Posted on 11/11/2013 4:35:42 AM PST by RoosterRedux
The cash-short United States Postal Service, which has failed to win congressional approval to stop delivering mail on Saturdays to save money, has struck a deal with the online retailer Amazon.com to deliver the company’s packages on Sundays — a first for both, with obvious advantages for each.
For the Postal Service, which lost nearly $16 billion last year, first-class mail delivery, particularly on Saturdays, is often a money loser, whereas package delivery is profitable.
The deal, announced on Sunday and taking effect immediately, in time for the holiday shopping season, gives the Postal Service a chance to take some business from United Parcel Service and FedEx, which do not deliver on Sundays. Now, some orders that would have been handled by either of those carriers for Monday delivery will go through the Postal Service and arrive on Sunday.
The Postal Service said it expected to make more such deals with other merchants, seeking a larger role in the $186 billion e-commerce market. Amazon.com would not say if it would try to arrange Sunday deliveries with other parcel carriers.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I’ll go out on a limb and predict double the losses if they have to pay triple time weekend differentials to the union employees.
I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon. Most of the stuff I buy that I can wait a day or two for, in fact.
I’ve noticed that a lot of things I buy originally get shipped cross-country by UPS, but get turned over to the local post office once it gets in my area. I live north of Atlanta about an hour or so, so I guess it is more economical for the USPS to deliver than UPS, especially to meet a guaranteed 2-day deliver.
Overall, if this helps the USPS, and Amazon is happy, I’m for it.
This is a great idea. It’s past time to start thinking out of the box.
Speaking of which, I'm surprised that the Postal Service doesn't consider lowering its rates.
You a Prime member as well? It took a while for me to sign up, but I’ve not regretted it once.
I’m happy to hear this. As much as I hate that Amazon puts smaller businesses out of business, capitalism works to benefit those who provide the best service at the lowest price.
“...first-class mail delivery, particularly on Saturdays, is often a money loser...”
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I don’t understand why the author says that Saturday mail delivery
is more of a money loser than the other days of the week.
Yes...I’ve saved more than what it costs to be Prime. And, when you get bored, you can watch the videos free (most of them anyway).
One thing I’ve also found with Amazon is that their business model is not just itself as a big box consolidator.
There hundreds/thousands of small concerns that have sales agreements with them.
I get a lot of stuff I buy that comes from Mom/Pop Brick & Mortar stores as well. As an estimate, I’d say a third of the stuff I buy is like that.
Me, too. I didn't even know about the free videos included in the Prime membership. Bonus.
Oh absolutely. I get a lot of the wife’s health and beauty stuff from their resellers. I’m happy to help mom and pops who are intuitive enough to get that presence. I see more local brick and mortars shutting down, and some of my favorite specialty website retailers (such as NewEgg and FrozenCPU) can’t beat Amazon on price and especially can’t beat their shipping costs!
They’re building a warehouse here in the Tampa Bay area. Word is that any prime customer living within 50 miles of an Amazon warehouse can get same-day or next-day delivery for nothing since they have to pay state sales tax on the purchase. That’s smart business on Amazon’s part if true.
You can check out Kindle books as well.
I did contract work for the Post Office a few years ago and according to the Facility Directors, Tuesday is the slowest day.
I was just saying to another poster that I love how Amazon’s affiliates do a lot of selling through them.
I work for USPS usually sorting flats
>>which has failed to win congressional approval to stop delivering mail on Saturdays
Great, govt interference (into a quasi-governmental agency)
into what could have saved us money (that huge pensional-plan-funding-for-75-years is another that could have been addressed). Who is John Galt? (And yes I’m a fan of Rand etc.
but still work for USPS. Make Dagney Taggart postmaster general! She could run a railroad well but when the govt.
came in...)
I order from amazon and it usually gets here fairly quickly (even in cases of “amazon marketplace”, private sellers of used goods through amazon). Ordered a used DVD and it came in several days earlier than expected.
Bump
Oh and if you live in Mass. since Nov 1 TAXES are now applied to amazon.com sales.
The Postal Service's rates are already substantially less than UPS or FedEX.
Same thing in Wisconsin
That's my observation, too, from my little, rural Post Office. Saturday volumes are comparable to Wed., Thu., and Fri.. With no Saturday deliveries, Monday [already, by far, the heaviest day] will be crushing. And don't even talk about a three-day weekend.
I can't figure out why Washington thinks it's such a good idea to cut out Saturdays. The only way it could possibly work is to hold back the so-called junk mail and dribble it out during the course of the week.
Even then, though, the First Class letter volume -- which is still substantial given the reduction in the workforce -- will be impossible to deliver without substantial overtime.
Just can't figure it out.
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