10 years.:)
Rich

gold-n-rod
11-16-2007, 08:36 PM
I hope that never happens Randy. :( Because if it does, the next logical step would be for everyone to obtain degrees and doctorates online, thus eliminating the majority of jobs at major universities, filled no doubt with above average wages for alumni.:biggrin.:
Just kidding my friendly Spartan. It's a good question, one that merits discussion. The pieces are in place for what you described, but there are some obstacles. Some people are afraid of electronic transfer of funds. I do it all of the time, but there are people who avoid it because of fraud and the potential of identity theft, similar to what's been discussed here. Some people enjoy getting their mail. We're also a society of people that enjoy getting and giving occasion cards; birthday, holiday, valentines day, mothers day...........and so on. Lastly, some people just view emails as impersonal.
Based on all this, the USPS will be gone in 10 years.:)
Rich

Yup, on-line degrees are already out there. "I graduated from ACME.com" That will get you a good job, I'm sure! :bonk: That's the least of my worries.

What if the people who "enjoy getting their mail.... occasion cards, etc."... are forced to pay $4.10 per delivery vs. 41 cents??????????

Hmmm, that would put some hurt on Hallmark, too, wouldn't it?

Reminds me of my earlier rant about the bleak future of the printed advertising/news media.

"Oh the times, they are a changin." Bob Dylan.

Rich, I KNOW you are old enough to remember that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carl C
11-16-2007, 08:41 PM
It'll still be here. Parcel Post blows away UPS rates on smaller packages. There will still be a need to send personal messages, invitations, and, yes, magazines and cards. JMO.

gold-n-rod
11-16-2007, 08:49 PM
It'll still be here. Parcel Post blows away UPS rates on smaller packages. There will still be a need to send personal messages, invitations, and, yes, magazines and cards. JMO.

Yes, smaller packages........... at a cost. And all the other stuff, yup, there's need, but will people pay $4 to send a personal message or invitations? I think not when email is free. Magazines and cards? Dinosaurs. They'll be old school in 10 years.

My bet? A letter or "small parcel" will cost $10 to have home delivered by USPS in 2017, if they even exist.

hardcrab
11-16-2007, 09:25 PM
Yeah, USPS is soon becoming "quaint"

chappy
11-17-2007, 07:51 AM
Acme.com? I was referring to http://online-contined.msu.edu/ .:smash: :)
Seriously though, I see the impact of the USPS going down drastically. If anyone still wants their cards, magazines, coupons, or just people who enjoy getting their mail, the cost in the future is going to go up considerably based on less volume. Then, the people who would rather send cards and invitations in the mail can make a choice, pay more money for the service, or utilize email and online services for free. I'd still pay the money to send collectible magazines as gifts to friends.:beer: I just don't see it going away altogether. The package delivery market is large enough that the USPS will fit in there somewhere. It will definitely be a different market, but they'll fit in.
Just some thoughts,
Rich
P.S. "The times they are a changin'", was released six years before I was born. STILL a great album though.:yes:

Carl C
11-17-2007, 08:01 AM
You can't read an on-line magazine on the boat, beach etc. and to print out a quality magazine at home would cost about $150 in ink carts. The Postal Service isn't going anywhere. I just sent a package 3,000 miles for $11. JMO

BigGrizzly
11-17-2007, 10:08 AM
I can see it it now- a lap top in every bathroom- I mean Library.

justleft
11-17-2007, 10:55 AM
USPS will still be around. It most likely will look very different.
Now that congress has changed the law to allow the USPS to make
a profit things are changing. They are trying to get the law changed
so they can set more of their own pricing.

Stamps online, package paid for online and then picked up at your door.

They are looking at ways to leverage the mail carrier as they stop at
almost every house in the US six days a week anyways. *The union will have
something to say before this is over*

They are already cheaper then UPS/FedEx/DHL/ on package delivery and
some times faster. How about Saturday package pickup or deliver for no extra charge. They can be cheaper because your package is being subsidized
by mail.

Package tracking is being worked on.

On of the biggest roadblocks is the old government worker attitude.

My kid is a software consultant under contract with USPS so I get to hear all
of the crap.

