I wouldn't care. I'd like the offices to still be open on Saturday, though. That helps with package pickups and shipping, etc.

I have to say I pay everything online..and get me bills online. The only thing I normally send is Christmas and Birthday cards..and that is most of the mail I receive. I would not care if the switched to 5 day work week.

I care.

If they cut Saturday, I'll never be able to get to the PO Box that I have to pay them for because the post office in my zip code can't seem to not steal/break/rifle my mail.

This vastly devalues services such a Netflix and the like.

Would the price for Netflix go down since they're ability to deliver movies will be reduced by this?

@kateblack: I think they're just talking about delivery here, not office hours.

I assumed that USPS was doing well thanks to the popularity of online retailers like Amazon. Nowadays I always look first to amazon on all media and technology purchases.

Yeah, the "evil private sector" is to blame, not the fact that everything the government touches costs ten time as much and turns to crap and corruption instantly. It's just taken the Post Office longer than the prize turds like Amtrak and Social Security.

Jack Nicholson will be sorry the hear The Postman only Rings Once nowadays.

Its already like that in Canada so its not a big deal, they keep the offices open on saturdays so you can send and pick up packages.

If they cut Tuesday, what are businesses supposed to do that depend on USPS to send and receive mail? I don't think our clients would like to have to send mail to us via UPS or FedEx to make sure we receive it on a Tuesday.

I agree this probably matters not a lick from a personal perspective. Just one more day a week not to receive 24 pounds worth of credit card solicitations.

But from a business perspective, this is quite nefarious, especially for anyone who deals with documents needing original signatures. If the post office does this, it will be less able to compete with things like FexEx Saturday Delivery and courier services, etc.,.

One of the most attractive things about the post office is that, while perhaps plodding, it is consistent. Disrupting this consistency is not a great idea.

I'd support cancelling Tuesday mail service. That's always the most disappointing delivery day for me...nothing but flyers.

(Yes, I know they'd just deliver them on another day, but I'd appreciate the symbolic gesture.)

5 days isn't too much of a big deal for me. They should, however, consider cutting the salary for their glorified paperboys. According to payscale.com, the average mail carrier with 5-9 years of experience makes $23.00/hour. All they do is sort, bundle, pickup and deliver. Is that really worth $23.00/hour?

It would only affect me for Netflix. Other than that, the only thing I get is fliers for businesses that I don't patronize (sorry, I don't need new vinyl siding).

I already don't get mail on snowy days, sure, take off another day, how about only delivering one day a week.

Friggin lazy SOB's.

About the only thing I get via mail now is netflix, bills, a couple of magazines, and a couple hundred pounds of junk mail a year. I still ship things to clients via priority mail because it's the cheapest, but that's only because of government subsidies.

How much of the savings will be salary as opposed to less fuel, wear and tear, etc?

This will affect my business, especially if they choose Tuesday to stop delivering as the weekends are busy buying times.

@SabreDC:

Answer: yes.

@Wild Monkey: Best guess is they would ship and receive on one of the five days available.

@Bahnburner:

The United States Postal Service is operated by an autonomous public corporation that replaced the Post Office Department in 1971.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Moron.

I think they would have to close Saturday. If you mail something out on a Monday, especially overnight, you would expect to get there the next day.

I vote for offing Saturday....

I think it's a great idea to cut out a day. It will force people that are still using mail and don't need to be to switch to digital delivery. However, I think cutting Saturday is a much better idea than cutting Tuesday. While I understand that Tuesday is a slower mail day, the break in the week will make things awkward. It just breaks up the week in an odd fashion. Further, it seems wholly illogical that the post office is losing so much money. And by the math above, cutting one day will only save them $2b, so they'll still lose $3b next year. Perhaps it's time to up the price of stamps and package delivery. In this day and age, I don't think it's appropriate or necessary for the govt. to heavily subsidize mail delivery. It should at least break even.

@kateblack: You can actually pay for your box online. Its much easier than dealing with real people. Check out: [poboxes.usps.com]

@Darrone: Seriously. I'd have a four day turn around instead of three. At that point, it almost makes more sense to go to Blockbuster (almost b/c they have NO selection anymore). But maybe Blockbuster is in cahoots with USPS?!

@SabreDC:

I'll agree and say that is probably overpaid. Plus, I think that they have separate people to sort the mail, so the carriers only have to pickup and deliver.

Canada works off of a 5 day mail week, monday to friday... really what is the big deal?

@PsychicPsycho3: Ouch.

FedEx and UPS is still in business only delivering Monday to Friday, I don't see what's the problem. One time USPS tried to deliver a package to my work on Saturday and left a note, doesn't make much sense to me.

