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The U.S. Postal Service is tired of being used and abused by Netflix

Netflix is one of the most popular video rental services and it revolutionized the industry by expanding the mail rental business into a major market, by clever use of online services.  It recently pleased customers by dropping its 3 DVD-at-a-time rental fee another dollar, to a low price of $15.99 a month.  It also recently made up with long time rival Blockbuster.

However, Netflix has some serious competition for the online/mail-order rental market.  Despite settling its difference with Blockbuster, the mostly-store based giant threatens Netflix by pushing its online offerings with a broad array of promotional offers.  Further, Apple has been speculating on launching its own online rental service to rival Netflix.

Now Netflix has an unexpected new detractor: the U.S. Postal Service.  The U.S. Postal Service's Inspector General feels Netflix has used and abused the system.  The bone of contention is Netflix's use of oversized mailers.  The use of these the Postal Service estimates cost a staggering $41.9M in additional labor over the last two years do to the "nonmachinable nature" of Netflix packages.

The Inspector General is fed up and is preparing to take action after mounting losses.  Conservative estimates of the situation would account for $61.5M in additional losses over the next two years.  The office issued an ultimatum to Netflix -- reshape their mailers or face a service charge of 17 cents a mailer.

While the small fine sounds insignificant, it is calculated that it would reduce Netflix's operating income by 67 percent. 

Netflix agreed it will cooperate and redesign the mailer, but it is another bump in the road for the still wildly successful mail-order service.

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limits
By tanishalfelven on 12/8/2007 5:10:36 AM , Rating: 3
doesn't the post office already have limits on what size can qualify for reduced rate shipping. and isn't the bulk rate only if you do much of the precessing your self. seems kinda strange that the post office allowed them to use oversized mailer in the first place and not charge extra. why was the post offcie taking a hit on each mail sent ?




RE: limits
By Lazarus Dark on 12/8/2007 6:48:06 AM , Rating: 5
I was thinking that too.
I work at fedex ground and manage the smalls area(envelopes and small boxes), so I know how this works. If a large customers packaging is such that we have to use extra handling and labor, we call them and work with them to change their packaging or tell them we will have to charge them extra. Simple, done. No fuss.
If the Netflix packaging caused a problem with handling, they should have said something long ago. Why would they have allowed so much loss to occur for years? And then call it "abuse"?
I mean sure, the USPS is slow, but I didn't know they were "slow". It doesn't take a genius to see this kind of thing. Then again, in my experience, people in the package handling business don't tend to do things the smart or efficient way.


RE: limits
By danrien on 12/8/2007 11:19:05 AM , Rating: 4
I've worked at both fedex ground and the usps and i have to say that as far as our fedex ground terminal goes, usps is far more efficient. also, usps doesn't negotiate shipping prices and such with shippers, instead, a customer buys a type of shipment method (netflix bought mass first class, instead of standard class, which involves much of the processing already being done), in order to simplify everything for their business i am guessing. However, the USPS does not solely use a conveyor belt system to move letters. It keeps them vertical, and they have to go through gates and the like. Thus, a letter can quickly become non-machinable. However, the USPS has a long standing tradition of letting the customer choose how to ship, instead of working with the customer to decide how they want to ship (simply because the entire US population is their customer base), so to do something like this is to go out of their way. But I am sure they do it for other mass mailings (such as JC Penny's catalogs and the like).

Also, to clarify things, the USPS is paid for completely by postage. They do not receive any tax dollars.

I also wouldn't qualify the USPS as "slow". To get a letter from one end of the US to the other, it takes approximately three days. Try doing that with Fedex Ground. And they deliver on Saturdays.


RE: limits
By tanishalfelven on 12/8/2007 12:46:24 PM , Rating: 2
the thing that boggles the mind is why allow it from the start ?
oh yeah and USPS is not slow is you compare rates (even that can depend on the size of the package).
however your comparing apples to oranges when you compare fedex ground to first class. fedex ground is more of a competitor to parcel post or Heida mail.


