U.S. Postal Service Raising Rates July 13th

Sunny said:
Nearly all the mail received by me and my neighbors consists of advertising and bills (our mailboxes are all on one wall in the lobby, so we get a chance to compare and complain). We'd all be happy to do without both. The advertising, and particularly the constant barrage of pleas for donations, are just annoying, and I have to wonder how much money any of them raise that way. I get slick, expensive looking catalogs from several clothing chains, which go right into the trash can conveniently located next to the mailboxes. There's always a big pile of those throwaways. I'm sure the paper gets recycled, but even so, what a waste.

Sending stuff like the electric bill, etc. is another story. That obviously can't be just thrown away. But most businesses and utilities offer the choice to pay online now. That's probably what will happen if they keep raising postal rates.

A few pennies per letter doesn't bother me. But sending a package can be pretty expensive even now. If they raise it any more, people may just stop using the USPS.
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USPS is mostly junk mail now. How USPS survives. The mailbox at the curb fills up if I take 2 weeks away from the place.
The Junk keeps getting thicker envelopes and larger cards as time passes. Some won't lay flat in the average mailbox.
So the crammed in stuff fills it faster yet.

USPS says, "we are required by law to deliver it" ..... right! .....
Citizens should have the right to refuse it not be delivered, but the USPS would most likely screw that up too.
We should all have boxes at the Post Office and delete the carriers. Haha. was kidding. Not enough parking for that one.
The Carrier trucks have more parking than the Public. Something seems to be happening with the lil 4 banger boxes, weird vans now.
I would think the USPS could lease their trucks with competitive bids.
 

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oldman said:
The USPS is in red again. Last year, they were $9.5 billion in the red. This year, they are projecting a loss of $6.9 billion. They never learned that residents do not need to receive mail 6 days a week. If I got mail 3 days per week, like Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday would be fine.
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Wonder how many get delivered to the wrong address. Blame the girl that presorted it? Thats what my driver says. Haha.
 
Sunny said:
A few pennies per letter doesn't bother me. But sending a package can be pretty expensive even now. If they raise it any more, people may just stop using the USPS.
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For small packages, it'll still be cheaper than other services, Sunny. I checked.
 

To be fair, the USPS is a great service. Most mail going cross country arrives within 3-4 days. Local gets delivered in 1-2. House to house delivery can also be the only regular daily human contact for many homebound seniors.

Perfect example in my own life: My mom's hearing was going south, so in certain parts of her house she wouldn't hear her phone. One of my sisters was scheduled to visit soon so Mom told me if she didn't answer the phone for a couple of days it would be because she was clearing some clutter from the guest room. So I didn't worry when she didn't answer for two days. Figured if I couldn't get her that evening, I'd drive over to see what's what.

That very morning, her mailman (Jesse) knocked on Mom's neighbor's door. He knew Carol and my mom were close friends. He said, "I'm concerned about Mrs. X because she didn't take her mail out of her mailbox yesterday, and both yesterday's and today's newspapers are sitting on her front porch. That's very unlike her." Carol had keys to Mom's house so she and Jesse went to check. Mom was lying on the floor with a broken hip. She insisted that they call me instead of an ambulance. "Star can take care of this - no need to bother those nice firemen."

Of course, as soon as I arrived I did, in fact, call an ambulance and the nice firemen assured Mom it was no bother at all.

If not for Jesse, my mother would almost certainly have been stuck on the floor for another 12 hours, maybe longer.

USPS and UPS drivers can be silent guardians of the neighborhoods they work. They get to know people's habits and notice when they change.
 
Paladin1950 said:
I lost track of the price. For whatever reason, I didn't realize that the price of a first class stamp was 73¢. In July it will be 78¢. The lady who waited on me suggested that some people might start stocking up in advance.

That sounded like a better idea than to wait until I run out to buy more stamps, like I usually do.
U.S. Postal Service Recommends New Prices for July 2025 - Newsroom - About.usps.com
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Thanks for the heads-up. I am running short of the roll of stamps I bought 5-6 price increases ago, so it's time to restock.
 

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