Letters to residential area is another story. I like getting my mail at home on Saturdays. Maybe they can only deliver letters and not do packages.

Not everyone is a 20-something single person who works at home and lives in easy walking distance to a mailbox. Lots of people who can't get out -- sick, old, have small children, work ungodly hours somewhere without mail service (factories) and can't get to a mailbox -- need to get their bills in the mail on time. For them, it's already difficult to do this without mail service on Sundays. Taking another day could cause real problems with some of those evil bill collectors we talk about on this board.

@SabreDC: Do you really consider $23.00 an hour to be a lot? It's not.

@Bahnburner:

Actually, I believe that the Post Office was consistently one of the few quasi-government agencies that made money.

I don't doubt that the reasons that were given are why the post office is having troubles. The writing has been on the wall for awhile that the post office is becoming slowly obsolete. If an 85 year-old woman can send an email, her grandson probably only knows USPS as 'the place where I get my Netflix'.

Just because advancements in the private sector have filled a void, doesn't necessarily mean that the post office is calling them 'evil', but way to troll on a consumer advocacy site, you're getting good at it.

only thing I'd miss is a netflix delivery. If you send a movie back on thursday no replacement til monday. Also entflix was reportedly going to start saturday processing thanks to the huge spurt in new suscribers.

@stevejust: Exactly. They'd be less able to compete with UPS/DHL/FedEx/etc. and then lose money, cut back a day, be less able to compete, lose money...you see where this is going.

I know a lot of people don't like USPS but (knock on wood) I find them inexpensive, fast, reliable, and they've yet to lose a package or important document of mine. I'd kind of like to keep a business like that around.

@goodcow: I consider it to be a lot for a paperboy.

@goodcow:

Yes, I consider $46k a year plus overtime and weekend pay with the sweet Governement retirement pension package a pretty good deal.

[www.usps.com]

The post office blames FedEx and email

FedEx, UPS, and email have been around for a long time now. They've had plenty of time to adjust. Just watch, they'll be blaming email for the next 20 years.

It's like Ford still blaming the Edsel for their problems.

@Ash78: Sounds like that won't change. Every article I've read so far states that they are considering cutting delivery only. I haven't seen anything that says that are closing completely for a day like they do on Sunday. It sounds like post offices will still be open for PO boxes, shipping, buying stamps, etc.

DHL is DOA.

@Bahnburner: +1

@Bahnburner: Amtrak was doomed from the start, seeing as it was made up of all the passenger lines that the private railroads were losing money on.

@BytheSea:

I agree, I have a PO Box and have to get there before 5PM if I want my packages. Sometimes that means leaving in the middle of the day, and losing a half hours pay just to get my package. If I had home delivery, I wouldn't care.

This reminds me of that seinfeld where kramer wanted to stop the mail, and he got kidnapped to an interrogation room until he changed his mind... good times..

@BytheSea:
Pardon my bluntness, but those are some pretty lame excuses. I find it hard to believe that it would be that difficult to adjust your personal affairs a tiny bit to see that your bills get into the mail on time. So you drop them in the mail one day earlier, or learn to pay them online. This is an example of over-reliance on the (arguably) current convenience of the system, and of complete unwillingness to adapt. Do you really support an extra $5 billion tax payer dollars being spent so that a few unorganized folks don't have to change their routine a tiny bit? That $5 billion could be spent on other things, or *Gasp* result in lower, albeit slightly, taxes for everyone.

I don't see no problem with. Mail delivery is always spotty here on the SOL.

@MrBryan:
You choose to have a PO box rather than having home delivery. Be it a direct choice (you can get home delivery at your address) or an indirect one (you chose to live in a place where home delivery isn't available), either way it's your choice. The rest of the taxpayers should not have to eat the cost of ensuring you can conveniently get your mail.

@Pylon83:
Package delivery just went up on 1/18
First class mailing prices are going up this summer in some new annual increase scheme based on inflation. Of course in a deflationary economy I doubt the prices will retreat any.

I still use paper mail for all of my bills because it gives me a paper trail when the companies try pulling something, or when you find there's a mysterious charge on your credit card bill and you want to find out how long it's been there. Most of the folks that bill me have cut off dates on their record archives so it's not like I can just pull up last year's bill if needed.

@Pylon83:

haha, sorry the house I bought doesn't fit your cookie cutter plan of mail delivery. I guess I'll sell it in this crappy market, and find one the mail man drives past.

@menty666:
Obviously if the post office is running at a loss, the rate increases haven't been large enough. Further, you can print off your electronic bill and payment records. The cost of printing a page or two is far less than the cost of postage, even on the most inefficient printer. Or hell, print the pages to .PDF's and keep them electronically.