E-Packet deliveries from China will cost a lot more in shipping soon

[papergoblin]

When any business is paying gov. benefits and pay rates but is basically ran as a private business, it's doomed. There's no way to pay out that much and still compete with fully private companies. I do give it to the USPS, they've had a long run but something is going to have to give.

The USPS is a bloated and red taped nightmare that needs to trim the fat and have a little more accountability. Any service that is self-governing and inspecting is a problem, just look at the IRS. There needs to be a better system of checks and balances in our postal service. Now for the cost of things, I thought the whole point in paying customs was to cover taxes and fees which offset it all.

 

[Letitia]

If you live in more populated communities maybe you have decent shops, if not your only other options are online shops. 5.00 more is doable, 20-40 more is a no go for the average vaper.

 

[Jumpin' In...]

It costs, at the minimum, $2.66 USD to send a small package of 4 OZ anywhere in the USA, and that's using a discount service .. In January, USPS plans on initiating Zone Pricing, so distance from Seller will begin to play in .. as well, Priority Rates will go up ..

Erkk! Zone pricing sucks from where I sit. No such thing as “ground” shipping to Hawaii from the other 49. Heck, there’s no such thing as ground shipping even from within this island; everything goes to the main post office on Oahu, then gets sent back to Maui for delivery.

Oh well, there’s always Eciggity I guess. Their online business would take a hit though. Hopefully they will survive...

 

[Jumpin' In...]

. . .

There is something very wrong when a package costs less to send from China to the USA, than it costs to send from within the USA to another location in the USA.

. . .

Can’t disagree with that.

 

[bombastinator]

When any business is paying gov. benefits and pay rates but is basically ran as a private business, it's doomed. There's no way to pay out that much and still compete with fully private companies. I do give it to the USPS, they've had a long run but something is going to have to give.

The USPS is a bloated and red taped nightmare that needs to trim the fat and have a little more accountability. Any service that is self-governing and inspecting is a problem, just look at the IRS. There needs to be a better system of checks and balances in our postal service. Now for the cost of things, I thought the whole point in paying customs was to cover taxes and fees which offset it all.

And againpolitical. But I’ll bite just this once because it is already completely out of hand. Private industry TRIED TO COMPETE WITH THE POST OFFICE AND FAILED MISERABLY. the government stepped in and protected FedEx and UPS by banning them from the single most profitable delivery system: at airport shipping, which is the only thing they do now.

 

[dom qp]

Can’t disagree with that.

Except when the mailman and other postal workers in the US are paid $20 an hour and in China it's $2.

We could just get prisoners to do it instead and undercut the Chinese from $2 to $0.75.

Imagine the job creation. There's something like 2.5 million people incarcerated that could be helping us drive down shipping costs.

 

[puffon]

Except when the mailman and other postal workers in the US are paid $20 an hour and in China it's $2.

In my area, mail carriers are now contract workers, that bid on the routes.
They don't earn anywhere near a USPS employee, and use their own vehicles.
They do get mileage compensation, but very minimal benefits.

 

[dom qp]

When any business is paying gov. benefits and pay rates but is basically ran as a private business, it's doomed.

Canada Post is a government owned company, it pays and has benefits in line with a government job. It's run like a private company.

They turned out a 144 million dollar profit last year out of a 8.4 billion dollar revenue. While that's not a huge profit, they employ 64,000 people. That's 64,000 people with good paying jobs and benefits.

Canada Post has the largest postal area of any other nation, and has 1/10th the population of the United States. The low density makes it a challenge to turn a profit. Surely if Canadians can do it Americans can do it better?

 

[bnrkwest]

I worked at the PO for several years. The amount of mail moved in 1 day is mind blowing! Postal workers work their butts off. There are hiring freezes and no overtime, so during Xmas they have to work harder with no compensation. It is self supporting, postal rates pay for everything. I am amazed it works as well as it does, it is quite amazing. Even at $.50 a letter, it is a bargain! I have no clue how China's postal system works tho. Not political just how stuff works LOL

 

[zoiDman]

144 years ago there wasn't a republic of China. It's part of the UPU since 1914 and the fee system was first implemented in 1969. It just doesn't sound as impressive if you put it like that.

Look, I'm all for countries looking after themselves. But if the answer is always to get out of international treaties and creating a "the whole world is after us" narrative then I naturally have a skeptical attitude towards that.
Leaving the UPU just because of China? There's like 191 countries in that organization.
To me that's the diplomatic equivalent of a temper tantrum.

Yes, things have to change, but we don't have to abandon every advance in international cooperation in the process. In the end the consumer will still pay all the bills.

At a Fundamental Level, doesn't this all come down to a question of is the USA Playing on the same Fair and Level Playing Field as someone like China when it comes to Shipping/Postal Rates?

I'm just kinda at a Loss when I ask myself Why a Seller in China should be able to ship me something thru the USPS for Less than it costs a US Seller to ship the Same Item to China in the year 2018?

 

[440BB]

My initial reaction is that the USPS deserves this as a small payback for the extreme retirement funding requirement that chokes them. The downside to this is that the Chinese may choose different shippers, eliminating a lot of activity that while not profitable, keeps USPS workers employed. I'm sure Fedex, UPS and DHL are licking their chops.

 

[zoiDman]

My initial reaction is that the USPS deserves this as a small payback for the extreme retirement funding requirement that chokes them. The downside to this is that the Chinese may choose different shippers, eliminating a lot of activity that while not profitable, keeps USPS workers employed. I'm sure Fedex, UPS and DHL are licking their chops.

But in a Free Market system, isn't that the Reward for a company like FedEx or UPS or DHL?

