Do you pay your bills on line? How often do you use snail mail?

[cali]

Sorry, I just don't believe the P.O. crisis is entirely manufactured. The number of customers has been decreasing rapidly, due to technology. I sure don't use the P.O. to pay bills anymore. Yes, I regret that my tiny rural P.O. is going to be part time in a few months, but I think looking at this as wholly manufactured misses the boat.

[robinlynne]

1. I use the post office for everything. my business. my bills. my letters.

[shanti]

2. you should make this a poll n/t

[hobbit709]

3. I mail stuff about 3 or 4 times a year.

And about 90% of my incoming mail never gets past the recycling can on the way up the driveway from the mailbox.

[badtoworse]

70. That's my experience too, I wish they had spam filters that worked with paper.

[Posteritatis]

4. I use it for quite a few things

Canada Post in my case, but the general pattern's the same.

Also, parcels don't transmit through TCP/IP easily yet, and all the courier companies are horrible, incredibly inconvenient if I'm expecting something and don't want to take time off work, and vastly overpriced.

I'm in a major city, for what it's worth.

[southernyankeebelle]

5. I don't pay anything online. I use the snail mail and I don't know what I would do without it.

I get my medications from express script through the mail. I get some of my packages through the mail. We need it in our rural town. Many people here use the post office. I don't know I would do without it. I live outside of our town. I will never use online to pay bills. I don't trust it.

[Travis_0004]

6. I bought 10 stamps around Jan 2012, right before they raised the prices.

I still have about 5 left.

I do pay my car loan via snail mail, but I log into my banks online bill pay, and they send the check. (since my car loan won't take online payments). Its easier for me, and my bank pays for the stamp.

[TexasTowelie]

7. Nearly all of my bills are paid online.

The only time in the past year that I used snail mail was to send my check to the IRS.

[shenmue]

8. I use the P.O. most of the time. I've had my bank information stolen nine times online.

I'm starting to catch on.

[Luminous Animal]

48. And getting out of that mess takes forever.

[unapatriciated]

69. same here, bank account wiped out not once but twice

after using on-line payment method. Plus we had our credit card information stolen and used for large purchases. It took months to get our money back. checks and snail mail for me.

[ecstatic]

104. Keep an up to date antivirus and antispyware service at all times

I don't recommend online shopping/bill pay to those who aren't able to keep up with computer security, avoid viruses, etc.

[bluestateguy]

9. I pay most of my bills by regular mail

But the more the post office cuts hours and services, the more I will be induced to to make payments online.

That's what a lot of people will do if the post office heads down this austerity trap.

[justiceischeap]

10. I avoid the post office at all costs

Either it's been my bad luck due to geography or they are the most mismanaged government run organization on the planet (<= hyperbole and exaggeration being employed).

I always find that they are never fully staffed, so the lines take forever. The postal workers in the post offices I've frequented take their time with everything. I've had occasion to call local post offices without anyone answering the phone. I've been in long lines and watched as postal workers close their "lane" and leave maybe one person to run the show. It's almost as though they know they have us by the short hairs and can do whatever they want.

That said, I find my postal delivery woman very helpful, cheerful when we see one another. It's like working in the actual post office is soul draining.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

16. They are entitled to breaks and lunch...

and I imagine the union is pretty strict about when they take those breaks. I find the biggest problem is in aging facilities. That and the fact that so many people who go to the post office don't seem to know exactly what it is they want. They come in with 3 packages, and want comparison rates for all of them...then they can't make up their minds as to whether they want to insure the package, have the recipient sign for it etc etc etc.

[LibDemAlways]

39. You must live in my town. Always a long line and

just one or two clerks - one of them inevitably tied up with passport applications and the other engaged in a long conversation with the customer who had the good fortune to have made it to the front of the line and who is in no hurry to leave. And always, without fail, the person in front of me has no less than 6 big packages - boxes still open and paperwork not completed - that need to be sent to different destinations.

Have no idea why places like the post office can't have two lines - one for people with simple transactions who want to get in and out and the other for complicated cases that require more time.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

11. Between the mandate and the economy

the postal service has lost a ton of revenue. The timing of the mandate couldn't have been worse coming right before the economy collapsed. Haven't you noticed how little junk mail you get these days compared to the years prior to 2007? The junk mail was the major source of revenue.