RE: limits
By stonemetal on 12/9/07, Rating: 0
RE: limits
By VoodooChicken on 12/9/2007 4:30:08 PM , Rating: 2
Once, I sent a handwritten letter from St. Louis and it got to San Antonio the NEXT DAY! I'm still shocked. Didn't do anything special, just plain ol 32-33 cent stamp of the day, and lo and behold.


RE: limits
By Fritzr on 12/9/2007 4:39:17 PM , Rating: 4
Postage is a fee ... the Postal Stamp is your token that says the fee was paid. Think of a cinema. You buy a ticket at the box office. The ticket is not the movie you wanted to see, it is only a token that you can take to the theatre to show that you paid a fee to watch the movie. The ticket is worthless unless presented to the attendant guarding the theatre entrance where the movie that you paid to see is being shown.

Stamp in general is a mark made by a device that presses an imprint. Rubber stamps and simlar devices for quicly printing a design are the most common. There are also stamps that make imprints in various materials

A Tax Stamp is an imprint (stamp) or token (like a postal stamp) that certifies that a tax (not a fee) was paid. The Boston Tea Party was a protest over British taxation policies, the tea tax had actually been reduced before the protest :) The tax stamp only certifies that the seller paid the tax to the government. A similar tax token is on cigarettes and liquor. These are not service fees they are taxes. Postal cancelation is also a stamp that marks the postal stamp as having been used...The stamp's value has been "canceled"

Entry and Exit stamps and "instant" visas are stamps placed in a passport using a "rubber stamp". These certify that you have been processed through a Port of Entry and often do not involve payment of any kind.

As for transit time with USPS. Allow 24-36 hrs to reach a central sorting center, 24-48hrs to ship to the central sorting center near destination and 24-48hrs to deliver. shorter if you are near a center, longer if you are far away. The delays at start and end reflect that a letter posted at 4P when pickup for the day is 3P will begin moving the following day, similarly traffic may delay a tractor trailer forcing the mail to wait a day to get into the postman's jeep.


RE: limits
By UNHchabo on 12/9/2007 11:10:16 PM , Rating: 2
About the only Tax Stamp that's in effect right now is the one on items that fall under the National Firearms Act of 1934: full-autos, suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, etc. When you buy one of these items, you have to fill out a bunch of paperwork with the ATF (which includes an extensive, ~six-month background check) and pay a $200 tax, and then they give you a tax stamp that you must keep as long as you own the item (and if you sell it, the buyer has to go through the same process).

Firearms-rights advocates make the Boston Tea Party comparison, and it fits much better in this case than it does for postage, where you are simply paying a fee for having the USPS handle your mail.

As for the time it takes to cross the US, mail often does only take a few days to get anywhere in the country. If you are having recurring problems going between Dallas and Houston, then something's up, but that's certainly not typical of the rest of the country.


RE: limits
By PitViper007 on 12/10/2007 1:30:27 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, isn't there a tax stamp on liquor as well? I seem to think that there is. I'll have to check when I get home.


Bump in the road?
By nowayout99 on 12/8/2007 4:06:18 AM , Rating: 4
A bit over dramatic language for the story. Flix has already said they'll just change the envelopes. Not a big deal. "Nothing to see here."




RE: Bump in the road?
By GeorgeOrwell on 12/8/07, Rating: -1
RE: Bump in the road?
By retrospooty on 12/8/2007 9:17:40 AM , Rating: 5
"It took the USPS making big deal for the exec-u-stiffs at Netflix to change the envelopes, didn't it?"

Not really. they just threatened to raise rates unless Netfix redesigned the package. So, Netflix redesigned the package.

"And just maybe someone at Netflix should have thought something about shipping all those giant envelopes on the taxpayer dime.It certainly doesn't make Netflix look good when they might have been one of the key factors in increasing postal rates for everyone in the entire US."


GIANT? Have you ever received a Netflix envelope? Its the size of a CD and maybe 1/2 again in length. The issue is that it is slightly larger than a std envelope and wont fit through mail sorters.

As for raising the rates for the entire US... The USPS has raised rates steadily a few cents every few years sinceI was a young child. Long before Netflix ever existed.

Furthermore, if you knew anything about bulk mailing with the USPS, a sample package is given, and a price is quoted, that is that... What happened here is that after a few years the USPS didn't like the price that they themselves gave and wants more money.


