[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

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.

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...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

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.
-

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

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

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by CybrSage

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

Colony has a Mail store (not sure of the name) that will mail UPS, FexEd and USPS as well (for an additional fee, of course...)

If you can manage to open you own UPS account (it's simple and I like it better than FedEx), you can print your own label (at a cheaper price than the store will charge) and just drop it off at any of the Mail re-seller stores...

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

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

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

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

$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.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

$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.

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.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Aces4

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.

Yep, that problem.

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

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

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.

Sometimes, there are time constraints...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

$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.

The UPS Store is ALWAYS more expensive than regular UPS.

I've already explained why...

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Yep, that problem.

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

It was never much of a problem until the last 20-25 years. Very telling about American integrity and character now, sadly.

[thelegges]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

$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.

A box sent from Wildwood post office $4.45, was $9.25 at the UPS ship store. UPS locations are convenient, but fees to ship are close to double.

We drive to FedEx, in Leesburg, ship out envelope or box, stop at Donut King with the savings. Have lunch in town. Then a cold brew at WaWa’s. A day of sugar, good food, and inexpensive good coffee. Plus a guarantee package will arrive with contents intact, and in a few days

[ElLegal]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

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.

I was thinking the same thing, but when I bought my house, I did everything on a computer, including signing the documents.

[ElLegal]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

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

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.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by ElLegal

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.

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?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The USPS isn't "losing" money. It's SPENDING money. It is not a business, it isn't designed to turn a profit. It is an EXPENSE. Just like the military is an expense. Do you think we should see some profit from the CIA? The Army? How about the IRS? Would you be okay if the IRS charged a fee for the privilege of filing your taxes, so that it can be a profitable organization? How about the FTC, the FAA - maybe the FAA should tack on an extra $100 fee per use for people flying aircraft, so that it can turn a profit.

Do you see how insane and ridiculous that sounds? That's how the rhetoric and hyperbole and strawman arguments about the USPS "losing" money sounds to me.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

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?

This feels very old fashioned and out of step with our current lives. Who sends letters every day and how many people would love to stop sending obligatory Christmas cards and send greetings by email, text or a phone call. Next argument to keep the obsolete...