USPS Considering Killing Saturday Mail Service

The US Postal Service is still losing billions and is seriously considering ceasing Saturday mail delivery, according to a story posted on MSN Money:

But the service has to do something to get back in the black, so it plans to formally propose to Congress the idea of ending Saturday delivery, which would save the agency $3.5 billion. The USPS will also propose to Congress that it reduce the $5.5 billion in annual payments to pre-fund retiree health benefits that it must make until 2016.

Now that you've grown accustomed to 6 days of Netflix shipments, would you be disappointed by 5 day mail service?

Thanks to Shane for sending this in.

Comments

[2McAbre]

Not at all... Though I think they should do away with MONDAY delivery and not Saturday...

Why? Easy... After working all week, then working all weekend to catch up with stuff at home... The last thing I want to greet me on a Monday in my mailbox is bills...

[Chrisledoux]

I say end all service as 95% of the mail that I receive through the USPS could be categorized as SPAM.

[Steve.]

I am returning Star Trek today and so I will be getting another DVD on Saturday that I can watch on Sunday. Also, since Star Trek is a new release someone else will be getting the Star Trek DVD on Saturday that I have now. For this reason alone I will miss Saturday deliveries.

If the movie companies would start looking towards the future as Netflix does, then we would have all of these movies and TV shows available online. At this point nobody with broadband service would miss Saturday mail delivery because then we would only get our junk mail and (for some) bills Monday - Friday.

[Chris]

I would hope that if they did do away with Saturday delivery that the monthly charge would drop as well. They would elminate paying people for one more day of the week, so I don't see why they wouldn't be abel to unless they are greedy.

[I think they should drastically raise prices]

I think this is a fine idea

I also think in the near future they're going to be forced to raise the cost of mailing everything, substantially

The mail no longer needs to be for everyday use

You can send digital copies of nearly anything that's on paper now....instantly

Business will be adopting this trend at a feverish pace

less and less will travel through the mail

Even Netflix DVD's will eventually cease to be mailed out (granted.... in 20 years)

The USPS need to adjust what they think they are

They're not the method people use to stay in touch anymore (or in the near future)

They're a delivery service for things that can't go over the internet, and their pricing should reflect that

32 cents to fly a letter from New York to LA is ridiculous

charge more for that, and try to level out the amount how important people think it is to mail something through the USPS

[banter]

My survival instincts will kick in I am sure.

[mrkwst22]

Hey, Chris....we're talking about ending the United States Postal Service's Saturday delivery. Netflix has no control over what the USPS does. If you don't like the Netflix price, get a lower priced plan.

It's 42 cents and nearly ALL mail is flown. Parcel post, junk mail, and lower cost media mail may go in 18 wheelers.

Saturday Netflix processing is a recent thing. It's nice, but it ain't no deal breaker. If it goes back to five day so be it.

Someone commented in another thread that this kind of speculation is "fantasy business". That's fair dikum.

[Gran]

Chris, we're talking about the US Postal Service, not Netflix.

[CC]

I just don't like the idea of two days in a row off of mail. A Wednesday wouldn't bother me, but when working I can't get to any post office hours except Saturday. I don't like the idea of sending a movie on Friday and not getting one back until Tuesday, but It is definitely not Netflix's fault and I'll just have to plan better.

[Complication]

Just because USPS wouldn't deliver on Saturday does not mean that they will necessarily close the business services area (in the back). There has been many a postal holiday where Netflix is able to process discs because business services is still open.

Either way, this might make getting your returns to be checked in on Monday to get the new releases rather difficult to do consistently. Netflix works on Saturday so that the Monday volume is manageable so they would possibly want to continue even if the USPS did not deliver on Saturday.

I think the USPS needs to do what it can to stop the bleeding. I just hope that Netflix also cuts Saturday if the USPS does.

[Nialla]

I know my local Postmaster always has to work on holidays. They shut the front desk down, but all the stuff behind-the-scenes has to keep running as usual. He often boxes mail anyway if he has time, because there's a small window between times he has to be there that's not worth leaving anyway.

In a small town, this often means most, if not all, of the employees not only have to work on a holiday, they get holiday pay. Way to save money!

I think what they're trying to cut by doing away with nixing Saturday mail is the cost of home delivery, especially rural delivery. Some of those routes can be very long ones, and it adds up in gas cost and vehicle maintenance, especially when the directions to your home include the phrase "turn off the paved road".