RE: Bump in the road?
By spluurfg on 12/8/2007 10:48:28 AM , Rating: 3
Also, the USPS not long ago reset their rates to be based on package size (that came into effect May 2007). Presumably this is to aid them in machine sorting packages, so maybe Netflix was slow.


RE: Bump in the road?
By mindless1 on 12/10/2007 10:31:13 PM , Rating: 2
I think you have it completely wrong. Netflix was paying for a package size they weren't using, and the Postal Service had already told them this was a problem but the warning was ignored and ignored until it became clear a friendly reminder would not work anymore, that it had to be a strongly worded "ultimatum".

You can try to give a company time to work out problems but then when they never do it, you're put in a bind trying to play nice with someone who ignores you.


RE: Bump in the road?
By codeThug on 12/8/2007 12:26:52 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
increasing postal rates for everyone in the entire US


It's much cheaper than getting boned by Block Buster.


RE: Bump in the road?
By geeg on 12/8/2007 9:21:13 AM , Rating: 2
True. Because companies always tell the truth entirely.


RE: Bump in the road?
By Polynikes on 12/8/2007 2:20:40 PM , Rating: 2
Couldn't agree more.


I Welcome A Redesign...
By cubdukat on 12/8/2007 10:31:12 AM , Rating: 3
...preferrably something that's lazy postamn-proof?

Our postman just crams our mail into the box, and I've had two DVDs broken because of him. Fortunately, I haven't been charged for either one, but I truly wonder just how much money Netflix loses because of things like that.

Maybe they could deduct some of that from what they owe the USPS...




RE: I Welcome A Redesign...
By tanishalfelven on 12/8/07, Rating: 0
RE: I Welcome A Redesign...
By cubdukat on 12/8/2007 4:02:42 PM , Rating: 3
Uh...no?

I've been there several times when he's done this to others as well. I can't speak for the others, but my box is emptied daily. It's definitely a lazy mailman. I spoken to his supervisor a couple times, but I might as well be talking in Mandarin Chinese, for all the good that does.

But keep workin' on that sarcasm thing, though...


RE: I Welcome A Redesign...
By Snuffalufagus on 12/8/2007 6:51:21 PM , Rating: 2
I had the same problem, usually with the mailman who covered the regular guys shift. My mailbox was about 10 feet from my apartment door, and it happened to house the locking mechanism for the entire building's mail boxes. The DVDs didn't fit, but they could be forced in there and everytime the DVDs cracked, usually when they slammed the set of boxes closed. I posted a nicely worded note above my mail box asking them to just throw them on my doormat and usually they did, but at least ten DVDs wound up cracked and it was annoying as hell because it was painfully obvious that they didn't fit. I actually watched one guy try to get them in there and it was almost funny to see the effort he had to put into it, I was truely amazed as I tried to imagine the thought process he must have been going through. I think he was just pissed about having to deliver the DVDs, I'm sure they add a considerable amount of weight to mail.


RE: I Welcome A Redesign...
By zpdixon on 12/8/2007 4:28:03 PM , Rating: 1
I don't think it's the postman who breaks your DVD.

First, have you ever tried breaking a DVD ? It really requires a lot of force, even with 2 hands.

Second, despite having a large mailbox, 1-2% of the DVD I receive are broken, and it couldn't possibly be because the mail is hastily stuffed into the mailbox. It's just that they have been broken earlier (possibly by the previous customer who got this DVD).


RE: I Welcome A Redesign...
By Oregonian2 on 12/10/2007 8:23:50 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, I get roughly about the same percentage arriving cracked or completely broken. Most of the time they will be ones that come from a distant (often East coast) Netflix center rather than the local one that the vast majority come from. The percentage broken/cracked from cross-country shipped ones is considerably higher than that.

It's not the guy/gal who stuffs our mailbox.


Redbox
By kyleb2112 on 12/8/2007 4:21:47 PM , Rating: 2
Meanwhile, Redbox is making them both look like dinosaurs. I know a lot of former raving Netflix fans who canceled because they only wanted to see the new releases--which are only a dollar at the Redbox machines. And waiting in line to pay 4+ times that at Hollybuster video makes even less sense.