[Nevernose]

12. We probably do > 1/2 our shopping online

Everything from clothes to auto parts to comic books. So the Information Age has actually caused me to use the post office far MORE than I was just five years ago.

[Honeycombe8]

116. I shop online a lot, but my deliveries are usu. UPS. nt

[nolabear]

13. I almost never use snail mail.

Don't need the paper, don't want to waste the paper, and I love being able to communicate and do bills and such in spare moments.

[LisaLynne]

14. Mail like that hasn't been the PO's bread and butter for a long time.

Bulk mail (what we non POers call junk mail) has been paying the bills for a long time. Ebay purchases mostly go through the post office which I thought was a good move by the PO. The Post Office has been just fine, except for the unfair hoops they have been made to jump through (pre-funding their retirement for a stupidly long period, more than any other agency, let alone private corporation for starters).

So, yeah, it's mostly manufactured because for some reason some people in our government have something like a vendetta against the Post Office.

[madrchsod]

28. packages will be delivered because no one can deliver them cheaper.

it`s about the unions. corporations want the distribution centers and they do`t want the delivery system.

[quinnox]

15. I still use a PO Box, and have for 15 years

I am always going to the post office to pick up my mail. And I even mail stuff occasionally. Sure, there are a lot of things I pay online, but there are times when it is necessary to use the old fashioned mail.

For example, today I had to mail an item and return it that I bought from Amazon, because the item was defective.

[2naSalit]

109. I live in a really rural place

and there is no delivery service so I have a PO Box. The door is always open (24/7) so I can go and get my mail at any time, it's dry, nobody can steal it or rummage through it... all I have to do is make it into town and That's cool. Many of us, up here, have to use snow machines to get to our cars and a mailbox at the end of the road could easily become victim to snow removal equipment, other delivery services either can't find you or can't get to your place in winter anyway, the PO is the way to go out here in the hinterlands. Besides, it's where neighbors visit, that or the bar or the grocery store (and for those who attend, church). So going to the PO in my end of the wilderness is a social event like it always has been, if there's a line, we get to chat.

[X_Digger]

17. My wife uses flat rate USPS shipping for knitting projects 2-3 times a month.

Thank you Ravelry. hehe.

[Louisiana1976]

18. I pay my bills by snail mail.

[mike_c]

19. I send snail mail about once every three months....

That's pretty much it. I mail three rent checks at a time to my landlord, every three months. Of course I receive mail just about every day, but so little of that is important that I often don't even glance at the pile for weeks or more. Ninety-eight percent of my received mail is junk that I ignore and ultimately dispose of without reading. My parcels are almost exclusively handled by private carriers.

My partner has a son in the Marines, and she uses their flat-rate parcel service regularly to send him stuff from home.

[slackmaster]

20. My use of snail mail has been reduced to about 12 per year, not including Christmas cards.

Magazine subscription renewals, medical bills, and insurance premiums. And letters to my friend who is a long-term house guest of the state of California.

[madrchsod]

21. my wife uses the post office

my wife uses the mail for her union duties. she has to have paper with a time stamp for her records. we pay some of our household bills on line and by mail.

this is a big pile of shit created by union hating republicans. it`s the people`s post office not theirs .there are to many cowardly democrats and asshole republicans who are willing to sell off one of the first public good our founders put in place.

[bemildred]

22. I use snail mail most of the time, it creates good jobs, and it's cheap.

The crisis is manufactured in the sense that the wingnuts insist on "running it like a business" when it is not in fact intended to be like a business, it's a public utility, it's supposed to be subsidized so everybody can use it, like roads.

[rurallib]

23. Always use "snail mail" they have earned my trust

I do not trust electronic payments.

[liberal_at_heart]

24. here's a tip: mail things to yourself when you fly instead of paying airline fees

We do it several times a year and it does save money. I also pay rent and water bill through the mail. We can't pay our water bill online. Our water department is not online. There is still a need for a public post office. Not to mention the poor can't afford FedEx. Our public post office is just as important as our schools, fire and police. and our libraries(not as many people read hard copy books anymore either by the way but I doubt anybody wants to see our libraries disappear either).

