USPS News of the Day

[Darth_Raichu]

Apparently, 16 states, 2 climate organizations, and the UAW are suing USPS to stop it from getting new delivery trucks.  

Quote

While the new vehicles would improve working conditions for USPS staff considerably by including air conditioning and heating, improved ergonomics, and advanced vehicle safety technology including air bags and 360-degree cameras, they would not provide significant improvements in fuel consumption or carbon emissions. USPS' existing fleet averages 8.2 miles per gallon; the new trucks would return an average of 8.6 mpg. The EPA challenged the move in February.

https://autos.yahoo.com/usps-sued-states-climate-orgs-160700437.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_15

 

Everyone can argue about the environmental impacts, but all I see is higher costs of shipping going forward

[MotorCityMuscle]

honestly, an all-electric fleet makes a ton of sense for USPS

[Mark Twain]

Apparently, 16 states, 2 climate organizations, and the UAW are suing USPS to stop it from getting new delivery trucks.  

While the new vehicles would improve working conditions for USPS staff considerably by including air conditioning and heating, improved ergonomics, and advanced vehicle safety technology including air bags and 360-degree cameras, they would not provide significant improvements in fuel consumption or carbon emissions. USPS' existing fleet averages 8.2 miles per gallon; the new trucks would return an average of 8.6 mpg. The EPA challenged the move in February.

https://autos.yahoo.com/usps-sued-states-climate-orgs-160700437.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_15
 
Everyone can argue about the environmental impacts, but all I see is higher costs of shipping going forward

While the margin between electric and gas is something to consider, I think the main thing is it’s 190,000 new vehicles and that’s bound to raise prices regardless if these are gas or electric. I think it’s hard to argue that they aren’t needed. USPS’s fleet is in poor shape and they don’t even have air bags on those things let alone AC. I don’t imagine that they’ll be able to auction them off to anyone either.


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[Darth_Raichu]

8 hours ago, MotorCityMuscle said:

honestly, an all-electric fleet makes a ton of sense for USPS

 

3 hours ago, Mark Twain said:

https://autos.yahoo.com/usps-sued-states-climate-orgs-160700437.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_15
 
Everyone can argue about the environmental impacts, but all I see is higher costs of shipping going forward

While the margin between electric and gas is something to consider, I think the main thing is it’s 190,000 new vehicles and that’s bound to raise prices regardless if these are gas or electric. I think it’s hard to argue that they aren’t needed. USPS’s fleet is in poor shape and they don’t even have air bags on those things let alone AC. I don’t imagine that they’ll be able to auction them off to anyone either.


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According to DeJoy, making the fleet 90% electric would cost USPS additional $3-4 billion. 

To be fair, the 16 states that sued should split that $4 billion 16 ways and give the money to USPS to purchase more environmental friendly vehicles.  In turn, the USPS locations in those 16 states should get their vehicles updated first since their states paid for them.

Heck, if the 16 states can convince the other states, they can split the cost to even smaller amount per state.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/10/974901459/when-it-comes-to-clean-energy-usps-delivery-trucks-dont-yet-answer-the-mail

Quote

Members of Congress are urging DeJoy to purchase more new electric vehicles. The postmaster general has said it would cost an additional $3 billion to $4 billion to make the Postal Service's fleet 90% electric — money the cash-strapped agency doesn't have.

 

[BrickLover80]

1 hour ago, Darth_Raichu said:

 

According to DeJoy, making the fleet 90% electric would cost USPS additional $3-4 billion. 

To be fair, the 16 states that sued should split that $4 billion 16 ways and give the money to USPS to purchase more environmental friendly vehicles.  In turn, the USPS locations in those 16 states should get their vehicles updated first since their states paid for them.

Heck, if the 16 states can convince the other states, they can split the cost to even smaller amount per state.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/10/974901459/when-it-comes-to-clean-energy-usps-delivery-trucks-dont-yet-answer-the-mail

 

It is unclear to me if the extra 3-4 billion are over the life-cycle of the vehicles or just upfront. If it's just upfront, some of the extra expenses can be recovered by the lower maintenance cost of EV. 

