Comments on: USPS = Spam in Meatspace http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2009/05/04/usps-spam-in-meatspace/ What's Hot & What's Cooking in Scholarly Publishing - from the Society for Scholarly Publishing Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:31:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Kent Anderson http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2009/05/04/usps-spam-in-meatspace/#comment-3056 Tue, 05 May 2009 15:09:06 +0000 http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/?p=3858#comment-3056 All true, but it’s still spam. As for letters, the Internet distribution system has taken that over, by and large. I think the postal system is changing fundamentally, and the USPS is chasing spammer revenues by continuing to adapt its systems for bulk mailing and rewarding bulk mailers. Interestingly, the distribution system we use more often (the Internet) is spending its time guarding against spam. I think it’s clear which one is gearing up for the customer and which is cynically milking its traditional business.

]]> By: Rich Dodenhoff http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2009/05/04/usps-spam-in-meatspace/#comment-3055 Tue, 05 May 2009 14:24:04 +0000 http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/?p=3858#comment-3055 Bulk mailers get low rates because they do a lot of the work for the USPS. Their pieces arrive at the Post Office pre-sorted down to the order in which the mail carrier will hand them out on his or her route. Minimal processing by the USPS is required, so the mailer is rewarded with lower fees.

A more accurate comparison is the cost and convenience of mailing a letter through the Postal Service and mailing the same letter through FedEx or UPS. The latter generally don’t pick up mail from your house, charge extra for Saturday delivery (or don’t deliver at all on Saturday), require the sender to complete a form (you can’t simply write an address on the envelope), and charge significantly higher fees for low-weight items.

FedEx and UPS are successful because they handle the most profitable mail services and ignore the rest. If the USPS could eliminate services that these other organizations were never required to provide, it could probably be just as profitable.

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