

The Post Office Has Turned Amazon Into The Worlds Worst Brick and Mortar Retail - dworin
http://blog.dworin.net/the-post-office-has-turned-amazon-into-the-worlds-worst-brick-and-mortar-retail/

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mindslight
Actually, _Amazon_ has turned Amazon into this experience. For the few cents
of savings, these ship-to-USPS services are really the worst of all worlds,
and USPS seems to get shafted with the entire blame because "derp derp the
post office is obsolete" (you know, ignoring the actual _increase_ in amount
of general package traffic).

Anything I've had shipped Priority Mail has been handled well and on-time. The
people at the counter at my local post office are fantastic. The actual letter
carrier seems to be somewhat lazy when it comes to actually taking outgoing
mail (and getting this fixed doesn't seem easy), but for the most part USPS
works and has become my preferred shipping option.

Unlike UPS/Fedex, when you've got to ship something out, you can do it for a
reasonable rate rather than the ridiculously jacked-up rates for people
without a pre-negotiated shipping account. And you're in for a surprise when
you end up missing a UPS/Fedex package and find out how out of the way their
pickup centers actually are. (Also, there are plenty of remote addresses
UPS/Fedex simply won't service.)

I completely agree in scaling back government, but the negative focus on USPS
is yet another example of the entrenched unaccountable bureaucracy redirecting
your anger away from itself and towards cuts of real infrastructure and
services (which you'll eventually cry uncle for and re-fund). Please, don't
fall for it.

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chronomex
I strongly prefer the postal service deliver my parcels. I live inside a
locked building without an attendant, so to receive packages the delivery
person has to come inside. But only USPS has a key to the front door. This
means that when I have a UPS or FedEx delivery due, I have to stay at home all
day. If I'm not, either they leave it and it gets stolen, or they leave a note
and I have to stay home the next day.

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iloverobots
If this guy lives in an apartment without a door man, it seems like missing
packages would be pretty common (regardless of carrier). That's why Amazon
created the Amazon lockers, which are available in Manhattan, where the author
lives.

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rdl
I use a mail forwarding/scanning service (ECM) to handle all my mail and
packages. It's a lot easier for me to physically go pick up things one or two
times a week than to deal with missed/missing/etc. deliveries.

(also seems like an easy perk for an employer; great shipping/receiving for
employees.)

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drallison
The problem is not Amazon nor is it the Post Office, it is FedEx. Using the
Post Office to deliver the last mile makes sense, but you have to get the
package to the local Post Office in a timely way. FedEx seems to treat
"smartpost" packages as low priority.

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swalkergibson
Sounds like a perfect opportunity to shop locally! Check it out,
[http://localfirstaz.com/studies/index.php](http://localfirstaz.com/studies/index.php).

