Post office ponders closing 1 in 10 retail outlets

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POSTAL_PROBLEMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-07-26-03-13-28

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Postal Service is considering closing more than one in 10 of its retail outlets.

The financially troubled agency was announcing Tuesday that it will study more than 3,600 local offices, branches and stations for possible closing.

Currently the post office operates more than 31,000 retail outlets across the country, down from 38,000 a decade ago, but in recent years business has declined sharply as first-class mail moved to the Internet. In addition, the recession resulted in a decline in advertising mail, and the agency lost $8 billion last year.

Most of the offices that face review are in rural areas, but postal officials say they are looking into alternative service, such as locating offices in local businesses, town halls or community centers.

[MrsBrady]

1. the suburban outlets here in my neighborhood are busy

all the time, that I can see.

I don't understand how they think rural areas are supposed to get their mail and send a package?

[Politicalboi]

2. Damn it!

Raise the stamp to a dollar. That isn't much to pay to keep these open. Make post offices part of voter registration for those in Wisconsin to get voter ID's. Charge more for junk mail. Now we all suffer to have to drive to another post office miles away. I know times are tough, but to spend a dollar for hand delivered mail in our society is well worth it IMO.

[Starry Messenger]

3. The post office is great value for great service.

I send *packages* from the PO here that arrive the next day across the bay for less than $3. That's cheaper than bridge toll.

[xchrom]

4. i love the PO & have abandoned ups & fedex in favor of them. nt

[DemReadingDU]

10. Me too!

It is the the cheapest way to send birthday and holiday cards to my grandkids!

I really hope the branch in my village is kept open, because the next branch is at least 15 miles from here.

[trotsky]

8. Yup.

And having traveled to a few countries, I can say that the USPS is the best and cheapest postal service on the planet.

[snooper2]

17. That's the problem, they need to raise rates and close some offices down..

There's no reason to have two within 2 miles of each other. We have one on Jupiter, then another one right over on K Avenue.

It's no wonder they are losing Billions...

[Scruffy1]

20. They are not really losing billions.

The media keeps ignoring the 5.5 billion a year charge Congress put on them to prefund medical retirement benefits.
No other comapny or government entity does this as far as I know, Then of course there is the 55 billion overpayment to CSRS since they switched to Fers in the 80's. Darrell Issa says they don't deserve it.

[WinkyDink]

5. Now Post Offices are deemed mere "retail outlets"???? Well, WTH not. Everything else in America is.

[FSogol]

11. No, they have been separating retail parts (selling stamps, dropping off letters, etc) with the

organization parts (sorting the mail, loading trucks.) They used to have both functions in the same building, usually an expensive building in the city center. Since they are splitting them, they can have the small retail part in the expensive part of town and exile the larger organizational parts out to warehouses which are cheaper to rent/buy.

[WinkyDink]

14. Ah! Who knew?! (You did!) Mine have the functions all in one basic area.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. There's been talk about regionalization of the post offices for a few years now.

I've seen a "super center" being built and knew it was too large for the town it was in.

This will have a big impact on senior citizens with limited access to transportation.

[robcon]

7. They're closing the post office a few blocks from where I live... that's fine with me.

I haven't been in the post office for 2 or 3 years.

I think closing post offices is the logical result of the reduction in the use of the mail.

Mail use will only decline further: personal letters have disappeared (I got an invitation a month ago - the only personal, i.e., non-business - mail I've received in a long, long time.) Bills are increasingly sent through email.

[DemReadingDU]

12. I use the post office almost every week

With 3 grandkids, there is a birthday or holiday to send them cards all the time. And the Post Office is the cheapest way.

All kids delight in receiving their own mail, especially when it is opened and a bit of money drops out.

I am early 60s, so I have used the P.O. for a long time, and never have I ever had anything lost. All the important mail is always received, and all those greeting cards have made it to their destinations.

[robcon]

23. Buy stamps, put the letters in your letterbox. We don't need the building.

Any retailer can sell stamps and envelopes.

[ehrnst]

9. I work in D.C, and so many P.O.s have closed here, I now have to take Metro to get to one.

I used to be able to walk to two of them.

[DemReadingDU]

13. That is sad

Every community should have a local post office, and a library, to be able to walk to.

[Dulcinea]

15. I hope not.

I'm an eBay seller & visit my local post office several times a week. It's by far the cheapest & best way to send packages!

[DemReadingDU]

16. Potential list of P.O. to be closed

Potential list of P.O. to be closed
http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/statelist.htm

7/26/11 from Bloomberg
The U.S. Postal Service, which may run out of money in September, said it may close as many as 3,700, or 12 percent, of its post offices as customers buy more services online and through locations such as grocery stores. For communities without a post office, the USPS will sell stamps and offer services through local retailers, the service said in a statement today before a press conference in Washington. Post offices at New York City’s Port Authority and Roosevelt Island and in Newark, New Jersey, are among those those being considered.
a bit more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-26/postal-service-may-shut-about-3-700-mostly-rural-u-s-offices-to-cut-loss.html

[livetohike]

18. Thanks for posting this

My post office is on the list :cry:. It's one mile from my house - the nearest one that is not on the list is eight miles away. The post office that is closing is used by all of the small business owners in our town (a little resort town). Sad.

[matt819]

19. The cutbacks have already begun

In my small town, the post office has been downgraded so that they don't process any mail for local delivery. This takes place in the nearest city, about 10 miles away. Overall, this doesn't concern me, as my mail is still delivered on schedule by the same carrier. The issue is with outgoing shipments. Like another poster in this thread, I have also switched to the post office for most of my shipments, mainly for the lower cost. If they close my local office, I'll almost certainly switch back to UPS. Despite the higher shipping cost, there is also a cost to me of running my packages into town. Yes, I know, I can arrange for pick-up, but this is for next day service, and I want to ship the same day as orders come in. These are difficult decisions, certainly, but like so much of what is happening in the US, it's another indication of how we are turning into something we don't want to be.

[DemReadingDU]

21. At this time, we have alternatives. But

What happens when more people lose jobs, and then don't have money for a car, then maybe don't have money for an internet connection. What if they can't walk or ride a bicycle for 10-20 miles to get to the nearest post office?

I don't like what I see coming.

[Odin2005]

22. POs are not called "retail outlets"? That's fucked up.