Mail those holiday packages EXTRA early

gidgetgh · ‎03-09-2010

The post office will be charging a temporary holiday surcharge beginning this Sunday at midnight Central time. The higher prices will remain in effect until January 18th.

The surcharge will be on priority mail, priority mail express, parcel select and USPS ground advantage. It didn't say how much the increase is.

I only have one gift that I mail and, not related to this at all, I actually wrapped the gifts and boxed them about 5 days ago. I'm going to go ahead and mail the box tomorrow. Cause, why wait.

Why is it, when I have a 50/50 guess at something, I'm always 100% wrong?

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

Why do I feel like this is price gouging? Does it cost more to transport, process and deliver a package in December than it does in June?

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

rockygems123 · ‎06-04-2012

Thank you so much @gidgetgh for the heads up. It averages about .50 more per package during this time period for Ground Advantage, Priority has different increases.

I've mailed out about 135 packages this month so will most definitely keep the increase in mind.

rockygems123 · ‎06-04-2012

@Kachina624 wrote:
Why do I feel like this is price gouging? Does it cost more to transport, process and deliver a package in December than it does in June?

@Kachina624

Guessing they'll have to hire more staff to handle the extra packages.

Every office I go into now is way understaffed. Example: If a clerk is the only one working and goes in the back to check on a package they can be gone for 20 minutes while the line gets longer....and longer...... Pretty strange to see a set of 4 clerk stations and none manned.

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

It covers the cost of labor because the volume of packages goes up so much.

You are paying existing employees overtime for the extra delivery hours they need to process and get through it all or the cost of hiring temporary holiday help or both!

JerseyGirl44 · ‎12-02-2016

I would love to see the post office privatized! I think the service and prices would be more reasonable. It's been talked about before but, unfortunately, has not happened.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

Thanks for the heads up @gidgetgh!

I mail cookies every 2 weeks or so to DS. I started when he was in college, and since he's so far from us, I have continued. I pack them myself and always send them priority mail.

I no longer send any other packages by USPS. They have lost two of his packages, one with Christmas gifts he couldn't fit in his suitcase, and even after I sent a detailed list and talked to a number of people, they wouldn't reimburse us because they said they couldn't prove it wasn't delivered! AND we had insured it! What's the point of doing that? The second time it happened I said "enough."

I wish I could be done with the post office completely.

geezerette · ‎03-16-2010

@JerseyGirl44 wrote:
I would love to see the post office privatized! I think the service and prices would be more reasonable. It's been talked about before but, unfortunately, has not happened.

Likely it would be the reverse.

UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. are private companies. Compare their prices to the USPS.

Iwantcoffee · ‎03-11-2010

@geezerette wrote:
@JerseyGirl44 wrote:
I would love to see the post office privatized! I think the service and prices would be more reasonable. It's been talked about before but, unfortunately, has not happened.
Likely it would be the reverse.

UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. are private companies. Compare their prices to the USPS.

No one is going to come to your house for less than 78 cents and deliver a card to any address in the country.

The cost of USPS service is ridiculously cheap and people complain.