[furlong47]

I check my mail when I come home from work, so I usually forget to look on Saturday anyway. Not really a big deal to me. The post offices that are open on Saturdays will still be open on Saturdays. Only home delivery is affected.

I think we are probably going to end up with a system where companies like UPS, FedEx, etc handle all shipping of items or letters. So little of actual value comes in the mail anymore... I get 99% junk.

[caballero]

--and i just now see that senate homeland security will have a USPS hearing next Wednesday, so who knows, this may not be set in stone...

WTF does the post office have to do with "homeland security"?

Anyway, I don't care if I don't get mail on the weekends. Actually, I wouldn't care if the USPS shut down forever. There are plenty of better options out there.

[SimpsoMatt]

3 days a week would be fine with me. What does anybody get via mail that's so important it can't wait a day or two?

[charismaryllis]

WTF does the post office have to do with "homeland security"?

Anyway, I don't care if I don't get mail on the weekends. Actually, I wouldn't care if the USPS shut down forever. There are plenty of better options out there.

Because the committee's full name is homeland security and governmental affairs. They have jurisdiction.

Did a mailman run over your puppy or something? I'm sensing some hostility here.

[FLeventer]

The worst is that their rates have gone up again. On average 6% increase in price. Plus they got rid of Parcel Post and you can only get economy shipping at the PO, no longer online. Totally Bogus for someone that makes a lot of rainy day fund from buying/selling on eBay.

I don't mind no mail on saturday, but I do mind the prices. My PO box price increased and that stunk. I also agree with others about why there are so many post offices?? Especially the ones that are open from 11 to 5 when there is one that is 10 miles up the road. Makes no sense. What a waste, but then again USPS has never been especially good with finances.

With all the mail they lose they should just auction it off at the end of the year to recoup their money. Sort of like the safety deposit box auctions or the lost airline luggage auctions. Just kidding, but really...

[big_red_ottb]

My frustration is with shipping packages. Priority Mail is often the fastest and cheapest. Fedex and UPS are ridiculously pricy and I have lost several packages shipped by them. My biggest disappointment will be no longer receiving packages on Saturday, as I receive and ship out a lot of stuff. I'm surprised by a lot of nonchalance about this stuff....I can't be the only horseperson who's buying/selling things online regularly? Am I the only one who has been screwed by UPS and FedEx?

I really think the issue is that USPS is forced to maintain the least profitable, most expensive aspect of the business - letters and small mail - while UPS and FedEx were allowed to snag the profitable and more or less irreplaceable market of shipping. Ridiculous limitations and poor management (the blame does fall on USPS's shoulders to an extent) have brought what should be a profitable national business to its knees, and it's a shame.

[clanter]

Who is to blame? Well, yes, partially us because we use the mail less and less (although package deliveries are up), but I place a good part of the blame on Congress forcing USPS to fund their retiree health care 75 years into the future and not allowing them to expand to offer other services as other countries do.

Well, the USPS had the first rights on email and turned it down as not a big deal

Secondly.... there next move should be to every other day delievery ....they then could reduce their work force by about 40% AND junk about 50% of their trucks

[clanter]

My biggest disappointment will be no longer receiving packages on Saturday, as I receive and ship out a lot of stuff. .

The proposal is to stop Sat Delivery, not close the offices

[clanter]

[QUOTE=FLeventer;6821558] I also agree with others about why there are so many post offices?? Especially the ones that are open from 11 to 5 when there is one that is 10 miles up the road. Makes no sense. What a waste, [QUOTE]

they were political plumps and each has a Post Master ...even those that only have a few hundred post office boxes

postmasters earned an average of $60,500 annually, according to the BLS estimates released for May 2010. Ten percent earned $36,170 or less, and 10 percent earned $82,910 or more

[charismaryllis]

Package delivery to residences will continue on saturdays--they're actually profitable there.

[soloudinhere]

3 days a week would be fine with me. What does anybody get via mail that's so important it can't wait a day or two?

I think you would be surprised by the number of people who receive payments of various types by mail. Money is pretty important and with phone deposit can be deposited immediately so waiting until Monday sucks.

[Renn/aissance]

Am I right in thinking that this applies only to Saturday mail delivery by truck, but not delivery to the PO boxes or delivery of packages to homes?

If so, then I think it's been a long time coming. My mom lives in a rural area and they've been trying to shut down their local post office for the last 5 years. The closest office is 10+ miles away. No one in town has a mailbox at the house- there is no truck delivery in her town, everyone has a PO box. At the last town meeting about this, one of her neighbors stood up and said "You should be switching everyone to our model, not shutting us down! With us, you spend no gas money on delivery or carriers and profit off of box rentals!" Her neighbor's a great vet and a smart guy.