[Lugnut]

94. +100! n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. I pay most online. It works great. I pay one by snail mail

[FarCenter]

26. All monthly bills are either direct debit or paid online

There are a couple of quarterly, semi-annual and annual bills that are still mailed. But we always drop those letter at the post office.

We never put outgoing mail in the mailbox for the carrier to pick up. So stopping saturday delivery doesn't affect that.

I now also have a number of statements coming electronically instead of by mail, and if it works well I'll convert some more.

Only two weekly magazines, a few monthlies, and no newspaper subscriptions.

PS -- since last year was a presidential election year, with a ton of political direct mail, next year is going to be a lot worse for the USPS.

[Prism]

27. One letter a month.

My rent check. Everything else is auto-deducted or paid electronically from my bank account.

I do, however, buy most things online, so I tend to get 4 - 6 packages from them per month.

[MADem]

29. I pay two bills by mail--one only comes once a year, and to pay it online they

would charge me fifteen bucks. Sometimes I pay that bill in person.

Most of my bills are directly debited from my bank.

[mac56]

30. I pay all my bills by regular mail

unless in the case of an emergency, or if I'm not able to pay it in person.

[jberryhill]

31. It is vital to home-based internet businesses

Among other things, eBay has provided an entry-level platform for a lot of people to earn a living in a way that would be impossible without it. Likewise for ecommerce tools that allow people to get their whatever up and running as they grow their way up from things like eBay.

USPS products like priority mail and flat rate boxes are a big deal to even pretty decent sized online merchants.

I can't even remember the last time I sent a letter. Must be years ago.

The last time I received a USPS parcel delivery - today. Prior to that - yesterday.

[liberal_at_heart]

34. good point. I receive lots of USPS parcels in the mail all the time.

[djean111]

36. +10,000

[truegrit44]

56. I'm with you jberry

I have a homemade item that I make and sell on ebay and other online venues. I mail 3-4 pkgs every single day thru USPS and buy my supplies and many other of my needs thru online. I receive 1-2 pkgs a week. I would be out of business without USPS.
I also live in a rural area and our small PO ships tons of pkgs everyday.

I also pay all my bills thru snail mail.

[RebelOne]

32. All my bills are paid online. I let the bank pick up the postage. n/t

[djean111]

33. I pay my bills online. I shop online.

But I sell stuff on ebay and when I can keep the package weight under 13 ounces for first class mail, there is nothing cheaper or faster.

[pipi_k]

37. Hee hee

My online shopping probably keeps a whole lot of people employed at the PO

[pipi_k]

35. Online all the way

Have never had a problem (so far).

I do mail out birthday cards, etc. Did not bother sending out Christmas cards this past holiday.

I do not trust the post office.

Mainly because our mail lady is a ditz who constantly misdelivers mail. Not just regular mail, but packages too. One of my neighbors ended up getting a package addressed to me. At least ten times a year we get mail addressed to neighbors.

If I absolutely HAVE to use the PO for something crucial, I send it certified mail with a receipt. If I send packages, I insure them and keep the receipt till I know the item arrived.

Anyway, I like paying my bills online and having the record of when I paid them, and when the payment will arrive at its destination. I take my credit rating very seriously and would be extremely upset if a payment check to my credit card providers did not arrive on time due to PO screwups.

[Blue_In_AK]

38. The only bills I pay on line are my mortgage

and my credit union loans (visa and HELOC). Everybody else gets a check in the mail.

[texanwitch]

40. Not everyone has a computer or regular access to the web.

A post office is important to a country.

The Post Office will be missed, this country is going backwards.

I do mail some of my bills, others I pay in person.

I don't mind waiting in line at the Post Office, there are lots of places for lines.

Just because some people don't use the Post Office doesn't mind others don't.

What will happen is private mail service which will be expensive and terrible.

Someone will be paid $8 an hour, good luck getting getting your mail.

I think it is great that I can mail a letter and know that it will get there.

Just another way to break a union and get rid of good paying jobs.

[jberryhill]

44. Not one person in this thread has said they don't have a computer and internet access

Maybe we should start a thread with a poll:

"Can you access the internet?"

[liberal_at_heart]

46. maybe there's DUers out there that have to go to the library to pay bills and to get on DU.

Another reason we NEED libraries. Watch they'll come after our libraries next. They don't want us to have any public services. Some kids have to do homework on computers at the library. Adults have to go to the library to use the computer to check online banking, check email, pay the bills, and sometimes to just surf the web.