On the other hand, everyone wants EV but there simply isn't the capacity to produce so many right now. And even if they coulf be produced, the power grid can't handle it. This transformation takes time and if states want to spend money, it should be on infrastructure, not subsidies for EVs.

[Mark Twain]

 

Not sure what to make of it all:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90718945/inside-the-fight-over-electrifying-the-postal-services-cute-new-trucks

By one analysis from policy analysis company Atlas Public Policy, full electrification could save USPS an estimated $4.3 billion, because 97% of the vehicles the agency uses would have a lower total cost of ownership than the equivalent trucks or vans running on gas. Even though the upfront cost of an EV is higher, it uses less energy in stop-and-go traffic, electricity is cheaper than gas, and electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs than older vehicles. (USPS’s current trucks, which are known for bursting into flames, have especially high maintenance costs, often costing thousands per vehicle per year.)

“The routes are typically less than 100 miles a day, which is very helpful for charging,” says Nick *****, founder of Atlas Public Policy. “So you don’t necessarily need the longest range EV battery on the market to satisfy the vast majority of postal delivery fleets, and you can afford a smaller battery pack, which of course costs less. And because you’re traveling less than 100 miles or so a day on the typical route, you don’t need very high power charging at your depot overnight. That’s another cost savings compared to what other more demanding fleets might need.”

In an environmental impact statement, USPS claimed that the opposite was true: EVs were too expensive, it said, and it can only go all-electric if Congress gives it billions more in funding. But USPS hasn’t shared any of the details of its calculations. (Atlas Public Policy had to make estimates based on the industry, not USPS’s contract for the new trucks.) “We don’t know how they got to the numbers they got to, and it just seems entirely counter to what we’re seeing in the private sector and the market trends that are already out there,” says Marc Boom, director of federal affairs at the nonprofit NRDC.


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[Darth_Raichu]

56 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

Not sure what to make of it all:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90718945/inside-the-fight-over-electrifying-the-postal-services-cute-new-trucks

By one analysis from policy analysis company Atlas Public Policy, full electrification could save USPS an estimated $4.3 billion, because 97% of the vehicles the agency uses would have a lower total cost of ownership than the equivalent trucks or vans running on gas. Even though the upfront cost of an EV is higher, it uses less energy in stop-and-go traffic, electricity is cheaper than gas, and electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs than older vehicles. (USPS’s current trucks, which are known for bursting into flames, have especially high maintenance costs, often costing thousands per vehicle per year.)

“The routes are typically less than 100 miles a day, which is very helpful for charging,” says Nick *****, founder of Atlas Public Policy. “So you don’t necessarily need the longest range EV battery on the market to satisfy the vast majority of postal delivery fleets, and you can afford a smaller battery pack, which of course costs less. And because you’re traveling less than 100 miles or so a day on the typical route, you don’t need very high power charging at your depot overnight. That’s another cost savings compared to what other more demanding fleets might need.”

In an environmental impact statement, USPS claimed that the opposite was true: EVs were too expensive, it said, and it can only go all-electric if Congress gives it billions more in funding. But USPS hasn’t shared any of the details of its calculations. (Atlas Public Policy had to make estimates based on the industry, not USPS’s contract for the new trucks.) “We don’t know how they got to the numbers they got to, and it just seems entirely counter to what we’re seeing in the private sector and the market trends that are already out there,” says Marc Boom, director of federal affairs at the nonprofit NRDC.


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From the same article:
 

Quote

USPS began looking for a replacement for its aging mail trucks in 2015, and the bidding process took years; while it deliberated the initial bids, the cost of electric vehicles on the market steeply declined. Oshkosh, the defense contractor that won the bid, has no experience building electric delivery vehicles. The electric prototype has never been publicly shared, and may not even exist. “No one, to this day, has seen this prototype,” says Connor Morgan, a communications associate at the nonprofit Zero Emissions Transportation Association.

Assuming this is right and there is no EV prototype in existence, it would take USPS another 6 years to do another bidding process for EV fleet.    
Also, that Atlas Public Policy analyst used a bunch of private sector numbers as base of their assumption while we all know that is not how it works in the public sector ( or semi public or whatever USPS is).  Changes are slower to take place due to the nature of bureaucracy.  