Uncle Fester
11-17-2007, 11:06 AM
I do my part to keep the USPS in business. Every piece of junk mail I get that has a "business reply" envelope in it I stuff all the contents in it and mail it back to them....even the envelope it came in. (I remove my name from the pre-approved credit card stuff of course). If there isn't much contents that came with their junk mail I stuff the envelope with other stuff that fit ... like out of the newspaper. I also send all the magazine cards that fall out of magazines back blank. :smash:

Formula Jr
11-17-2007, 12:23 PM
USPS will be around for a good long while. They do more than just deliver mail and parcels. The certified letter is still an important component of our legal system. Postal Money Orders carry much stiffer penalties for forgeries and unlike other private carriers Mail Fraud can pull in the resources of the FBI. Thats why you will never see a scammer using USPS. Criminals tend to stay away from USPS. They also have the installed base for Rural Post Office Boxes.
Private carriers also do not have Book Rates or Presort Rates.

And plus, where would all our crazy people work if they couldn't go "postal" at the post office.... it just doesn't sound right to say someone went "parcel" or "federal" but I guess you could make a case for someone going "Kinko."

justleft
11-17-2007, 01:08 PM
"they are removing the self serve stamp machines"

Man I love those old style vending machines. Gave back silver dollars.
Oh well, no more dollar coins. (No casino nearby)

zelatore
11-17-2007, 01:22 PM
Fester - I gotta hand it to you, I'd love to do that with all my junk mail. Unfortunatly, I'm too lazy. Instead I keep it around to start the woodburner, at least in the winter.

Poodle - I wish my vendors would email me bills! I hate faxes or other paper billing - too easy for it to get misplaced, come through illegable, etc. My email folders are practially my filing system. I don't know an easier way to keep track of who said what when than email. Or who promised what product at what price, etc.

dfunde01
11-17-2007, 01:23 PM
USPS will be around for a good long while. They do more than just deliver mail and parcels. The certified letter is still an important component of our legal system. Postal Money Orders carry much stiffer penalties for forgeries and unlike other private carriers Mail Fraud can pull in the resources of the FBI. Thats why you will never see a scammer using USPS. Criminals tend to stay away from USPS. They also have the installed base for Rural Post Office Boxes.
Private carriers also do not have Book Rates or Presort Rates.
And plus, where would all our crazy people work if they couldn't go "postal" at the post office.... it just doesn't sound right to say someone went "parcel" or "federal" but I guess you could make a case for someone going "Kinko."

Mail fraud now includes use of private carriers; also a number of private carriers provide the same service as certified mail.

Formula Jr
11-17-2007, 03:56 PM
With the flat rate parcel system USPS put in place a few years ago, I don't use the alternatives much anymore. USPS a perfectly good system and has never failed me. UPS has messed up enough mailings that I don't use them any more.
And when the private guys mess up, you are in arbitration. Its in your lading contract if you read the small print.

There are two arguments going on here. One is a Neo-Con argument that wants to eliminate anything the federal Government set up for the common good and make it so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub. The Postal Service is one of those.

The other is, what will survive the internet, due to electronic market forces.

The internet is a public/private entity just like USPS.

As is Amtrak and Sporting Facilities and Teams. As is now "our" army - lets just have Blackwater invade Iran.

Is there such a thing as a Nation State, if every aspect of that nation is privatized? What common meaning does the flag mean then, because you can't say the flag stands for a common set of ideas.

Lets privatize the court systems, with arbitration. Lets privatize the public school system, police, utilities, Phone system, prison system, ATC, voting process, hiways and parks. Lets sell off what was public air bands in some big auction. Lets sell off the public works of dams and electricity production. And why not privatize the script we use as money. Oh thats right, there is pay pal...

Why bother with the US Postal System? You don't really have to. Its a choice.

And since this was sneaky, I'll be sneaky also.

The old man up the hill, Wayne, is his name. Is one of the few left that walked off the first wave on Normandy. He lost every thing he owned because his wife got lupus. And now lives in a trailer park after a commanding view on 200 acres - to which he was due to survey and die happy upon.

dfunde01
11-17-2007, 04:25 PM
There are two arguments going on here. One is a Neo-Con argument that wants to eliminate anything the federal Government set up for the common good and make it so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub. The Postal Service is one of those.


The powers of congress established in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution empowers it to establish post offices and postal roads.

What is a "Neo-Con"?

This seems to have become a political debate. Some folks just can't seem to honor the rules.;

Formula Jr
11-17-2007, 05:13 PM
The topic came from another forum, but realistically, will the USPS be around in 2017?

Please note the "other forum" aspect.

My rules are still intact.

chappy
11-17-2007, 05:17 PM
Neo Con is Neoconservatism. If googled, you'll find the definition. I'm not going to post it here.