[brentspeak]

41. Very sporting of you to admit that you are utterly ignorant

that millions of small businesses around the nation rely everyday on the low-cost and reliable parcel shipment services that only USPS provides. If most of these small business were forced to pay private shipment prices for most of their shipments, they'd go belly-up.

[cali]

45. not at all reality based of you not to acknowledge that the USPS

has lost and is continuing to lose an enormous amount of their customer base. And grab a clue: The PO is NOT shutting down Saturday delivery service.

[liberal_at_heart]

52. so should we start closing down libraries since not as many people read paper books anymore?

[Hekate]

42. I pay bills by snail mail; I refuse to do e-billing

My Social Security and pension are direct deposited, and not by my choice. I would be much happier being able to reconcile my checkbook with paper copies of things, not just the bank statement.

As for other things, I order a lot of books online -- and print out the invoices and save them -- and I rely on the Post Office to deliver them.

Once the US Postal Service is eliminated, private carriers will charge whatever they want and they will get away with it. Just think about that for a minute.

[OutNow]

43. Online for > 90%

I receive all my monthly bills via email and pay all of them online.

I receive my pension and SS via direct deposit and have not visited my Credit Union in 7 years since I moved 1500 miles away.

I use a Kindle and buy all my books and download them online.

I use about 20 stamps a year, mostly for birthday cards.

I do get meds in the mail and that is very important to me.

Almost all the mail I receive is junk mail and goes directly into the recycling bin.

[Agschmid]

47. I do not ever use it. I have not used it for years. n/t

[Broken_Hero]

49. I use the post office for

8 of my monthly bills, and all of my shipping for Bdays, and other holidays/special occasions. I don't pay any of my bills online, and only have one bill thats an automatic debit from our bank account.

[War Horse]

50. I've probably set foot in an actual post office once during the last 20 years

They are virtually extinct here in Norway, as the supermarket chains usually double as post offices for the most part. We still have a national postal service, though.

And the EU isn't too happy about the latter: http://www.newsinenglish.no/2011/05/23/historic-no-to-an-eu-directive/

They seem to be getting more aggressive about it lately.

I do all my banking on line. I order a lot of stuff over the web. I made a payment to my Bulgarian SW provider on line just today, via my Norwegian bank. I need that SW to make a living.

But I still need somewhere (hopefully close) to pick up what I've ordered, and a reliable system to actually transport the physical stuff. Something that's reliable, doesn't screw up, and is accountable.

We're not at "Tea, Earl Grey, hot" yet . Until we are I'd like to keep my national postal service, thank you very much.

[Hoyt]

51. Love some US Postal Service, but I pay everything on-line.

It saves a lot of time and frustration.

I do use USPS for packages - From very small ones, up to large guitars. They are great.

The USPS has been instrumental in our country's development. And, they are good people. I expect to see them around for decades, but with some changes.

[northoftheborder]

53. I receive and pay ALL my bills via the snail mail.

[northoftheborder]

55. In addition, mailing packages is much less expensive via the US Post Office than the alternatives.

[Smilo]

54. I mail something out every week

while I do pay some bills on line, there are so places that are not set up for that.

The Post Office could be allowed to do so much, but for some reason (private + money) politicians don't want the USPS to succeed.

[pipi_k]

83. About online bill paying...

it's true that some places aren't set up to receive payments electronically, but my bank allows me to send e-checks online.

Might be something to check into?

I have one account set up to do an automatic e-check to one person on a monthly basis. My bank doesn't deposit the money to this person's account, but it does mail out a regular paper check on my behalf.

[Smilo]

103. Thanks, I do that for a local company,

but some I just prefer to send out checks to - guess I am just a little eccentric that way

[ScreamingMeemie]

57. Why don't I send more snail mail?

Because my son's birthday present has twice been dropped off at the wrong house on the wrong street!

Because bills don't make it on time and my important tax information did not arrive at my house last year.

Because I have a less-than-stellar postal carrier who stinks at his job. I'm sorry, but they also need to look within.

[Terra Alta]

58. I never use it.

I pay all my bills online. What magazines I subscribe to, I get through my Nook. I used to send and receive snail mail with a friend of mine in prison, but his facility started using e-mail about two years ago and we e-mail each other now(faster and cheaper for us both).