RE: Redbox
By themadmilkman on 12/8/2007 5:44:50 PM , Rating: 2
Which is all good and well, if you only want to see new releases. Netflix is great for me because it lets me see old movies at my own convenience, as well as new releases.

But yes, Redbox is great, for what it is.


RE: Redbox
By Oregonian2 on 12/10/2007 8:31:04 PM , Rating: 2
I dunno. The redbox offering that I've seen here didn't have the 75,000 titles (or some such number) to pick from. And in any case, we turn them fairly quickly so redbox isn't THAT much cheaper... and is perhaps more expensive if one counts gasoline and car wear (while I walk to our mailbox for Netflix -- a very cheap transportation).

If one only sees a few disks a year and only watch new releases, then Redbox is probably great.


I Prefer Blockbuster Online
By Exodus220 on 12/8/2007 3:27:13 AM , Rating: 1
I must admit that I prefer the Blockbuster Online service over Netflix. We had both services at one time and in a two week period we were able to get about 16-20 DVD's with BB, but only around 6-9 with Netflix. BB is a nice service because you can exchange them in-store and get new movies and automatically have your next in-que sent to you. Netflix stinks because you have to wait for the turn around time.

Oh, and Netflix really does have ridiculously large envelopes. I never understood why BB was able to use smaller ones while Netflix relied on oversized envelopes (that are ugly too).

Just my opinion though.




RE: I Prefer Blockbuster Online
By Inkjammer on 12/8/2007 3:59:21 AM , Rating: 2
Netflix should probably utilize smaller envelopes with a thin cardboard backing, similar to Gamefly. They could reduce their size while adding security too. I've had several DVDs that appeared to have gotten damaged through the mail. I probably hit my quota of damaged/lost discs returned to the company over the years.


RE: I Prefer Blockbuster Online
By nowayout99 on 12/8/2007 4:13:53 AM , Rating: 2
It's all about location, not stinking. Because of my location, I'll easily get about 50% more Netflix movies as I will BB movies in the same time.

Th envelopes are silly, though. But their use is unapologetic marketing. The "Netflix envelope" is part of pop culture now.


Inaccurate headline.
By Nspector on 12/8/2007 10:54:52 AM , Rating: 5
This all started with an audit report from the USPS Inspector General’s office, an oversight agency, and not from the folks who could even request a rate hike if they wanted to.

IG reports contain findings which the agency can challenge. A finding in an audit report is not the policy of the agency it is addressed to.

Is there anyone who actually does research or does cutting, pasting, linking and opining qualify as reporting?




oops
By kyleb2112 on 12/8/2007 4:22:05 PM , Rating: 2
Oops, I meant Blockwood video. Let's get that name straight.




Mindless put to rest
By Blocktech1988 on 12/9/2007 3:17:02 AM , Rating: 2
-This mail surcharge is from a audit.
-Netflix has not agreed to anything...their kind of being tight lipped about it.
-Things are going to change. With the booming DVD-BY-MAIL market, there is bound to be new taxes. The toll that this work is taking will have to be paid (By the company or even the consumer)




So changing there packaging
By tdktank59 on 12/11/2007 6:38:53 PM , Rating: 2
How exactly do they plan to modify the packaging...

seems its already pretty small for the size




Ohh wahhhh
By kalimystic on 12/13/2007 5:30:57 PM , Rating: 2
And we actually have to wonder why a off duty UK Hairdresser who is searching for UFO's can break into the DOD, The State Department, and Nuclear Reglatory commission. Its because "good enough for government" DC.'s motto takes over. I am glad I moved from that place to another city that actual will stand up to the morons in congress and the current administration of dimwits.
Like the post master whine-er couldn't address two unemployed ex - lockheed mechanical engineers contractor from Goddard to address the increase in the mechanism that reads the evenlopes.




Postal service needs competition
By kusala on 12/8/07, Rating: -1
RE: Postal service needs competition
By Silverel on 12/8/2007 9:36:20 AM , Rating: 3
Unfortunately, only the USPS is allowed to touch your mailbox. Therefore, no competition, nor any in the foreseeable future. I'd imagine Netflix could get better rates from a private company, but then they'd be left on your porch. A much less desirable situation due to theft, damage, etc.