[keymomachine]

47 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Assuming this is right and there is no EV prototype in existence, it would take USPS another 6 years to do another bidding process for EV fleet.

https://www.trucks.com/2018/03/09/usps-mail-truck-prototypes-vote/

While I think Oshkosh/Ford are making an electric version, it wasn't prototyped. The VT Hackney/Workhorse prototype was fully electric with a small engine for extended range. More photos of that one here:

https://www.trucks.com/2017/10/09/spy-shots-postal-service-workhorse-electric-mail-truck/

[Darth_Raichu]

Happy "Temporary Rate Adjustments for 2022 Peak Holiday Season" season everyone !!!

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced temporary increases from October 2, 2022 to January 22, 2023 for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First Class Packages and Parcel Select Ground.   

 

Great news! Most Priority Mail shipments will not have the announced peak rate increases when you print your labels on eBay.  (I did not see increase on Amazon either)

• There is no increase for zones 1-6, 0-2 lbs 
• There is no increase for zones 1-5, 3 lbs 
• There is no increase for zones 1-4, up to 10 lbs 
• There is no increase for Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes  

First-Class Packages will have the following peak rate increases: 

• $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4 
• $0.40 increase for Zones 5-9 

Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground and Priority Mail for weights and zones not mentioned above will have the published rate increase. Please refer to the announcement from USPS for full details: USPS peak season rate updates. 

[KShine]

8 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Happy "Temporary Rate Adjustments for 2022 Peak Holiday Season" season everyone !!!

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced temporary increases from October 2, 2022 to January 22, 2023 for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First Class Packages and Parcel Select Ground.   

 

Great news! Most Priority Mail shipments will not have the announced peak rate increases when you print your labels on eBay.  (I did not see increase on Amazon either)

• There is no increase for zones 1-6, 0-2 lbs 
• There is no increase for zones 1-5, 3 lbs 
• There is no increase for zones 1-4, up to 10 lbs 
• There is no increase for Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes  

First-Class Packages will have the following peak rate increases: 

• $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4 
• $0.40 increase for Zones 5-9 

Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground and Priority Mail for weights and zones not mentioned above will have the published rate increase. Please refer to the announcement from USPS for full details: USPS peak season rate updates. 

Don't know why, but the increased 1st class shipment costs to CA really pissed me off this morning.

[vasp]

1 hour ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Happy "Temporary Rate Adjustments for 2022 Peak Holiday Season" season everyone !!!

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced temporary increases from October 2, 2022 to January 22, 2023 for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First Class Packages and Parcel Select Ground.   

 

Great news! Most Priority Mail shipments will not have the announced peak rate increases when you print your labels on eBay.  (I did not see increase on Amazon either)

• There is no increase for zones 1-6, 0-2 lbs 
• There is no increase for zones 1-5, 3 lbs 
• There is no increase for zones 1-4, up to 10 lbs 
• There is no increase for Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes  

First-Class Packages will have the following peak rate increases: 

• $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4 
• $0.40 increase for Zones 5-9 

Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground and Priority Mail for weights and zones not mentioned above will have the published rate increase. Please refer to the announcement from USPS for full details: USPS peak season rate updates. 

Priority mail rates on amazon increased yesterday. For example. FR envelope used to be $7.75. Its $8.50 now.

[KShine]

11 hours ago, KShine said:

Don't know why, but the increased 1st class shipment costs to CA really pissed me off this morning.

When I first started doing this full time, I could ship a minifig cross country for $1.41

How low can fellow Brickpickers remember going?

[Pseudoty]

13 minutes ago, KShine said:

When I first started doing this full time, I could ship a minifig cross country for $1.41

How low can fellow Brickpickers remember going?

I just sold a Michael Scott "World's Best Boss" minifig for $29 from The Office set yesterday and USPS First Class shipping was $3.98, Ugh.

[exciter1]

39 minutes ago, KShine said:

When I first started doing this full time, I could ship a minifig cross country for $1.41

How low can fellow Brickpickers remember going?

I think I remember under 3oz being $.90 at one time.

[Phil B]

38 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

I think I remember under 3oz being $.90 at one time.

