Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2414810)

Put your money where your mouth is and send that letter, birthday card, or gift card via UPS at $8 each. You might also be able to get your monthly magazines delivered by UPS at a small additional charge of $100/year.

Part of the debate over the profitability of the USPS is the control the Govt has over it. The claim is that Congress does not allow it to be run as a business and perhaps it would be more profitable if Congress got out of the way. On the other hand, perhaps you prefer putting a 60 cent stamp on a letter and dropping it in your mailbox or at the nearby postal station rather than driving to a UPS store and waiting in line to pay $8.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2414839)

I know you don't want to accept it but...
- I used to have a USPS drop box at the end of my driveway
- I now have a community USPS drop box within 1/4 mile of my home and I pass many others as I drive through the Villages
- To use the USPS drop box I need to buy an envelope at my local grocery store
- To use the USPS drop box I need to apply a stamp that I can purchase at the grocery store

- I have seen a UPS drop box but I can't remember which city it was in
- I have no idea where to find a UPS drop box around the Villages
- To use a UPS drop box I would have to find an appropriate box, maybe I can find one at the grocery store.
- To use a UPS drop box I would have to pay for postage and print a label which is fine if I happen to have a working printer.
-

Originally Posted by CybrSage (Post 2414857)

SafeShip in Magnolia Plaza handles USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Maybe DHL also, not sure.

Originally Posted by JMintzer (Post 2415174)

The UPS store is much more expensive than regular UPS. They are private franchises who make money by adding a fee to the regular UPS price.

Get a UPS account (it's free). Print (and pay for) your own labels and you can drop them off at the UPS Store, or Mail Boxes Etc. They have to take them.

You'll save a ton of money...

Originally Posted by JMintzer (Post 2415176)

Any of the UPS Stores will take your own UPS printed letters/packages...

As for the working printer... I can't help you...

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2415178)

$8 for UPS shipping was the price I found online (three sites) not what I saw in a UPS store. (I would assume the UPS store is the same price, no?).

The question wasn't whether it is possible to send a letter through UPS, it is possible. The question was whether UPS was more convenient than USPS, it is not.

Originally Posted by Aces4 (Post 2415182)

A relative's ex sent Christmas cards with gift cards to each of their children and grandchildren who live at different addresses this year. Not one of them received the $100. cards and lesser cards for the grandchildren. Isn't the USPS wonderful? He now knows better but totally trusted the system, duh.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2415172)

Five business days. What's the problem?

And yes, overnight delivery is a thing - a thing that costs far more than a $0.58 stamp.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2415178)

$8 for UPS shipping was the price I found online (three sites) not what I saw in a UPS store. (I would assume the UPS store is the same price, no?).

The question wasn't whether it is possible to send a letter through UPS, it is possible. The question was whether UPS was more convenient than USPS, it is not.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2415185)

Yep, that problem.

Sorry for the person (and the children) but it has always been a bad idea to send cash through the mail.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2415178)

$8 for UPS shipping was the price I found online (three sites) not what I saw in a UPS store. (I would assume the UPS store is the same price, no?).

The question wasn't whether it is possible to send a letter through UPS, it is possible. The question was whether UPS was more convenient than USPS, it is not.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2414690)

You don't need it at all until you do. Most weeks I could get by without mail at all. Other weeks I'm waiting for that important document I need to sign and return.

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 2414697)

Why not, looks like we are losing a lot of things…….

Originally Posted by ElLegal (Post 2415216)

Well, the post office definitely looses money. Now imagine if UPS, FedEx and Amazon operated the same way. The time has come to eliminate it.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2415220)

What is the “it” you want to replace, a four-letter agency or the services it provides? Will UPS start picking up letters daily from every household in the country or will you now require everyone to drive to their nearest UPS drop box? Will mail-in ballots now be delivered by FedEx or will we do away with those entirely and disenfranchise thousands if not millions of voters? And, are you prepared to pay $8+ for each Christmas card you send?