I haven't bought a book of stamps in ages. Don't plan to do so in the near future, either. The only instance where snail mail might be useful to me is if I were to order something online, and I might have a package sent to me, but I haven't done that in forever, either.

Being a millennial, I've really come of age with all the new technology that has sprung up in the past two decades.

[Walk away]

59. I have a feeling we'll be sorry when the US Postal service is drowned in the bathtub....

and the private companies raise their prices every year to send and receive packages. I always have a bad feeling about privatization of a part of the government.

[peacebird]

60. I use my local post office for bills, and personal correspondence.

I still send cards for everything - birthdays, anniversaries, get well, sympathy, and "just because". I use the post office to send all my packages as well.

[Raine]

61. I don't pay anything online, I use the mail for all bills. nt

[Luciferous]

62. I still use the mail to pay most of my bills. I don't want anyone taking

automatic debits out of my account- screw that, I don't trust anyone to have my banking information.

[WinkyDink]

63. "NO" and "OFTEN." Tomorrow, in fact, I will get a book of stamps and mail bill payments.

[bigwillq]

64. Always use the U.S. Postal Service (nt)

[Blue_In_AK]

65. I pay my bills (and receive them) by mail.

We really like our mailman...he's been delivering our mail for years and years. I would hate to see him lose his job.

[kestrel91316]

66. The people who think an end to the USPS and "snail mail" is fine need to remember that snail mail,

at least in theory, is private. Email is anything but - all of our email is being snooped all the time. Every word you say electronically is being neatly filed away somewhere to use against each and every one of us some day.

[Bluenorthwest]

67. I pay most bills on line, I also use the USPS constantly for many reasons and purposes

The mail is not just about bills for folks with social and cultural lives. Or business to do. Also, I call it 'the mail' not 'snail mail' because it is as fast as I need it to be, including next day if I need. The computer does not deliver objects, nor is it secure enough for all things.
I also have an income stream that delivers only by mail. Yes indeed. Random envelopes of money. So I do like the mail...

[Historic NY]

68. 6 letters this week....

some crap can't be done correctly on-line w/o difficulty.

[Laelth]

71. This is a Constitutional question, from my perspective.

The Constitution requires the executive to operate a national postal service. The USPS was never intended to be run "like a business." It was never intended to be a money-maker. In fact, I'd be perfectly happy to see postal rates go down and for the post office to lose money every year. The USPS is a constitutionally-mandated government service, and it ought not be the focus of a political struggle. That it is just shows how craven the bathtub-drowners really are.

So, it's hard for me to believe that the USPS "crisis" isn't manufactured when all the available evidence shows me it is nothing but manufactured.

-Laelth

[2naSalit]

106. I am totally with you on this.

And I NEVER conduct any transactions online, period. And I don't even use a checking acct or debit card. I make it part of my personal discipline to make my money an effort to access so that I really have to think out what I use it for. I also make a point of paying my bills with USPS money orders. We have the other package delivery companies that service the area but they can never find my place, my address doesn't register on their computers for some reason even though I personally made sure it was recorded in the last census (I was the actuary who did that in my region). I have a PO Box and it works just fine. I also make a point of sending all packages via USPS... it's a lifeline in my rural surroundings. And the only reason there are long lines is because of the way Congress has been systematically making sure that the public becomes disenchanted with the service so they can drown it in a bathtub, even though these faux Constitutional patriots disregard that it is a Constitutional mandate that there be a USPS.

Save the USPS, send a few letters and a couple packages a week for the next six months and thereafter! People love getting a card or letter in the mail, it will be like a national uplifting of spirits! We need the USPS whether all those hightech toys users get it or not.

And remember, USPS has flat rates, it costs the same for a 1oz letter to go across the street or across the continent. The USPS is just fine and the House better get over their privatizing delirium and fast because we're not going to take it anymore.

[FreeJoe]

72. Most of my bills auto-pay

The vast majority of my bills are set to auto-pay. That includes all utilities (gas, water, electric, phone, TV, Internet, dry cleaning), credit cards, and even the kid's allowances. We have a few manually paid bills (property taxes, alarm system, lawn service). I pay most of those in person. I think the annual alarm system bill is the only one that goes through the mail.