I use Netflix, and have no complaints. You get three movies out at a time and it works rather smoothly. Provided you can make time to watch movies on a regular basis, a schedule will keep them coming and fresh.

Now if only they would start renting out games. :)


RE: Postal service needs competition
By FITCamaro on 12/8/2007 10:02:33 AM , Rating: 3
That would be awesome if they started doing games. I'm quite happy with Netflix.


RE: Postal service needs competition
By retrospooty on 12/8/2007 11:01:59 AM , Rating: 2
http://www.gamefly.com/

same deal, although its not netflix.


By zombiexl on 12/8/2007 12:58:21 PM , Rating: 2
By FITCamaro on 12/8/2007 2:52:07 PM , Rating: 2
Yes but I don't want to pay for two different services.


By Oregonian2 on 12/10/2007 8:38:08 PM , Rating: 2
That competitor would deliver a single letter cross country in three days for under forty cents, even to rural locations on Saturday?

They could have you set up Fedex-boxes (or whatever) to compete if they so chose to do so (but probably would rather just keep milking the higher profit business away from the USPS instead -- don't think letters have much margin, and the Netflix mailing is nearly a letter, not a "package" with package rates).


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Savvin on 12/8/2007 1:18:36 PM , Rating: 5
I worked for the USPS for over ten years at a processing facility in Northern California. I was the group leader for the cancellations operations (the machines that cancel the raw (stamps/postage) mail, both letter and flats.) I can tell you first hand how much the NetFlix packaging created complications.

The problem with the packaging is in the way it is mailed. When NetFlix sends out movies to it's customers there is no problem whatsoever because they send them out in appropriate letter/flat trays in mass to the appropriate postal service destination. Where the difficulties appear is when the customer mails their movies back to NetFlix. You see, the current packaging is NOT letter size, it is actually a flat size, yet it is put in with the normal letter size mail that needs to be processed in the cancellation machines. These machines are not designed to process anything other than letter size mail, not are they designed to process mailings that are rigid, as in the NetFlix movies (and any other similar mailings like Blockbuster, GameFly, etc.)

Therefore, to keep from damaging the NetFlix package and/or the machines (and believe me, I couldn't count the times that one of these packages jammed up the machines and in turn were totally mutilated.) all the these NetFlix packages would need to be manually removed from the hampers and sacks of mail that were to be ran through the machines. Doesn't seem like a big deal until you realize just how many of them you have to deal with on any given day. On average at my facility, which is considered one of the smaller ones in the USPS, we processed around 400,000 pieces of raw letter mail a day. Out of that 400,000 we would get about 10,000-15,000 NetFlix mailings. Now that number doesn't seem like much in comparison, but consider the fact all of this is mixed in with the standard letters and contrary to popular belief, the postal service does not have an abundance of workers at every position. Add to that the fact that they are on an extremely tight time schedule to ensure that everything gets processed in time to dispatch the mail.

In short, the mail comes in, workers try to separate out all the NetFlix by hand setting them aside in their own tray, then they have to send them either to a flat canceler or a manually operated canceler (called either a half-mark or full-mark, depending on the facility and that is if they have one at all.) and then they finally make it to the flat-sorting machines if there is enough time or they get sent to the manual flat sorting cases to be sorted by hand. So yeah, these types of mailers are a royal pain in the backside.

BTW, the USPS has been trying to work with NetFlix over this issue from the beginning so it is no surprise that it has taken this kind of action to get things rolling.


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Ringold on 12/8/2007 3:36:34 PM , Rating: 2
I think part of the idea of the complaint is that instead of barking at those who feed it it's business, the USPS should consider changing their own practices (such as those machines you noted) to match realities of the customer demand that is out there, rather than trying to manipulate demand to conveniently fit what it was willing to do.

Of course, since USPS faces no competition at this level, it can afford to do this sort of thing. This was also part of the point, I believe; UPS would either learn to adapt with something that has been a fact for years and appears to continue to likely be a fact of business for years to come, because making too much of a wave could give FedEx or DHL an opening.