Rich

dfunde01
11-17-2007, 06:21 PM
The topic came from another forum, but realistically, will the USPS be around in 2017?

Please note the "other forum" aspect.

My rules are still intact.

Neo-Con is a derisive term coined by Michael Harrington. Your reference to a neo con plot to destroy the postal service moved the discussion to the political realm. The question of what form the USPS will have in 2017 is still an interesting discussion topic.

Formula Jr
11-17-2007, 07:16 PM
"Neo-Con," is a descriptive label.

Unless you mean "Liberal" is also a derisive term....

Can't play it both ways...

The post started out being political... I'm just pointing that out...

And I didn't post it as a thread starter..

You don't have to make the choice to have a country collectively called the USA. There are plenty alternatives now in little bits of what as a whole, use to be the USA. Not using USPS is one of those choices to not really be an American. Fed-Ex can be sold, UPS is publicly traded. So China can buy UPS if it wanted to. Then it can say what you can send...Yahoo!

dfunde01
11-17-2007, 07:47 PM
" Not using USPS is one of those choices to not really be an American.

So, if you use FedEX instead of the USPS you are not an American. You are the ultimate political creature my friend. As long as you can define which labels are derisive you can't lose; can you. It seems that I can not even put you on my ignore list.

gold-n-rod
11-18-2007, 06:46 AM
The topic came from another forum, but realistically, will the USPS be around in 2017?

Please note the "other forum" aspect.

My rules are still intact.

Put down the crack pipe, Owen :wink::wink::wink:

I am the original poster. Nothing "sneaky" here. Another forum (topic-cars) was discussing the same question and I was interested in what the Donzi guys thought.

Think of it as a follow up to my last month's topic about the future of print media.

I'm 50 years old and am curious as to what my next (hopefully) 30 are going to be like and what better place to find a group of 50-something people than Donzi.net?

Sorry, no other motives here. :confused:

pmreed
11-18-2007, 07:29 AM
Or 60-something, Randy.:tongue:

Carl C
11-18-2007, 05:46 PM
I bet the average age here is 50ish; I'm 53. It would be fun to do an age poll. Remember when only kids knew how to use a 'puter?

chappy
11-18-2007, 07:34 PM
I bet the average age here is 50ish; I'm 53. It would be fun to do an age poll. Remember when only kids knew how to use a 'puter?

That would be interesting. I think many of us would be surprised at others ages, based on assumptions and interpretations of posts and viewpoints.

Rich

Sweet little 16
11-19-2007, 01:29 PM
why are you old farts worried about getting your social security checks in the mail oh wait that ain't going to be around either in the near future I think the average age of a Donzi owner is much younger than 50, but the average age of the majority of the posters here is above 50 I would say 7 out of the top 10 post whores here are over 50 I guess they can't push the rocker away from the puter

gold-n-rod
11-19-2007, 06:32 PM
why are you old farts worried about getting your social security checks in the mail oh wait that ain't going to be around either in the near future I think the average age of a Donzi owner is much younger than 50, but the average age of the majority of the posters here is above 50 I would say 7 out of the top 10 post whores here are over 50 I guess they can't push the rocker away from the puter

I beg to differ. I stand by 50 as the average age of a Donzi owner. And only slightly less on the members/posters here.

Your response reminds me of the story of the young bull and the old bull. [It's an old story that's been around since well before your grand daddy was a stain on the sheets].

Young bull spots a herd of heifers and says to the old bull, "Hey, let's run down there and have us one of those heifers."

Old bull replies, "Let's walk down there and have them all!!!!!"

Nice try, whippersnapper!!! :wink::wink::wink::wink::wink:

Sweet little 16
11-19-2007, 07:59 PM
I beg to differ. I stand by 50 as the average age of a Donzi owner. And only slightly less on the members/posters here.
Your response reminds me of the story of the young bull and the old bull. [It's an old story that's been around since well before your grand daddy was a stain on the sheets].
Young bull spots a herd of heifers and says to the old bull, "Hey, let's run down there and have us one of those heifers."
Old bull replies, "Let's walk down there and have them all!!!!!"
Nice try, whippersnapper!!! :wink::wink::wink::wink::wink:


well if you are into that sort of thing ;p


all donzi owners??? no I think not!! all classic owners maybe, again the majority of active posters here maybe
judging but what I have seen at the events i would say the average donzi age is low 40's well except this year's 1000 islands