[exciter1]

[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, KShine said:

When I first started doing this full time, I could ship a minifig cross country for $1.41

How low can fellow Brickpickers remember going?

I started selling way back when 1st edition Pokemon cards were common.  I couldn't remember how much postage was, but I had to wait for buyers to send me Money Orders (NO personal checks).  Then mailed the $30 foil Charizard via snail mail.  And yes, I know how much the card would have been now had I kept it. 😛

 

[redghostx]

I started selling way back when 1st edition Pokemon cards were common.  I couldn't remember how much postage was, but I had to wait for buyers to send me Money Orders (NO personal checks).  Then mailed the $30 foil Charizard via snail mail.  And yes, I know how much the card would have been now had I kept it.
 

Shadowless?

I have a first edition set of base cards somewhere at my wife's family home. At some point, we'll get them back and take a vacation, unless they got damaged.

Yay LEGO!

[Darth_Raichu]

21 minutes ago, redghostx said:

Shadowless?

I have a first edition set of base cards somewhere at my wife's family home. At some point, we'll get them back and take a vacation, unless they got damaged.

Yay LEGO!
 

I had a few shadowless cards, but never Charizard.  One was a shadowless Venusaur but I think I traded it away.  I had my main deck stolen at one point and had to trade a few things to rebuild it.

The one sold for $30 was regular foil.  I also sold a few Base2 Charizards later and a few other 1st edition foils from various sets.

This was a dumber & poorer me who sold cards to offset the costs of my TCG hobby

 

[redghostx]

I had a few shadowless cards, but never Charizard.  One was a shadowless Venusaur but I think I traded it away.  I had my main deck stolen at one point and had to trade a few things to rebuild it.
The one sold for $30 was regular foil.  I also sold a few Base2 Charizards later and a few other 1st edition foils from various sets.
This was a dumber & poorer me who sold cards to offset the costs of my TCG hobby
 

It is not necessarily dumber, because you valued the fun in playing. Just a version of opportunity cost.

Yay LEGO!

[Darth_Raichu]

23 hours ago, vasp said:

Priority mail rates on amazon increased yesterday. For example. FR envelope used to be $7.75. Its $8.50 now.

Yeah, I see the new prices on Amazon.

[chaozz]

USPS is pricing themselves out of a job, At some point I see Amazon becoming the next UPS, and with much lower wage workers, Hope to see much lower rates, 

[ravenb99]

Used to rock something like that about 2002ish.  First class was like 55 cents plus the 11 cents "thickness" charge.    That red ink was a pita.  Remember if you sorted them by discount you could get a further discount which was a big F that. 

Would just weigh the like ones out first and then run them all through.  Had to like prefund your account over the phone with a credit card or some ****.  s

Was quicker than using stamps though and couldn't wait in line for hours.  They had some hidden like tracking on them which was absolutely worthless cause no way I was keeping track of 300+ a day.

Eventually when tracking started kind of becoming mandatory the smaller post office offered to process all my mail.  They had one employee that used the back station machine and would basically do my mail throughout the day.   Would give them a signed checkbook each month and they kept it in the safe and ran it each day.  Would have to store the receipts by day and if something came up missing go through that days delivery confirmation receipts to find the one and check tracking.  Man that blew donkey balls looking back on it.  

Postmaster who would usually shop at my warehouse would stop by and say they were doing more sales the the big post few miles away just from my postage volume and was surprised they never worked anything out.

Now I feel older than the thumb.  

They surely weren't making money at $1-2 so not surprised it keeps going up.  Sucks but part of business.   Just eliminate what you can't sell anymore and move on.

 

[Pseudoty]

11 minutes ago, ravenb99 said:

Now I feel older than the thumb.

You had me at “Thickness Charge”  

[Pseudoty]

USPS is consolidating its ground shipping options by combining USPS Retail Ground®, First-Class-Package ®, and Parcel Select Ground® into a single service: USPS Ground Advantage™. Get the details from USPS.

The new service will not be available until it is launched July 9, 2023, at which time you may need to update your listings.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/USPS-introduces-the-new-ground-shipping-service-USPS-Ground/ba-p/33836509