I use the mail to receive my one Netflix disc every week or two. I shop a lot online, but almost all of that arrives via parcel service. We probably get 1 package a month in the mailbox. My son gets The Economist and my wife gets a few other magazines (Nat Geo and some cooking stuff). We get occasional cards (birthday/wedding invites, thank you notes, Christmas cards).

I have to say that I'd be perfectly happy with mail delivery being once or twice a week. I'm pretty sure that we don't check it any more often than that.

[XRubicon]

73. All online. My credit union will cut a paper check and mail it.

It is the best thing ever. They cut a paper check every month to my home owner association and mail it, automatically on the same day every month. They do this for any payee not set up to receive electronic payment.

I only use snail mail for packages these days.

[Bluenorthwest]

75. But that check is mailed by the CU...that is still you mailing your check.

nt

[XRubicon]

76. Yes, CU does mail it. nt

[Tien1985]

74. We don't use

The post office at all. I have stamps my mom gave me from 2003 when I started college.

Checks are enough to steal information from anyway--routing number and account number right there. Recently there have been many checks stolen out of mailboxes in my area. They've got quite a scam going on.

[Brickbat]

77. Do you know what year had the highest volume of mail?

Amazingly enough, it was the same year Congress passed this dumbass requirement about funding healthcare 75 years into the future.

2006.

[Motown_Johnny]

78. I can't remember the last time I mailed a check.

Years, at the very least.

[Travis_0004]

79. At work I mail about 20 letters a day.

Of course where I work, we are closed sat and sunday, and we don't accept mail those days, so the change won't effect us.

[csziggy]

80. I mail 2-4 bills per month but I rely on USPS for many deliveries

Most of my recurring bills are paid electronically but I have a few that either don't accept electronic payment or that I prefer to write checks for. I subscribe to several magazines or get publications as part of a membership to an organization and all of those I prefer to have a hard copy over an electronic version.

Many of the companies I order things from either use USPS Priority Mail or UPS "mail intervention" which uses the USPS to do the final delivery. FedEx also uses USPS for final delivery for their cheapest delivery option.

UPS and FedEx are becoming MORE reliant on the USPS for final delivery. They will regret if the USPS shuts down because they will have to gear back up to do those deliveries themselves - and they DO NOT WANT TO.

The "manufactured" part of the USPS crisis is the requirement that they pre-fund retirement for so far in the future. No other US company is required to do that. In fact most US companies have looted their pension plans, dumping the commitment on the US government to finance.

[HiPointDem]

81. Do you have packages delivered to your home after shopping online? That's 'snail mail'.

of course the crisis is manufactured, and the manufacturing began in 1970 when Congress made USPS a for-profit 'corporation' in competition with other 'corporations'.

FedEx was founded the next year, and was founded *because* of that legislation.

The crisis has been manufactured by decades of legislation that systematically took away USPS's business and put it at a disadvantage in the 'competition' -- BY LAW.

“For example, in the mid-1970s the post office was told to remove copy machines from post offices under pressure from lobbyists representing office equipment stores who feared that USPS was taking away its business. Later when the USPS initiated a “Pack and Send” service, the outcry from Mailboxes Etc. and other private packing stores successfully challenged the service. Years later, when Internet shopping took off, the delivery of packages to individual households should have resulted in a dramatic increase in USPS business. But parcel shipments were generated by large organizations and the usps was forbidden by law from lowering prices and not allowed to negotiate discounts and thus lost business. This resulted in the entirely incredible situation in the 1990s where the United States Government negotiated an agreement for the delivery of U.S. government package services with Fed Ex because the USPS was not allowed to negotiate for lower prices!”

Today the strongest force in shaping the future of the postal service, aside from Congress, is the bulk mailers. Indeed, bulk mailers are formally represented in the USPS through the Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee. Bulk mailers don’t care about post office closings because big mailers present their mail at Bulk Mail Entry Units. Saturday delivery is not a major concern either because advertising mail would do fine with even three day delivery. Nor do they care about having a blue collection box on every corner, half of which have disappeared in the past 20 years.

What bulk mailers do care about is price. They receive huge discounts for pre-sorting that is far in excess of what the postal service saves by receiving mail pre sorted.

http://onthecommons.org/magazine/end-post-office-public-institution

The use of the USPS as a subsidized delivery system for junk mail can be laid at the feet of CONGRESS.