Perhaps they already are pursuing the best option, perhaps not, but this was the idea I believe.


RE: Postal service needs competition
By theapparition on 12/8/2007 5:55:02 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
USPS should consider changing their own practices (such as those machines you noted) to match realities of the customer demand that is out there

So what your saying is that they should use public taxes just so your netflix rates don't change? Sorry, but that's a little short-sighted and a waste of taxpayer's money.

I think the best thing has already been done, Netflix worked with the USPS, and the envelope has been redesigned.
End of story.


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Alexstarfire on 12/8/2007 6:12:33 PM , Rating: 2
Well, if the machine that was mentioned only processed letter mail that was flexible then I believe that they should change the machine. It's not like no one ever sends something rigid in a letter anyways, be it a CD/DVD or whatnot.

Also, I fail to see why the USPS shouldn't just hire more people, or have the mail(wo)man put the Netflix packages, and whatever else is to be sorted, in a separate bag or something. It's just that if it hasn't been addressed in 2 years and the service has been working fine before that it's not Netflix's problem, but a USPS problem.


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Savvin on 12/8/2007 6:43:56 PM , Rating: 5
Sadly, as with nearly every other large business, the USPS is downsizing and consolidating as it is so the pretty much rules out getting more workers. As for the machines, they are quite tolerable with the contents of letters for the most part. The problem with the NetFlix (and other similar mailers) is a combination of the size and rigidity of the package. As for modifying the current machines, I'm sure it could be done, but at the cost of slowing the machines down by a significant amount. These machines process letters at mind boggling speeds as it is, yet even at these speeds it is difficult to meet dispatch times often. If they were to modify the machines to compensate for these larger, ridged mailers, I'm quite certain they would be forced to operate at a much slower speeds, which is something none of us wants.

I think things will work out just fine as I'm sure NetFlix wants to keep their cost down as much as possible. Personally, I think NetFlix has been dragging their heels on the issue, because I used to have to fill out these postal regulation letters for non-standard mailings and send them to the bulk mailers and I had written several to NetFlix, GameFly, BB, etc. This was a good 4-5 years ago for NetFlix. Now, it seems that they have finally forced the USPS's hand in the matter and are more than willing to make things right.


By bysmitty on 12/8/2007 10:29:20 PM , Rating: 2
I had to log in just to say that I appreciate your insightful perspective on the issue Savvin. Thanks for posting and explaining the back story. :)

...bysmitty


By Snuffalufagus on 12/8/2007 6:56:51 PM , Rating: 2
Agreed, the cost to change the machines would end being paid via taxes (or increased postage costs specifically). Netflix needs to cover this costs, which I think would suck because I love the service and personally don't want to pay more but I can't justify making people who don't use it pay.


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Ringold on 12/8/2007 9:17:49 PM , Rating: 3
In other words, god bless the fact USPS is a government monopoly, its customers should STFU and accept the fact their are no legitimate alternatives, and we shouldn't bother to point out how a legitimate business facing competitive pressure would possibly act differently in responding to the long term change in its business.

Sorry if some people find fault in that. ;)


RE: Postal service needs competition
By rockyct on 12/8/2007 9:55:22 PM , Rating: 2
There are no legitimate alternatives because USPS is a public service, not a company making billions each year in profit. You try finding a way to make a profit on the 41 cents it costs to mail a letter. UPS, FedEx, DHL would compete if they could, but they instead stick to express documents and packages where there is a profit to be made.

I don't see why people are upset with USPS here. They have rules on the cost of postage and odd sized letters. Netflix isn't following the rules, so blame them. It just took this long for USPS to say enough is enough. You really think UPS wouldn't care if you mailed an skinny five foot long box at non-oversized prices. What about a few million?


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Ringold on 12/9/2007 2:13:28 AM , Rating: 2
Of course UPS would care.

