Stamps for Christmas


 
JSaus

JSaus

TVWBB Wizard
I needed stamps for Christmas cards. There is not a full service post office near me, so I decided to order on line. I live outside St Louis, so they ship the stamps from Kansas City on the opposite side of the state. It has been 3 days and now they have made it past me to St Louis. You would think my local post office would have some packs of stamps. Efficiency. Hope I get in time to mail.

Tracking

Processing at Destination
Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility
SAINT LOUIS MO DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 8, 2022, 1:05 pm

In Transit to Next Facility
December 7, 2022

Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
KANSAS CITY MO DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 6, 2022, 9:58 pm

Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
KANSAS CITY MO DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 5, 2022, 2:43 pm

Accepted at USPS Regional Origin Facility
KANSAS CITY MO DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 5, 2022, 1:28 pm
 
USPS is a model of inefficiency. I.E., we have a local post office here in Cherry Valley full service. Small and friendly. but, here is how it works. If I send say a Christmas Card to a neighbor here in CV, the card is picked up, taken to CV post office then sent to the main Rockford PO, from there it's sent to a Chicago Distribution Center in Palatine IL, then it's sent back to the Rockford PO that sent it to Palatine from there it's sent BACK to CV PO, and finally after 4 days is delivered to my neighbor at the end of the block. And we wonder why they lose $$$$?
 
LMichaels said:
USPS is a model of inefficiency. I.E., we have a local post office here in Cherry Valley full service. Small and friendly. but, here is how it works. If I send say a Christmas Card to a neighbor here in CV, the card is picked up, taken to CV post office then sent to the main Rockford PO, from there it's sent to a Chicago Distribution Center in Palatine IL, then it's sent back to the Rockford PO that sent it to Palatine from there it's sent BACK to CV PO, and finally after 4 days is delivered to my neighbor at the end of the block. And we wonder why they lose $$$$?
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That's so ridiculous that I'm sure you are right.
 
Well, that model is not much different than FedEx. It used to be that every overnight package went in/out of Memphis every night. Now they've got 13 regional airport hubs and 40 ground hubs, so I'd guess in some parts of the country a FedEx package travels a fair distance just to be delivered in the town next door, and at quite a high price.

It's super easy to pick on the USPS, but I don't think losing money has much to do with their distribution center model. Do some quick research online and you'll find many thoughtful articles on why USPS is always losing money...declining mail volume, rising costs, mandated retirement funding by Congress...let's not dive into the politics of the post office.

Frankly, I don't care if USPS loses money. They deliver 425 million pieces of mail each day, FedEx delivers only 16.5 million packages a day! A guy checks my mailbox six days a week, and for a few cents picks up my letter and transports it across country and it almost always arrives in three days.

Sending out some Christmas cheer to our USPS letter carriers!
 
Chris Allingham said:
Well, that model is not much different than FedEx. It used to be that every overnight package went in/out of Memphis every night. Now they've got 13 regional airport hubs and 40 ground hubs, so I'd guess in some parts of the country a FedEx package travels a fair distance just to be delivered in the town next door, and at quite a high price.

It's super easy to pick on the USPS, but I don't think losing money has much to do with their distribution center model. Do some quick research online and you'll find many thoughtful articles on why USPS is always losing money...declining mail volume, rising costs, mandated retirement funding by Congress...let's not dive into the politics of the post office.

Frankly, I don't care if USPS loses money. They deliver 425 million pieces of mail each day, FedEx delivers only 16.5 million packages a day! A guy checks my mailbox six days a week, and for a few cents picks up my letter and transports it across country and it almost always arrives in three days.

Sending out some Christmas cheer to our USPS letter carriers!
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Thanks, Chris! ReTIRED mailman here.
 
Chris Allingham said:
Well, that model is not much different than FedEx. It used to be that every overnight package went in/out of Memphis every night. Now they've got 13 regional airport hubs and 40 ground hubs, so I'd guess in some parts of the country a FedEx package travels a fair distance just to be delivered in the town next door, and at quite a high price.

It's super easy to pick on the USPS, but I don't think losing money has much to do with their distribution center model. Do some quick research online and you'll find many thoughtful articles on why USPS is always losing money...declining mail volume, rising costs, mandated retirement funding by Congress...let's not dive into the politics of the post office.

Frankly, I don't care if USPS loses money. They deliver 425 million pieces of mail each day, FedEx delivers only 16.5 million packages a day! A guy checks my mailbox six days a week, and for a few cents picks up my letter and transports it across country and it almost always arrives in three days.

Sending out some Christmas cheer to our USPS letter carriers!
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I realize they may lose money and not be run efficiently but I’ve used them thousands of times sending and receiving items through eBay and Etsy and from that alone not considering our day to day mail I’ve had excellent service, scarcely few mishaps. I can print shipping labels for packages from home and select the day for the carrier to come up to the house and pick it up. Worth every penny to me. Thank you postal carriers.
 
My issue is not with the boots on the ground but with the hierarchy. I made a business decision a long time ago that valuable shipments (my mixers and the other things I sell through EBay no longer travel through USPS). Have had far too many disappear, arrive manhandled and damaged (and believe me I don't cut corners on packing). So while it may be slightly more $$$ for me to use UPS or FedEx they have yet to destroy or lose what I sell and ship. I get it. For the most part the folks in the little white trucks are not usually to blame and work their tales off. And yes many times I am out thee at my little RR mail box handing a treat or a tip to my carrier. Please don't mistake my issue with the organization to mean having an issue with the individual out there every day boots on the ground
 
If I need stamps, I either go the P.O. or somewhere like a grocery store that sells them. Ordering anything online comes with consciousness especially this time of the year. This is isn't that complicated....
 
LMichaels said:
My issue is not with the boots on the ground but with the hierarchy.
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I thought we were talking about efficiency and losing money. Now we've moved on to damaged packages...OK.

Your experience shipping blenders with USPS vs UPS is your own, no one can deny your personal experience. My sense is that it's a highly variable situation from person to person depending on what they ship and plain old luck. I've never shipped blenders, but tons of stuff using USPS Priority Mail and First Class with great results and usually at the lowest cost.

There is some limited testing where identical packages with shock labels included are sent via USPS, UPS, and FedEx to various addresses around the country, and the USPS packages had a lot more activated shock labels, indicating that those packages were subjected to rougher treatment as they passed through the system. But that probably affects a blender a lot more than a baseball cap, which I've been shipping lots of lately. :)

But back to the original question of ordering Christmas stamps...JSaus, let us know when they arrive, I'm curious.
 
My post was not about the value and convenience of the daily mail from the USPS, I think it is a great value and I am happy with the daily service. It was about the long journey my stamps are having when every post office in the country stocks stamps.
 
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