Not that this would necessarily work everywhere, but making people pick up mail, instead of having it delivered, seems like it would be a big money saver. Even if it were on a split schedule like someone else suggested. Monday/Wednesday/Friday you get house delivery, Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday, if you're expecting something and can't wait 'til the next day, you have to go to the PO to pick it up.

[soloudinhere]

Am I right in thinking that this applies only to Saturday mail delivery by truck, but not delivery to the PO boxes or delivery of packages to homes?

If so, then I think it's been a long time coming. My mom lives in a rural area and they've been trying to shut down their local post office for the last 5 years. The closest office is 10+ miles away. No one in town has a mailbox at the house- there is no truck delivery in her town, everyone has a PO box. At the last town meeting about this, one of her neighbors stood up and said "You should be switching everyone to our model, not shutting us down! With us, you spend no gas money on delivery or carriers and profit off of box rentals!" Her neighbor's a great vet and a smart guy.

Not that this would necessarily work everywhere, but making people pick up mail, instead of having it delivered, seems like it would be a big money saver. Even if it were on a split schedule like someone else suggested. Monday/Wednesday/Friday you get house delivery, Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday, if you're expecting something and can't wait 'til the next day, you have to go to the PO to pick it up.

I liked having a box where the boxes were available 24/7, in a safe, well lighted area. Around here, PO boxes are only accessible when the PO is open which is never.

I think if they were to go to this model, they would need to provide a person at the office during reasonable WAKING hours (not working hours since those of us who work 2 jobs don't have 9-4 available) like 5am to 10pm for me to pick up packages and sign for things. Otherwise this won't work any better. And a PO box can't be $450/year either.

[ccoronios]

From what I have heard & understood, the 'no mail on Saturday' applies only to first class (and hopefully, all the junk mail). Priority/Express/packages will all be delivered on Saturday as they are now.

Around here, they built a crapload of NEW post offices a few years ago - while whining about being broke - and, as others have said, these are in villages - or non-villages - with minimal population - and all within 10 m or so of each other. AND within 10 m of an established PO in a 'real' village. How much did THAT cost?

Carol

[Adamantane]

My understanding from the announcement that i saw is that the USPS Board of Governors does not have the authority to end Saturday mail deliveries without Congressional assent. I think this is a feint in the game of chicken the USPS has been playing for a long time. I seriously doubt the Congress will agree.

[caballero]

I think you would be surprised by the number of people who receive payments of various types by mail. Money is pretty important and with phone deposit can be deposited immediately so waiting until Monday sucks.

If someone can't wait until Monday to get a check they would otherwise would have received on Saturday, they might want to re-evaluate their finances and not live check to check.

[soloudinhere]

If someone can't wait until Monday to get a check they would otherwise would have received on Saturday, they might want to re-evaluate their finances and not live check to check.

In this economy It is challenge enough to get clients to pay their invoices. It is often a check I get on Saturday that is also 30+ days late already, after much hounding. Can I said a couple days? Sure.

I expect that you do not work for yourself or understand the realities of most working people in the united states, many of whom do not even have bank accounts and waiting an extra 3 days to be able to cash their paycheck is in fact a big deal.

[mswillie]

I've not had home mail delivery pretty much all my life (with the exception of a few years when I first moved out of my parents place). Around here you just go to the post office. I rather like the system. No worries about someone stealing your mail. If I'm on vacation they just fill the box up then if it gets too full put a notice in for me to pick up at the window.

For packages they either put a notice in the box or a key to one of the lockers that are available. You open the locker, remove your package, leave the key. To be fair this is a very small town, the PO is left open until very late (the part where the boxes are not the service area), and I grew up with the system and I'm used to it. But really one less day that someone brings your mail to your house shouldn't be that much of a bother.

They have a couple big recycling bins outside. I get my mail, sort it on the little table in the lobby, and dump the junk into recycling. I love it.

Over the last several years I've gone from putting 10-15 bill payments in the mail every month. The only bill I regularly write a check for now is for the farrier. All the rest I pay on line. Multiply that by the number of people who pay on-line and that's an enormous amount of money. I can understand why services need to be cut.

[Frank B]

In a nutshell...

[LovelyBay]

It doesn't bother me at all. I live in a small rural town, but I'm 1/2 a block away from the post office and they don't deliver my mail. They deliver to people that don't live "in town" and I have to pay to rent a PO box. I would support a every other day delivery option too. 90% of the mail I get in junk anyways and it goes from my PO box into the garbage can at the Post Office.