BTW, USPS delivers a significant percent of both FedEX & UPS packages, at locations those businesses find unprofitable to service.

I'll be laughing when all the people who said, "I have the internet, why do i need the post office" are crying when the rates for delivering the crap they buy online go up.

[haikugal]

82. I use the post office

to pay my bills because it saves me money and is more convenient for me.

[NoPasaran]

84. Most of my bills I receive and pay online

I still use the post office for a few because I'm not completely sure this internet thing isn't just a fad.

[bunnies]

85. I cant even remember the last time I used the post office.

2 or 3 years ago maybe? The only thing they bring me is junk mail. I do paperless billing online.

[pansypoo53219]

86. ebay needs the USPS.

[treestar]

87. I've paid them online but reverted to snail mail if the

company proves unreliable. One company blamed my bank and the bank blamed the company when my payment was not properly recorded. That company gets a check. In the end it must have been the company not the bank, since the bank pays other bills online without problems.

[Lars39]

88. Some online, some by mail.

Knocking out Sat mail means I'll have to drive an hour to pay rent some months.

[riverbendviewgal]

89. I mostly receive mail

and pay bills on line.

I send out about a dozen xmas cards and about a dozen birthday/sympathy/thank you cards through the year.

I don't get magazine subscriptions.

The post office is a necessary part of the country, both US and Canada.

We don't have saturday mail for a few years now. Many of us in the north have to go to the post office for our mail as we have postal boxes. I have a postal box.

[u4ic]

90. I don't even remember having Saturday Canada Post delivery service

other than the Xmas season. I'm even thinking back to the 70's - don't recall it at all.

[Egalitarian Thug]

93. The USPS handle more mail in a week Than the Canadian system does in a year.

In fact, yours is one of the systems that is small enough that FedEx or UPS actually could take it over. Of course, your rates would go up.

[u4ic]

95. I'm well aware of that

The Canadian poster above alluded to Saturday delivery service at some point.

I just checked and 1969 was the last year mail was delivered on Saturday here in Canada (as I mentioned above, Xmas season notwithstanding).

I've had Canada Epost for a decade. I don't receive any bills in the mail. Most people I know get their mail/bills this way; it's cut down tremendously on snail mail. There's also an option to pay bills on there, too.

[Egalitarian Thug]

96. I wasn't being clear/explicit enough, apologies.

One cannot draw comparisons between the two systems and expect comparable results because of the difference in scale. Whether or not people pays their bill through the web or the mail is in itself irrelevant due to the insignificant volume that bill payments represent in either method, but throwing out the Canadian system as a data point on top of that amounts to a non-sequitur.

[u4ic]

97. Ok...let's set the record straight

One Canadian (not me) responds with a post. In her post she said there hasn't been Saturday mail in Canada for a few years.

I replied to her I can't remember ever having the mail delivered on Saturdays. I looked it up, it ceased in 1969.

The_end.

The convo had nothing to do with your mail system at all. I'm not sure why you keep responding to me. No hard feelings, but the brief exchange wasn't about you or the US.

[Egalitarian Thug]

98. I didn't realize that you were a different person, my bad. I would hope that you can understand

that this ceaseless attack on the best mail system the world has ever had is a BFD and, should it succeed, will have far reaching consequences.

The OP kind of set me off as that poster is implying that what is being done is of no real significance and its problems are self-inflicted.

Again, my apologies.

[u4ic]

117. No worries

I don't feel I comment on the issue, since I have no in depth information about it, nor does it affect me personally. I imagine some jobs will be affected by it though, not a good thing in this economic climate.

[riverbendviewgal]

100. I moved to northern Ontario in 2005

and we had it for about a year and then it ended....I guess it depends where you were.

I read the post that says we did not get mail delivery after 1969..you are probably right.

Never missed getting mail on Saturdays and I got mail by po box on and off for years.

Sorry for the mistake.

[u4ic]

114. I wondered about that

urban vs rural. I've always been in urban centres.

Yeah, one less day a bill can come in the mail.

Thanks for the clarification. No need to apologize!

