USPS

[Drucker]

What a shame, but you're probably better off kissing that stuff goodbye. The USPS has turned into a pimp for junk mail.

That is a shame.
As for the junk mail pimp, when was the last time you/anyone sent a letter?
The USPS has its problems but is still the gold standard for delivery on the planet.
563 MILLION pieces of mail a day, 171 BILLION a year.
Someone somewhere is going to get screwed, but it aint personal
By contrast UPS does 16 Million a day.

[Jer]

That is a shame.
As for the junk mail pimp, when was the last time you/anyone sent a letter?
The USPS has its problems but is still the gold standard for delivery on the planet.
563 MILLION pieces of mail a day, 171 BILLION a year.
Someone somewhere is going to get screwed, but it aint personal
By contrast UPS does 16 Million a day.

...and when I used to ship thousands of dollars a week I had FAR more instances of shipper fuck ups with UPS than I did USPS. USPS was cheaper and also offered free Saturday shipment as well as packing supplies and boxes and what not. Making the move from UPS to USPS when I was doing tons of shipping was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Bottom line is if it's something expensive or you're concerned about it arriving safely... GET INSURANCE. This goes for ANY carrier. If you choose to take a risk on shipping some protein powder and other less-than-fragile items and not cover it with insurance than that's YOUR choice to self insure. I do it all the time and if the package gets screwed up I don't expect all those who paid for the insurance to cover my loss. Sorry but you didn't insure and I don't care if there was a singed note from the person who threw it out of their LRV at 75mph claiming responsibility, if you don't have insurance you have nothing. Lesson learned and move on with your life.

[bogie]

That is a shame.
As for the junk mail pimp, when was the last time you/anyone sent a letter?
The USPS has its problems but is still the gold standard for delivery on the planet.
563 MILLION pieces of mail a day, 171 BILLION a year.
Someone somewhere is going to get screwed, but it aint personal
By contrast UPS does 16 Million a day.

USPS is fine for parcels, WITH insurance. I send a few cards and letters a year.

I get a couple bills a month, one from the local govt for water, most are electronic. 90% of my mail goes straight into the trash bin. So the taxpayer is effectively subsidizing my trash can while i have to pay inflated rates for first class mail.

A few recent articles.

Like this one:

In 2011, advertising mail volume was 84.7 billion pieces of mail and total first-class mail was 73.5 billion.

Or this one...

For less than 15 cents apiece, our customers can send fliers, menus, brochures and advertisements in highly targeted ways,” said Paul Vogel, president and chief marketing and sales officer for the Postal Service

Or here.

“While Advertising Mail takes up a larger percentage of mail today, it takes on average three pieces of mail to make up the contribution of a single piece of First-Class mail.”
But in 2010, the Postal Service found it was actually closer to a 1:2 ratio, with First-Class Mail bringing in $34 billion while mail termed “Advertising” brought in $17.3 billion.

I think pimp is an appropriate term.