The difference would be how a competitive entity responds, and how a noncompetitive one would. UPS would look at how likely it is to continue to get these 5ft long skinny boxes, and then look at the risk of losing that business to FedEx versus the cost of changing the way the boxes are handled over the long run. USPS can afford to skip serious consideration of that and either play with rates or make demands for change. The idea that monopolists and competitive firms approach problems and solutions with different sets of incentives isn't exactly controversial.

If you were trying to also make the argument that the USPS couldn't be made private, many people think the same about water utilities, and yet they're often a grand success when done internationally, driving down costs and driving up quality.

The fact that people even use UPS and FedEx ground and 2 & 3 day services versus USPS priority, which is cheaper than through most pack & ship retail stores that send FedEx & UPS, tells you something about the quality part already. In terms of profit, as long as any can be made at all then theory suggests a private entity would be more then happy to enter the game. But, of course, they cant -- wiki: "The USPS holds a statutory monopoly on non-urgent First Class Mail, outbound U.S. international letters[3] as well the exclusive right to put mail in private mailboxes,[4] as described in the Private Express Statutes. " If you read further on in that part of the wiki for the USPS, you'll see all the monopoly BS regulations used to enforce the stranglegold USPS has. Microsoft could only in its most wild of wet dreams could hope for such government-mandated power.

Also of note:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_Postage_Hist...

Apparently, it costs the same real amount of money to send a letter now as in the 1800s, when the pony express really did probably involve a bloody pony?! As the wiki asks -- can you imagine what the world would be like if other services, such as phone and internet, had also likewise not been able to leverage economies of scale and technological improvements?

I really didn't aim to end up debating it to this degree, but this is where it's ended up. There's no justifiable economic reason for USPS's government-backed monopoly; a field of private regulated entities could, history and theory suggests, do the same better and for less. USPS obviously is aware of this fact, or they'd allow competition safe in the knowledge none would challenge them.


By mindless1 on 12/10/2007 10:43:56 PM , Rating: 2
History and theory don't suggest this, you just have a chip on your shoulder. If you prefer to pay UPS, FedEx, etc, to deliver your mail, go ahead and do so. Really, go ahead. What stops you? Nothing. Is it cheaper???


RE: Postal service needs competition
By Fritzr on 12/9/2007 5:00:39 PM , Rating: 3
There are legitimate alternatives. All the private couriers offer mailers that are simply heavy envlopes. The cost is much higher though since you do pay for the extra expense of processing in the manner that FedEx, UPS, DHL and the others use. There is a law that says they cannot carry regular mail, but that is not the source of the USPS low prices. The real source is the fact that USPS has a system designed around certain standards ... mailings that do not adhere to those standards raise postal rates since the USPS is NOT tax supported. it is a for profit government owned corporation that is required to fund itself while minimizing net profits that could be returned to the General Fund instead.

A letter is still something that Rudyard Kipling or Charles Dickens would recognize as being similar to the letters of their day. If anything has changed it is that now we have a national standard page size and a limited number of envelope sizes.

That people are mailing things that need rigid packages in paper envelopes or in oversized non-standard envelopes, is not the fault of the postal service. It is the fault of the person who chose to design a mailer that cannot be processed by automated sorters while expecting to never pay the cost of designing, purchasing, installing, maintaining and operating the new equipment required to handle their "innovative" packaging. As noted in an earlier post, other companies redesigned their packaging to work with current generation machinery. Netflix has been offered a rate that will allow the USPS to continue to process the "innovative" packaging without the general customer base being required to subsidize NetFlix mailings.


By mindless1 on 12/10/2007 10:40:32 PM , Rating: 2
You are completely wrong. It is not barking at a customer when the customer has been informed of the mailer they need to get a certain rate but instead will not use it, but tries to get the rate anyway.

The USPS did what they should, informing that a higher rate would be needed or the package changed, they they waited, and waited, and neither happened. Now they're saying "we gave you plenty of time and won't wait, you have to make the change NOW".

The UPSP does not need to change anything, they just should have been less patient in the first place. They already had the plan in place, that these packages will cost more to offset the special handling needed.

Hint: FedEx or DHL will do the same thing, it is not a lack of adaptation involved except on the part of Netflix. The facts are clear, Netflix did not use the right package but kept trying to pay less than special packaging requires as already clearly specified by the USPS.


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