If FedEx or UPS or DHL can get that package from China to your Door cheaper and in a similar time than the USPS, shouldn't they be the ones to who reap the Profits?

And if USPS has to Downside, will not some of those USPS worked migrate to FedEx or UPS or DHL as they Upsize?

Shouldn't the Market be the one who Dictates who gets what? Verses some type of Artificial Price Fixing or a Subsidized Cost Protection?

 

[bombastinator]

My initial reaction is that the USPS deserves this as a small payback for the extreme retirement funding requirement that chokes them. The downside to this is that the Chinese may choose different shippers, eliminating a lot of activity that while not profitable, keeps USPS workers employed. I'm sure Fedex, UPS and DHL are licking their chops.

It’s not the retirement funding. It’s them having to basically support FEDEX and UPS

 

[tiburonfirst]

At a Fundamental Level, doesn't this all come down to a question of is the USA Playing on the same Fair and Level Playing Field as someone like China when it comes to Shipping/Postal Rates?

I'm just kinda at a Loss when I ask myself Why a Seller in China should be able to ship me something thru the USPS for Less than it costs a US Seller to ship the Same Item to China in the year 2018?

i'm sure china being classified as a developing country under the upu is a losing proposition here but under that same treaty we have a set hand-off fee in place with 193 countries. when my mom was alive she always wondered how i could mail a letter to her for less money, or for just about the same amount in later years, than what she had to pay for domestic mail in germany.
there's always more than one side to consider

 

[Uncle Willie]

The bottom line to the entire debate is simply placing China to USA shipping rates on a level playing field and thus eliminating a Chinese Unfair Advantage .. I'll use a different example ::

Shipping First Class, no insurance from the USA to China, just a One OZ small padded envelope costs the USA customer $14.25 .. regular Retail rate .. yet, China is able to sell you and ship to you a Cell Phone skin for .77 cents / free shipping, currently ..

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...tion=1000&_nkw=cell+phone+skin&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

Let Fastech / eBay China and the rest have to pay that same $14.25 and up ..

The way I read it, USPS has had no say in this and has simply had to bite the bullet .. and, it costs them money .. USPS should be fairly compensated for delivery once a package hits the Port of Entry on the West Coast and, obviously, a .77 cent free shipping Cell Phone Skin (among many other things) is not providing fair compensation and loses money for USPS .. It's simple as that ..

If Jack Ma

Jack Ma - Wikipedia

Wants to open giant Distribution Fulfillment Centers in the USA a la Amazon and ship the goods within the USA with USA rates, let him .. that would be an added bonus to the USA economy and USPS ..

 

[bombastinator]

The bottom line to the entire debate is simply placing China to USA shipping rates on a level playing field and thus eliminating a Chinese Unfair Advantage .. I'll use a different example ::

Shipping First Class, no Insurance from the USA to China, just a One OZ small padded envelope costs the USA customer $14.25 .. regular Retail rate .. yet, China is able to sell you and ship to you a Cell Phone skin for .77 cents / free shipping, currently ..

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...tion=1000&_nkw=cell+phone+skin&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

Let Fastech / eBay China and the rest have to pay that same $14.25 and up ..

The way I read it, USPS has had no say in this and has simply had to bite the bullet .. and, it costs them money .. USPS should be fairly compensated for delivery once a package hits the Port of Entry on the West Coast and, obviously, a .77 cent free shipping Cell Phone Skin (among many other things) is not providing fair compensation and loses money for USPS .. It's simple as that ..

If Jack Ma

Jack Ma - Wikipedia

Wants to open giant Distribution Fulfillment Centers in the USA a la Amazon and ship the goods within the USA with USA rates, let him .. that would be an added bonus to the USA economy and USPS ..

Distribution fulfillment centers are the most profitable part of package delivery partially because usps is banned by the government from having them in an attempt to save for profit carriers from being out competed by usps

 

[tiburonfirst]

The way I read it, USPS has had no say in this and has simply had to bite the bullet .. and, it costs them money ..

again - no postal system in the 193 countries participating is being compensated that way. international shipping would be prohibitive if we had to pay and fully cover everybody along the way. that's why this treaty came into play. hand-off fees don't come close anywhere in covering 'the last mile'

 

[Uncle Willie]

Distribution fulfillment centers are the most profitable part of package delivery partially because usps is banned by the government from having them in an attempt to save for profit carriers from being out competed by usps

Any increase in revenue over some tiny slice of nothing that USPS currently gets from the Chinese market is a good thing for USPS ..

I'm taking about a Warehouse that ships goods in stock .. to my knowledge, UPS / FedEx, etc, do not run Mail Order operations ..

 

[Uncle Willie]

again - no postal system in the 193 countries participating is being compensated that way. international shipping would be prohibitive if we had to pay and fully cover everybody along the way. that's why this treaty came into play. hand-off fees don't come close anywhere in covering 'the last mile'

Shipping to Countries that participate in this lop-sided, outdated "treaty" should qualify for Participation under the treaty, as I'm sure China / Hong Kong did initially .. clearly, China no longer does and it's China that's the issue ..

 

[bombastinator]

again - no postal system in the 193 countries participating is being compensated that way. international shipping would be prohibitive if we had to pay and fully cover everybody along the way. that's why this treaty came into play. hand-off fees don't come close anywhere in covering 'the last mile'

I believe @Uncle Willie already drastically refuted that point.

My issue with the whole thing is not that fixing the postal treaty is not a good idea. It is that it was already an idea before 2017. The reason it was not enacted was it hurts American businesses abroad just as it hurts Chinese ones. This is not about saving American businesses, though it may turn out to do that for some of them. It’s about the president’s fight to kill amazon and in this case also American exporting companies in general because Bezos and he don’t get along