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Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

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Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#31

Post by empath75 »

IanDrake wrote: post #27
empath75 wrote: post #3

This is the kind of authoritarian bullshit that putin does to keep the oligarchs in line. You can be sure that if trump remains in office, he’ll keep going after wealthy people that criticize him using any lever he can reach in the federal government, and there are a lot of levers. And he’ll use different levers to reward people that fall in line. It’s bullying, mob-boss tactics.

In an ironic twist, complaining about the wealthy has been the Democrats’ rhetoric for as long as I can remember. Here’s some pre Trump complaints I recall... The wealthy don’t pay their fair share. Trump: New tax plan just took away a huge source of federal tax deductions. The wealthy ship jobs oversees. Trump: attempting to put reciprocal tariffs in place to level the playing field. The wealthy use the government t…

it’s not what trump is doing, but why. It’s because Bezos owns the Washington post.

You can be sure if he owned the Washington Times, he’d be giving Bezos a discount.

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#32

Post by chiefalchemist »

IAmEveryone wrote: post #11
smoyer wrote: post #6

In the last week I've received packages shipped via DHL and via Fedex that used SmartPost, where the USPS actually delivers the package. I don't remember ever having a UPS-to-SmartPost shipment. If the USPS is cheaper than these global shippers for the last-mile deliver, it might be a sign that they're not charging enough. At least in my town, they also don't seem to be very efficient - two Saturdays ago I was workin…

If what the USPS charges for packages is "enough" depends entirely on your definition of "enough": Does package delivery lower the USPS' losses? Absolutely! Do they charge enough for package delivery to spin it out into a separate, viable business? Probably not. This unusual situation stems from the fact that the USPS is mandated by law to pass by every house in the country at least once a day, six days per week.

Mind you, I have a biz address for the important mail, 95% of what comes to my home is junk mail. I don't need that daily.

I would imagine 3 days a week (M+W+F and T+T+S) would be fine for residential.

The problem is, that entails jobs being cut. That's a political no-go. This will never happen any time soon.

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#33

Post by anilshanbhag »

dsparkman wrote: post #8

The package delivery business side of the USPS is a profitable venture. The USPS is in the state it is in not because of Amazon or last mile delivery that is doing for other businesses. The core problem is Congress and the requirement they put is the USPS that they prefund 75 years of pensions. A requirement placed on no other institutions in the US.

After reading multiple reports, I am confused if anyone really knows if it is profitable or not. Do you have a source for your claim ?

UPS and Fedex have operating margin of ~6%. They have spent 10's of billions of dollars into optimized sorting facilities and logistics. Yet, Amazon uses USPS for last mile delivery. USPS also has to deliver to non-profitable remote locations and has public unions which demand above-market salary/pensions. A less-optimized player with higher cost base offers service at lower cost than a business with 6% operating margin - simple math makes me believe they are losing money on those orders.

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#34

Post by smoyer »

IAmEveryone wrote: post #11
smoyer wrote: post #6

In the last week I've received packages shipped via DHL and via Fedex that used SmartPost, where the USPS actually delivers the package. I don't remember ever having a UPS-to-SmartPost shipment. If the USPS is cheaper than these global shippers for the last-mile deliver, it might be a sign that they're not charging enough. At least in my town, they also don't seem to be very efficient - two Saturdays ago I was workin…

If what the USPS charges for packages is "enough" depends entirely on your definition of "enough": Does package delivery lower the USPS' losses? Absolutely! Do they charge enough for package delivery to spin it out into a separate, viable business? Probably not. This unusual situation stems from the fact that the USPS is mandated by law to pass by every house in the country at least once a day, six days per week.

Yes ... and the best way to make money delivering packages is to include them with the regular mail so that you're passing each house exactly once. I might also agree that the package delivery is stemming the USPS' losses but you'd have to show that it's not actually causing more losses - our little village now has three USPS trucks (there used to be one). I'm also assuming additional personnel are needed for all those extra runs and we now see USPS trucks on Sundays.

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#35

Post by ilamont »

mcbits wrote: post #26
ilamont wrote: post #17

What they should do is review the subsidization of Chinese companies shipping to U.S. customers, often at the expense of makers and merchants in the U.S.: According to the terms set out in Universal Postal Union treaty, the USPS in 2014 gets paid no more than about $1.50 for delivering a one-pound package from a foreign carrier, which makes it hard to cover costs. [1] The USPS inspector general’s office estimated tha…

I'm curious what you mean by "makers" here. To me the term means end users who tinker and build their own gadgets for fun, education, or because nobody produces the thing they want. Cheap parts from China are a benefit to that group, not an expense, although shipping should be priced sustainably.

I'm thinking of the type of person who makes small-batch products and sells them, which kind of was the model for Etsy before cheap imported goods took over right around the same time the post office began subsidizing overseas carriers.

Wired uses the term "maker" interchangeably with "crafter" in the following article, which gives some of the history:

That Etsy began allowing manufacturing partners in 2013 underscored the reseller issue that has plagued the site for years. The Marketplace Integrity, Trust & Safety team—which has the unenviable task of policing sellers for adherence to Etsy rules—is unable or unwilling to weed out sellers of mass-manufactured goods.

https://www.wired.com/2015/02/etsy-not-good-for-crafters/

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#36

Post by axaxs »

aneutron wrote: post #4

It'd be fun to see Amazon US spinning off their own delivery service if they are backstabbed by UPS/FedEx/Postal service

Oddly, I disagree. Package delivery is one of the few remaining 'low skill' professions that pay well. UPS pays their drivers exceptionally, and has very strict rules and safety standards. USPS also pays relatively well. In exchange, we consumers get service from generally trusted, uniformed individuals. I'm afraid Amazon would create a race to the bottom, which would leave us accepting subpar service like we have in other industries(retail, fast food, etc). The employees are paid less, and the service as a whole gets worse, all in the name of 'cost-savings.' I know that's the free market for us, but it'd be nice to not lose every segment in a race to the bottom.

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#39

Post by enraged_camel »

spodek wrote: post #18

I wonder if he's trying to distract people from other news that makes him look bad. Can anyone think of any news or investigations he'd want to distract people from? If this attack doesn't work, he may start a war, which is guaranteed to distract.

It has been an exceptionally shitty week for Trump. Most notably, the FBI raided his personal lawyer’s office, residence and hotel rooms. Then it was revealed that said lawyer had a habit of recording his own conversations so now Trump is freaking the fuck out. And he is doing what he always does when he is mad, which is lash out.

Re: Trump orders Postal Service review after blasting Amazon deal

#40

Post by commandar »

smoyer wrote: post #6

In the last week I've received packages shipped via DHL and via Fedex that used SmartPost, where the USPS actually delivers the package. I don't remember ever having a UPS-to-SmartPost shipment. If the USPS is cheaper than these global shippers for the last-mile deliver, it might be a sign that they're not charging enough. At least in my town, they also don't seem to be very efficient - two Saturdays ago I was workin…

> If the USPS is cheaper than these global shippers for the last-mile deliver, it might be a sign that they're not charging enough.

Conversely, it could be an indication of leveraging efficiency of scale.

USPS sends a mail carrier to my house specifically most days of the week. And on the days they don't, there's still a mail carrier coming to my street at minimum.

Meanwhile, UPS or Fedex may not even send a truck to my neighborhood on any given day. If they throw a package on a USPS truck for last mile delivery, they don't have to incur the cost of sending a truck out of its way.

USPS is essentially selling excess capacity. It can be both cheaper and appropriately priced at the same time.

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