if the post office charges the same price for 8-mile and 8000-mile trips, why can't a
Dec 14, 2010, 10:39 am
#16
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,452
It was realized that the biggest part of the cost of mail delivery was sorting mail and seeing to it that each letter reached correct destination. The costs that depended on actual distance were small - carrying a mailbag with 1000 letters for hundreds of miles was cheaper than walking to each 1000 mailbox at destination etc. So the stamps had flat rate within a certain reasonable distance and weight limit.
However, how far the flat rate should extend....
Dec 14, 2010, 10:46 am
#17
Join Date: Oct 2005
Programs: UA 1K, Hertz 5*, IHG RA, Hyatt Diamond, Amex Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 717
Last check the US Postal service was losing billions every year?
If airlines did flat rate they wouldn't be able to maximize on premium routes and be able to offer you those $49 one way fares.
If airlines did flat rate they wouldn't be able to maximize on premium routes and be able to offer you those $49 one way fares.
Dec 14, 2010, 1:26 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: BA blue, LH Senator, KQ (FB) gold
Posts: 8,215
Where on earth did you get that idea? Half the reason the Postal Service is losing so much money is that it is not a monopoly. For packages, it competes with UPS, DHL, Fedex, for letters, it competes with E-mail and fax, and the Internet (pay your bills online). However, unlike its competitors, the Postal Service is required to serve all addresses and all clients in the country, and its rates are regulated by the Federal Government.
Dec 14, 2010, 1:42 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 121
The runway(actaully, the main street) was closed because the town's only snow removal truck broke its blade, causing my package to be late by 3 days.
Dec 14, 2010, 3:28 pm
#20
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: BA blue, LH Senator, KQ (FB) gold
Posts: 8,215
Are there places within the U.S. that FedEx and UPS don't serve? I once even sent a FedEx package to a remote Alaskan village that's only accessible by single-propeller 4-seater planes. The runway(actaully, the main street) was closed because the town's only snow removal truck broke its blade, causing my package to be late by 3 days.
The runway(actaully, the main street) was closed because the town's only snow removal truck broke its blade, causing my package to be late by 3 days.
Dec 16, 2010, 6:42 pm
#21
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: UA 1P, AA, Hilton Honors
Posts: 1,160
As far as letters and first class postage goes - yes it is the same whether you are mailing across the street or across the country. And this is one reason the critics claim the USPS is losing money.
Priority flat rate domestic shipping is very good and If you can ship cheaper without using flat rate, you have the option to do so.
If you ship internationally from the US flat rate makes your life so much easier. If your item fits in a flat rate box, you can ship it virtually anywhere on earth for a flat rate: this makes it very easy to quote prices and if you print your postage online, it is even cheaper.
Priority flat rate domestic shipping is very good and If you can ship cheaper without using flat rate, you have the option to do so.
If you ship internationally from the US flat rate makes your life so much easier. If your item fits in a flat rate box, you can ship it virtually anywhere on earth for a flat rate: this makes it very easy to quote prices and if you print your postage online, it is even cheaper.
Last edited by u2fan; Dec 16, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Dec 16, 2010, 7:09 pm
#22
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: MEL
Programs: QF, VA, VN, BA, SQ, KC - all reds and blues.
Posts: 3,205
Airlines also don't charge strictly by distance. For example, a flight from Edinburgh to Stornoway would probably cost more than a flight from Edinburgh to London. And I well remember when a return LHR-JFK cost just twice as much as an LHR-BFS return. Plenty of FTers have worked out that it is sometimes cheaper to go Milan-London-New York than just from London to New York. One way tickets are seldom only 50% of the return fare.
So whilst airlines don't do flat fees, they certainly don't do a price by mile.
So whilst airlines don't do flat fees, they certainly don't do a price by mile.
Dec 18, 2010, 1:43 pm
#23
Used to be 'Travelergcp'
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: New Orleans
Programs: AA Plat, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,826
if the post office charges the same price for 8-mile and 8000-mile trips, why can't airlines do the same?
I was sending out christmas presents and it was a zoo at the local post office.(duh!)
Among my packages were two identical sets of DVDs(complete Start Trek series plus others). Each package weighed in at just over 9 pounds. I shipped them in priority mail flat rate boxes. One is going just 8 miles away to my nephew, while the other one is going a little more than 8000 miles to my cousin in Guam. What surprised me was the both packages cost exactly the same to ship. I don't pretend to understand the post office's logic or financial wisdom.
I was sending out christmas presents and it was a zoo at the local post office.(duh!)
Among my packages were two identical sets of DVDs(complete Start Trek series plus others). Each package weighed in at just over 9 pounds. I shipped them in priority mail flat rate boxes. One is going just 8 miles away to my nephew, while the other one is going a little more than 8000 miles to my cousin in Guam. What surprised me was the both packages cost exactly the same to ship. I don't pretend to understand the post office's logic or financial wisdom.
Dec 18, 2010, 2:11 pm
#24
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EXP 1.5MM, Asiana Club Silver, KE Morning Calm, Hyatt Platinum, Amtrak Select
Posts: 7,161
Care to also address why flat-rate systems like the USPS and our public transportation systems continue to rely on public funds never earning a profit?
Dec 18, 2010, 2:21 pm
#25
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
Dec 18, 2010, 2:55 pm
#26
Join Date: Jul 2006
Programs: United
Posts: 2,710
Really?
http://directmag.com/news/marketing_...ons_bill_cuts/
http://directmag.com/news/marketing_...ons_bill_cuts/
The USPS, ..., receives the money each year to recoup some of the costs associated with handling free and reduced-rate mail, and to help it recover some of the money it lost in previous years' processing. Items falling under the free and reduced-rate category include no-cost government mailings and the mailings of nonprofit charities, which by law, pay lower than regular rates.
Dec 18, 2010, 3:06 pm
#27
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
Far fewer tax dollars than many Fortune 500 companies, anyway.
Dec 18, 2010, 3:13 pm
#28
Join Date: Jul 2006
Programs: United
Posts: 2,710
Dec 18, 2010, 10:41 pm
#29
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SAN
Programs: PR Premier Elite
Posts: 1,950
I seem to recall an old story. Perhaps an urban legend. Going back at least 25 years. About a contractor in Alaska who was tasked with building a structure in a remote Alaskan village that was accessible only by air. As the story went, the contract specified cinder block construction and obviously transporting a huge consignment of cinder blocks to someplace accessible only by air is an expensive proposition. Quotes for transporting the cinder blocks were in the $150,000 range. Then some enterprising employee calculated that taking the number of cinder blocks required and individually packaging, addressing them and applying the proper postage would only cost $50,000 thus they dropped the whole load off at the post office in Anchorage who were none to thrilled about the circumstances but none the less had no choice but to deliver the "packages" to the proper address no mater what the cost.