And a huge thank you to the USPS...

[anghara]

... for simply declaring that it will no longer carry cheap(er) postage rates for overseas. A book I just sent overseas cost me close to $20 - because the only options left are First Class or Priority Mail. My nieces are going to be awfully short on birthday or Christmas presents from now on, seeing as it will probably cost me more to mail them than it did to obtain them.

Might someone inquire of the USPS whether they thought this out properly? They are a SERVICE ORGANISATION. They exist - or should exist - in order to fulfill the needs of the public in the arena of mail. They do NOT exist - or should not exist - simply and solely to make a profit, especially if that profit is earned by cutting out services for which there WAS a need, seeing as the US is traditionally a country full of people with friends and family overseas to whom occasional parcels might be sent. Just what was so damned difficult about getting together a container-full of sea-mail to ship off overseas every so often? I mean, come on!

Oh, and while I'm at it...? This whole new thang they've got, with postage rates now depending on the item's size, and shape, and weight - this is just a form of holding the public at ransom. Now you have no way of knowing how much postage should go on any given item, you HAVE to go queue in the post office if you have anything remotely unusual and non-standard to send (like a bunch of bookmarks, for instance) - and even if you have a plain and simple envelope, if it has a couple of sheets of paper folded inside it and suddenly weighs more than a certain amount you have to pay not one, not two, not five, but SEVENTEEN cents extra postage for every additional ounce. And God help you if you wanted to send an unusually shaped large birthday card to a five-year-old, for instance.

Feh. Not happy.

Comments

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I got bitten by the weird sizes one when returning a manufacturer's product warranty registration card. Because the postcard was too close to being square (rather than standard postcard shape) it cost more to mail than if I had enclosed it in a standard-size letter envelope and just mailed that. The annoying thing is that I'd gone to the official usps web site to look up the correct postage and I'd followed the instructions to the letter. You couldn't get to the page explaining about odd shapes unless you already knew that you needed to go there.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

They introduced the size/shape thing in the UK in January.

My local PO charged me 4 pounds for each GT book send to the US.
The PO near work charged me 4.11.
The one near the underground station charged me 4.22

Each claim that the other prices don't exist.

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that too. I was thinking it was partially due to email being so easy to send, that they want to jack up their rates in other areas. Bah to them.

On the other hand, I'm pretty certain the new rates hit direct marketers where it really hurt. There were a few complaining in a CNN article and suddenly I was all, "Hey, I don't mind this as much if it saves trees from the direct marketers." But still I can understand your pain. No fun sending mail out of the country.

[rugor.livejournal.com]

I know Canada Post uses the same rules, and got rid of book rate years ago. The end result, I avoid the mail whenever possible.

[clarkesworld.livejournal.com]

This is going to really hurt small booksellers. I used to do a lot of international business and I know I'd have lost most of it with these new rates.

At least there is still the international priority flat rate envelope. Most books fit in one with plenty of room for padding and that only costs $11.50 to most countries.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

Oversize envelopes have long needed extra postage and I seem to recall paying extra for small, oddly shaped envelopes one year for my holiday mailings, back in the '90s. This really isn't anything new.

The USPS is one of the national agencies that does, as I recall, need to make money to stay viable. Not only does it have competitors now, it also must deal with the erosion of its business thanks to email.

I'm not happy about the higher rates (it's hurting me in my eBay purchases), but I do understand them.

[norda.livejournal.com]

Michael and I do a lot of international business, and we're getting badly bruised by this.

[kesalemma.livejournal.com]

This is the way it's always been in Australia, at least in my memory. I remember my grandmother buying special fine paper that weighed less for airmail letters. Sadly, until recently, Australia Post was a government service. I'm not sure if it is anymore. Mind you, it's only been recently that they've brought in flat rate international airmail envelopes and parcel packaging.

[netcrimes.livejournal.com]

I am also pissed about the USPS. They also got rid of the letter sized Global Priority mail envelope, and your oversized envelopes have to be a certain size or they charge more. I have to now fold over the 6.5"x 9.5" envelopes I purchased or I'll get charged an extra 30 cents. It's bullshit.