[Dan]

I have lived at my job for 11 years and I do not receive mail on Saturday. We will be moving into a house in a few months. I was looking forward to Saturday mail delivery as it would mean I could do two Netflix cycles per week:
Saturday--I receive
Monday--I ship
Tuesday--Netflix receives/ships
Wednesday--I receive
Thursday--I ship
Friday--Netflix receives/ships
Saturday--I receive
No USPS delivery on a Tuesday or Friday would be cool. Isn't this the typical turnaround time for other Netflix users?

[Chris O.]

Chrisledoux, the sad fact is that without that junk mail, the USPS would be in even worse shape than they are now.

Anyway, I would be ok with this, the decent streaming options available now would make losing a day less of an issue.

[Del]

I send my movies back on Monday to get new releases by Wednesday, so it does not bother me.

[J H H.]

Canada has done without Sat delivery for years. The country won't stop running without it. We cannot assume everyone can get things by computer (a percentage of the country does not have internet access, and more have no computer) so mail must continue. I don't want to see my package mailing costs increase, and if that means no Sat delivery, fine by me.

[Scott]

No Saturday delivery would save Netflix money... people would get fewer disks each month, saving them the actual postage costs of mailing those disks that aren't being sent. But of course, if they mail fewer disks each month, the post office is losing all that netflix revenue too!

[Steven Hoober]

Impossibly dumb. If it's just totally cancelled, I'll stop shipping stuff (forget receiving NF) via USPS. I can pay for sat delivery via other services, at least. I presume some will step in and start doing so by default.

If it's this bad, raise rates. Especially on bulk rates, to try to reduce all the junk mailers, as well as subsidizing the rest of the service.

[byteme]

How come we don't all receive our mail through pneumatic tubes, yet? Wasn't that supposed to be the future of postal delivery as predicted back in the late 19th century? Maybe the USPS should revisit this idea.

[Tom]

Will they also do away with Saturday pickup of mail from mailboxes? Will post offices themselves be closed? It's bad enough that people who work have so little opportunity to take care of business at the post office outside "normal" business hours. Seems like USPS increasingly makes itself less relevant.

[Seth]

Just remember if they suspend Saturday service it will NEVER EVER EVER return. No matter what USPS says.

I think it's a bad idea.

[George]

Doesn't bother me a bit to get rid of Saturday mail delivery. Let's not stop there though. There are still too many local post offices. Get rid of those some of those surly attitudes and associated pensions. Bonus those that are customer-oriented.

[wizzack]

Imagine that. The internet has changed the way everyone conducts business.

Dear USPS and movie studios, welcome to the 90's!

[Matt]

Fine by me.

It only says Sat delivery would end, mentions nothing about closing the actual offices. If I need to make a weekend trip to ship something, I still can.

As for the Netflix/USPS interaction, there was no Saturday shipping when I signed up and that didn't stop me. They didn't increase their rates when they began having service on Saturdays, either. After years of Netflix service, having Saturday shipping for this bit at no extra cost doesn't mean I'm suddenly entitled to it and can't manage without. If it means saving the country $3.5 billion a year, my movie watching can revert back to what it was. I was perfectly happy with it then.

Streaming is growing rapidly anyhow, it will more than compensate for the one day.

[Michael 61554]

As far as Netflix is concerned, ending residential delivery on Saturday would only prevent it's customers from receiving a movie(s) on Saturday. I'm sure that Netflix would still be able to pick up their mail on Saturday as they do now six days a week, including USPS holidays. If a customer mailed a movie(s) back on a Friday it/they could still be processed on Saturday, allowing Netflix to mail out on Saturday for a Monday delivery.

That being said, I'm personally opposed to the elimination of Saturday delivery.

[JayOh]

Of course. I send back my DVDs as soon as humanly possible, so this would be a setback. Boo!

[ZeroCorpse]

Here's an idea to save money: Stop paying postal employees so much more than people in other companies doing similar jobs. No offense meant to postal workers, but their pay is disproportionate when compared to others, as is their benefits package. While that's great for them, it's obviously costing the USPS a lot of money.

Make the cuts that are necessary, and then stop requiring people to take a written exam to even get on the list to be considered for a postal job. Treat it like any other sorting/clerk/delivery career.

I'd be opposed to cutting Saturday delivery, but if they must do it, then I'd ask them to deliver on Sunday (when I'm home from work) and stop delivery on Monday (when most people are working) so that I'm around to get packages. It's not like getting mail on Sunday will offend any gods.

