Ferrari Mailing List: Re: OFF TOPIC - RE: Related to Business Banking

[Dennis Liu (BigHeadDennis]

Yeah, coincidentally, I used that myself this very morning to ship one of my
355 battery chargers for repair.  Very convenient, as you can leave the
package in your mailbox or hand it to your carrier.  I didn't mention it
because Stephen seemed to be talking about "regular", 1st class mail, as
opposed to parcel delivery.  And, BTW, you can also do the same thing
(online forms, charges to credit card, print out shipping label, leave for
driver) with parcels for FedEx and UPS.

Thanks, Jeff.

Vty,

--Dennis


-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Greenfield [mailto:coyote [at] acme-ltd.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 1:45 PM
To: BigHeadDennis [at] earthlink.net
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: RE: [Ferrari] OFF TOPIC - RE: Related to Business Banking

Actually, the USPS does have what they call 'click 'n ship'. No monthly
fees, you just pay for the postage as you need it. Limited mostly to
priority mail for packages.

But, you can print your own postage, on anything you want, and the actual
postage is charged to a credit card and no monthly fees.

https://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do

But hey, what do I know ...

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Liu [mailto:BigHeadDennis [at] earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 1:16 PM
To: Jeff Greenfield
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: [Ferrari] OFF TOPIC - RE: Related to Business Banking

Quickly:

1.  Pitney-Bowes does not have a monopoly on postage meters.  It is simply
the largest vendor.  There are four competitors in this market.  They have
to qualify to USPS standards, but they compete against one another.  Not a
"monopoly or oligopoly".  
http://www.usps.com/postagesolutions/post_mtr.htm

2.  Stamps.com competes with Endicia for electronic postage.  Again, it's a
free market - other companies can also enter this market by negotiating a
relationship with USPS, but nobody has, because Stamps.com and Endicia are
already large and competitive.  

3.  You can in fact do EXACTLY what you want to do - download postage onto
your comptuer, and print postage out on cheap Avery or generic labels.
Heck, you can print on anything you want.  Vendor fees that your business
cannot justify?  Endicia charges $9.95/month (or $99.95 for a year).  Less
than most postage meters, and more convenient.  Postage prices are the same
as what USPS charges directly.

So are you complaining that paying $10 a month is TOO EXPENSIVE for your
business?  Why shouldn't Endicia (or Stamps.com) charge $10/month for their
service?  In return, you're getting a lot of benefits:

A.  Save time.  No more peeling stamps, no more handwriting addresses.
B.  Save money. No meter leases; no excess stamps; and address verification
reduces costly returned mail.
C.  Faster delivery.  Mail is bar-coded so it's automation ready.
D.  Automatic accounting.  Record kept of postage transactions.

Seems to be that $10/month is a huge bargain for anyone mailing more than a
few pieces weekly.  Do you expect these third-party providers to give you
their services for FREE?

Or are you bitching about why the USPS doesn't offer this service to you
DIRECTLY, and avoid "the middleman" and their $10/month fees?

The USPS has been around for a thousand years.  It has to apply to congress
to get postal rates raised enough to cover their costs.  It's bound by
archaic rules and regulations.  It's a bureaucracy.  And, miracle of
miracles, a couple of hungry start-up companies saw the need that you're
pointing out, entered into contracts with the USPS, and are now providing
this service to hundreds of thousands of users nationwide - and you're
complaining that the USPS doesn't offer it directly?

That's like complaining that the IRS doesn't sell - or better yet, GIVE AWAY
- free income-tax software.



Again, to cite Steve Jenkin's EXCELLENT rant from this morning, it's a FREE
MARKET SYSTEM.  If you really think that $10/month is outrageous, go ahead
and start up a company to compete.  Enter into a contract with USPS to offer
digital postage, design software, build a website and infrastructure, market
and advertise, and then give it away all for less than $10/month, or, better
yet, for FREE.

Hey, everyone on the Ferrari List - before all y'all go on your next rant
about this that or the other thing, like how big
oil/government/carmakers/etc. is out to SCREW the little guy, just remember
the GOLDEN RULE:

TANSTAAFL!

Vty,

--Dennis



-----Original Message-----
From: BRIGANDBAR [at] aol.com [mailto:BRIGANDBAR [at] aol.com]
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 12:51 PM
To: Dennis Liu
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Related to Business Banking

As a (relatively) low volume mailer I am always impressed in the way that
Pitney-Bowes and I think the other company is named Stamp USA (but I am not
sure) manage to control individual access to postage and postage acquisition
in a system purportedly independently operated by the U.S. Government. 
 
I have often wondered why I cannot just download postage onto my computer,
and purchase those cheap(er) Avery style generic labels at Staples or some
similar outlet and print out my own postage without paying those vendors
fees which my business cannot justify.
 
Now that I have read that the USPIS has actually pursued a case where a user
employed Federal Express for "non-urgent" first class type mail this concern
becomes just a little more timely. (Personally, from what I've learned  from
friends and former colleagues there still is no shortage of perverts
issuing and purveying child pornography over the Internet  to the them busy
so I cannot understand their priority of "protecting the revenues of the
Postal Service, I don't make that agency's policy)/
 
In that the Postal Service now sells me stamps on a credit card, they should
be able to work out something where I can either get something that
resembles a pre-paid calling card, or just input a credit card number on a
secure website and then print out that inexpensive label to be affixed to a
package or letter.
 
Nothing excessively serious here since we frequent our post office box in
the local P.O. and can either buy stamps or just pay for the package in
situ, just a question of government sponsored (and taxpayer penalized)
monopoly or oligopoly.
 
Dr. Steve  

1964 Rolls  Royce Silver Cloud III    1975 Pontiac GV Conv.
1980 MB  450SL                 1982 RR  Corniche
1988 Rolls Royce Silver  Spur         1994 F-350 Powerstroke  4x4          
1996  Bronco                                  2000 Lincoln Town Car
1995 Ferrari 348  Spyder                 2004 Excursion
+ Audrey's 3x MB's

Dr. Stephen B. Spies, CES,  CFI
Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratory
Explosives Engineering  Technologies

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