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Have ya tried the (please don’t yell) US Postal Service? Amazon.com, and ebay.com in conjunction with PayPal, love us.

Yes we operate in the “red”, but by law we cannot make a profit. For years we have been hamstrung by law in advertising. It’s quite a fine line to walk.

Our prices beat UPS, and FedEx, and there is no “fuel surcharge, Saturday delivery surcharge”, and with Express Mail there is no surcharge for delivery on Sunday

The problem with socialism is that competition forces improvement. USPS has certainly improved dramatically in the face of competition. It took them longer than a private outfit would have survived, but in all honesty, my encounters with them have been far better... until I moved. If I’m not there to sign for a package, I can’t have them leave it with the complex’s office, and it goes to a service center, which has amazingly poor hours. (I’d’ve thought that hours would be standardized across all post offices.)

Our prices beat UPS, and FedEx, and there is no “fuel surcharge, Saturday delivery surcharge”, and with Express Mail there is no surcharge for delivery on Sunday

I use USPS plenty. If you are not in a hurry, Media Mail is a great deal. I also recognize that USPS has to charge the same 44 cents for a letter going to Wasilla, AK; Honolulu, HI; or an air base in Afghanistan as they do across town. They also have to support money losing offices in small towns that are part of the life blood of these towns.

For the most part, they do well. Tracking, even on Priority Mail, is still inferior. Pricing, your mileage will vary. FedEx and UPS has MUCH more flexibility in giving VERY favorable terms to huge customers. I know for a fact that GE pays a tiny fraction of the published rate on overnights. I have found USPS to be much MORE RELIABLE sending parcels to Canada. The customs people seem to hold UPS packages more. I don't know why. Also, certain routes seem unreliable at first class for USPS. Whenever I mail things to rural Texas, they take MUCH longer to appear, and are "lost" more than they ought to be.

I would never write off USPS for my business mailing just because they are government operated.

My mail carrier is efficient and friendly. My local Post Office has some nice helpful people behind the counter, and the new service where you put whatever you want in a box as long as it will fit, print the postage at home and ship it, is a great idea. I’m almost stunned that I’m talking about the USPS. I don’t know if they’ll ultimately make any money on the ship anything as long as it fits idea, but it’s a good idea. And honestly UPS IS over priced; WAY over priced.

UPS used to be great, a long, long time ago.

The US Postal Service has them beat by a mile now in service, price, everything except overnights where FedEx rules.

I love the USPS. How in the world they manage to move all that mail every day is truly amazing.