The Scoop
Postal Changes
One moment it's an internet sales tax. The next us the potential squeeze put on small Mom and Pop Internet sellers. Now we start hearing rumors that are appearing to be more fact than fiction concerning US Postal cut backs which if enacted will have all kinds of effects on the swift and effecient delivery of our mail. Why are we concerned about this? It is simple. As Internet sellers we historically have been under immense pressure to send a purchased item quickly. If we are on EBay for example and fail to do so, then we can receive damaging Negative Feedback and lower DSR effeciency ratings, which ultimately will punish our business image. We have also been under pressure to make our shipping Free like many large corporations can afford to do. On our Website we are under no pressure, but if our deliivery is slow then buyers simply will not return.
If proposed changes such as the closure of major Postal sorting centers, and the suspension of Saturday delivery as well as the clousure of some Post Offices particularly in rural locations actually go into effect then the whole system is going to be slowed down, and buyers who once wanted overnight delivery for example may not be able to get it, and packages that arrived in 2-3 days will take considerably longer. We cannot imagine a scenario where that is going to bode well for our economy which has become extremely accustomed to high speed, and instant gratification. We feel the same way. When we want something and purchase it, we want it somewhere between quick and immediately. It is the world that we live in. That however will change in a big way if proposed Postal Service cuts truly do go into effect in the near future.
What do we do? Not everyone may be aware, but Postal delivery is a Consitutionally based guarantee regardless of whether people live in dense populations or rural settings. The fore-fathers envisioned a Country where everyone was entitled to receive communications, but since the invention of the Internet many people have chosen to E-Mail, Text, and pay their bills online. In addition Fed-Ex, and UPS have had an major impact on the Postal Service, so are we at risk of not only enduring USPS cut-backs, but even seeing it disappear? We think the latter would be an exxageration, but not unthinkable, and if any of this happens we envision major price increases for any kind of mail or package delivery by whatever method we use, and secondly we envision a major impact on Internet Sales.
So what do we recommend? For us it's simple. Contact your State Senators and Representatives and compliain LOUD and CLEAR. The US. Postal Service can survive if it is allowed to compete on a level playing field, and it's not. It isn't exactly a government agency, and yet it is controlled by Congress to the extent that it is compelled to pay billions iinto the coffers in Washington DC, which is a practice we believe started in 2006 that is highly unfair. The USPS is an agency caught in between. It can't really promote itself like it's competition, and yet the government won't acutally fund it either. That in our view is wrong. Contact your Representatives before it is too late. Otherwise we believe that there are going to be painful cutbacks that none of us are going to enjoy. If you have questions please feel free to contact us.
Jim Stewart
Website: www.oregonsunstonegem.com
Email: sales@oregonsunstonegem.com