[white_wolf]

91. I don't think I've used it more than a couple times my whole life.

But keep in mind I was born during the tech boom (1989) by the time I was 5 most houses had dial-up so I was raised with the internet. I pay bills online, communicate mostly by phone, email, or text. I get most of my news online as well. Maybe it's just my generation, but if so then future generations will be even more inclined to use the internet and other technology as opposed to snail mail.

[Egalitarian Thug]

92. Your belief is irrelevant, it's the facts that matter. n/t

[Sherman A1]

99. Mostly pay bills on line

but, just about to send out some birthday cards, insurance (that can't be paid online) and valentines cards.

The Post Office needs to adapt, certainly. Go away or be privatized, certainly not.

In my Opinion.

[wryter2000]

101. I pay some bills online

I receive most of my royalty checks via the mail. I use the USPS office to deposit checks to my bank account. I get DVD's via Netflix because none of my TVs are hooked up to the internet, and I don't care to watch a movie on my computer.

I get delivery of most items I buy on Ebay via priority mail. Frankly, I prefer it because I have an odd address that UPS and Fedex often can't find. The USPS knows where it it. I wish everyone would ship via the USPS.

I sure as hell don't want to have to pay Fedex prices to mail Christmas cards.

It won't kill me to lose Saturday delivery, but I'm p*ssed as all hell that this is being done to the USPS in an effort to privatize the mail and do away with a large union.

[alphafemale]

102. I get a couple of magazines. Occasional greeting cards.

That's about it.

Most of the crap is straight to the recycle bin.

[Go Vols]

105. I pay bills

by bank draft or online,mail something maybe 3 times a year.

[lynne]

107. I mailed a few party invites last month, first time I'd used snail mail in about 2 years -

- the only reason I mailed the invites is because some of my mom's friends didn't have email. They're all 80+ years in age. I normally use evites and all bills are paid online, not sure I even have any checks.

I don't believe the crisis is manufactured, either. The USPO has become a dinosaur, they didn't anticipate how current technology would impact them 20 years ago when they needed to. As far as losing Saturday mail delivery, they should have done that a decade ago.

[HappyMe]

108. I would never pay my bills online.

I can walk to pay the utilities and cable. If it wasn't walking distance, I would mail them.

[GreenStormCloud]

110. Almost completely online.

Paychecks are direct deposit too. Further, I have signed up for online statements with every company that i use that has it.

Only a few items that can't be paid online use snail mail.


Advantages of online:

Saves postage and cost of check being printed: Total: about 75 cents per bill. (I use personalized duplicate checks that cost about 30 cents apiece)

Doesn't get lost/dedlayed in mail, thereby no late bill fees due to lost mail.

Bank record of payment available online.

[KatyMan]

111. Very rarely send mail, but receive a lot

Use of Netflix, reading about a dozen magazines, online ordering, etc means we receive a lot, but very little sending.

[supernova]

112. Do all most all my business online

Last edited Fri Feb 8, 2013, 09:35 AM - Edit history (1)

I don't even have a checkbook anymore. I sign up for services and products online and pay for them online too. If it's hacked, I will just cancel my card and get a new account # and card.

In fact, a business that doesn't have electronic billpay is unlikely to get my business. A couple of exceptions:

1) I've applied to a few farmer's markets for the season and they required checks for app fees and membership. I had to go to the credit union to get paper checks for those. The CU lets me get up to 5 checks at a time. I will probably just keep doing that. I don't think I'll use more than 20 checks this whole year. Maybe not even 10.

2) NGO seed companies sending out seeds. I'm sending away to a seed nonprofit for gardening seeds. They want a 2.00 check to cover mailing expenses. I can see that. Epaying is still more expensive for the business than snail mail.

edit: Spelling. Since some merchants are easily hacked, I am considering getting a prepaid debit card (found most everywhere, esp dollar stores and convenience stores) for online shopping.

Other than that I use my debit card and cash. No need for checks. I even pay my county taxes with my card, and since I go to the tax office, I get a nice physical receipt for that.

[Populist_Prole]

113. I pay all my bills by mail

The last thing I need is to default payment due to a PC failure.

[Honeycombe8]

115. I pay my lawn guy once a month. I pay all else online. Use FedEx for packages (cheaper)

Believe it or not, FedEx is cheaper than the USPS for packages where they have to get a signature.