No wonder the USPS is going broke

[bnorth]

Check out the dates on this one. I was sending $ to a fellow member for a couple T210's.

[CMIZ5290]

I also love how their tracking numbers are 50 digits! (at least it seems that many). Whenever I give someone a tracking number, I get dizzy trying to look at the number while I'm emailing it to the buyer...

[ALR-bishop]

I have been retired since 2007 a travel internationally quite a lot. I have come to appreciate our postal service in general

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I have been retired since 2007 a travel internationally quite a lot. I have come to appreciate our postal service in general

I lived outside the US for a few years and am 100% in agreement. They mess up every once in a while and financially they are run terribly but the number of problems I have had vs the number of items I have sent/rec'd is pretty unbelievably good overall, but I may just be lucky.

[deadballfreaK]

I generally support the USPS. Only two transactions lost out of thousands of card transactions. That being said try to top this postal story:

About 10 years ago I bought a Frank Chance caramel card on ebay. I don't even remember the issue , but it was about $75 and that was ten years ago so a pretty good card (E95?). Never showed up in a couple of weeks. I made inquiries and the dealer was sure it had been shipped on a certain date. No reason to doubt him. Settled in to wait a little longer. A couple of more weeks went by and I received a card from the post office stating that a package sent to me had to be destroyed for health reasons. Sorry!

I had no idea what they were talking about, but I was sure it was the Chance. I took the card up to the post office to inquire. The postmaster who is a friend of mine snorted. He said I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, (BUT he couldn't wait)! Seems a lot of mail had been going missing in the area and they had traced it to a truck driver who delivered to my local post office among others. The guy had gone crazy (yes another crazy postal employee).
They searched his house and found scattered mail bags all over including the bathroom. There was quite a pile of mail he had done his business on. It was supposedly all destroyed. I just wonder if the Chance could have been soaked?

[edjs]

Originally Posted by deadballfreaK

I generally support the USPS. Only two transactions lost out of thousands of card transactions. That being said try to top this postal story:

I cannot and hope never to be able to top your story.

[deadballfreaK]

One less Frank Chance in the grand scheme.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by edjs

I cannot and hope never to be able to top your story.

+1

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by edjs

I cannot and hope never to be able to top your story.

+1 I have a lot of good ones but Ken is the winner by far.

I complain about the business side being run like Bozo the clown is in charge but in 1000's of transactions I have never lost a single item.

I have a 1 of 12 known card right now that has been out for delivery since Friday. Buyer is flipping out about it, I just keep replying to relax it will get there eventually.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by bnorth

... I complain about the business side being run like Bozo the clown is in charge ...

I think a major part of the problem is that Congress won't let the USPS run itself like a business for fear that this would upset too many of their constituents, because far too many "want to have their cake and eat it too." We all saw the recent furor over the USPS's request to eliminate regular residential delivery on Saturdays to help reduce its massive deficits. IMHO, the USPS needs to go much farther than this - it should reduce regular residential delivery to 3 days a week, with half of us receiving mail on M-W-F and the other half on Tu-Th-S to better help bring its costs more in line with its revenues.

Going further, the USPS was an absolutely necessary government service for its first 200 years or so, but I don't believe it is needed any longer, especially if it keeps running huge deficits that we taxpayers have to absorb. I say this for the basic reason that I don't believe that government should be involved in running any type of business that private enterprise can accomplish with reasonable competition. With the advent of companies like UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc., I have little doubt that private industry can more efficiently handle all of the mail services the USA needs, albeit with there likely to be many changes to the way it is being done by the USPS.
Val

[Cubswin82]

How about this...delivered it right back to my own box..

[conor912]

Originally Posted by Cubswin82

How about this...delivered it right back to my own box..

Hahahahaha. Perfect.

[chipperhank44]

Mistakes happen. I find the USPS to be incredibly affordable and overall an amazing service. I've had one issue with the USPS, a multitude of issues with UPS.