[Isaac Church]

Actually they should go the other way and offer 7 day service. They would be the only carrier to offer this giving them a competitive advantage and getting them lot's of business. This a 24/7 world now.

[Bob]

The USPS is a bankrupt fed-protected monopoly. The ban on non-package (letter) service should be lifted, so that companies can compete. NetFlix is large enough to continue Sat delivery through another carrier, maybe for an additional fee to cover Sat delivery charges.

NetFlix is the only Sat delivery I really care about, but it wouldn't really matter too much to me. I could just go to 3 dvds and have plenty to watch on the weekend.

[Josh]

I understand junk mail helps pay for regular mail. So I don't try all the different opt out lists... I help them pay more. Usually I just return the postage paid return envelop stuffed with whatever is around that I don't want, including the garbage they sent me... When I get around to it... Ill do this:

Dear Bulk Mailer,

Please find attached to your no-postage-necessary envelope, this brick. I figured with all these great junk mails you send me every month, you'd like something in return! I know it costs twenty cents for every ounce I mail to you, so I hope it doesn't weigh too much more than an ounce.

-Resident or Homeowner

From: http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/bulkmailer/

[John Nicholson]

The USPS is a government agency which loses billions of dollars a year because it is staffed with governmnet employees, not people who actually care about service or doing a good job or even in fear of losing their jobs if they mess up. They are using the Saturday non-delivery ploy in order to get the dopes in congress to pony up more dough. I have been with Netflix for some four years now and have been very very impressed with them. The only times I have had a problem has been due to the post office: late delivery. broken dvds. mutilated packaging, etc. One time I got two empty movie packages. They were almost destroyed but the post office had put them in plastic and said that something had damaged them, etc. In any event, if you like the USPS, just wait untill you get government health care.

[Cowman13]

What all you idiots don't realize is if the USPS stops delivery, there will be over 10,000 more people out on the unemployment line....That 6th day means a lot more than you think. It's not just a 6th day they get rid of, its 1/6 of the entire workforce!

[Lark]

While I like Saturday deliveries and am not keen on 2 days in a row non-delivery, I can understand how the USPS is in a bind. Not happy about it, though.

That said, Gaithersburg MD Netflix hasn't shipped on Saturday for several weeks, now. Anyone know what's up with that?

[Dave]

As much as I love Saturday mail, they should absolutely do this. While they're at it, they should also stop giving away Priority Mailboxes and supplies for free. If there are ways the post office can save money that don't involve raising rates, then I'm all for it. (As an aside, I grew up in Canada and managed to survive without Saturday mail for 20+ years, Saturday mail is purely a luxury for me.)

[J]

Netflix is one of if not the largest client for first class mail of the USPS.
Nightline had a story about Netflix Nov. 26. The video is not up yet but probably will be in a day or so.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/
So, if enough Netflix customers contact Netflix and tell them the might drop the service if the USPS stops on Saturday; well, they probably won't when they crunch the numbers after hearing from Netflix.
or maybe Netflix will contract out with UPS/FedEx?

[meo nogo]

Why is the usps saying it is losing money? It is a public service and isn't suppose to profit anyway. Breaking even is the word here. All of the netflix people, you think you would get your movie on a monday? Think again, they only make the carriers take so much mail (by the foot) per day. That means you might be lucky to get it on Tuesday if you mailed it back on Friday. They have tested in this area, and that is what has been happening. They will raise rates anyway as soon as inflation hits. Thanks to the billons of dollars of gov. money given (thank you all for giving your tax dollars) to AIG, GM, etc... I would rather see my money working for me, like getting mail delivered to me. Plus I can decide how much money I will spend on postage, unlike being taxed. Letting the gov. decide to give my tax dollars away and then try to figure out a way to not raise taxes later. Good luck with that one "for the people". The usps is still for the people by the people. Probably the only one for that fact. I am not in favor for less service and higher prices (coming real soon, weather we like it or not). Besides that, how many people do you know that have retired from a job and still get great health coverage from there employer? Probably not many, well that might just be an answer here, because the usps (by law as well) has to set aside $5.5 million a yr. just for it's retiree health plan. Nice benefit huh, I wouldn't mind that. Why can't the usps retiree's get what we all get with medicare (gov. medical health care for the public) and aarp (what we have to pay for out of pocket)? For that fact why can't all gov. employees get public health benefits like all of us? bottom line is they could find other ways to cut costs rather than cut our service. Look in the mirror usps. We are not to blame for your deficit, why punish us?