Porcupine Raffle to benefit LSFund.org

[Lex]

You could be here by the time we choose the raffle winner in August.

We actually have a date set but there are a lot of lose ends to tie up so until we are 100% sure that we are moving I won't say anything more 

[Kat Kanning]

Do we get to have a moving party for you?  Help you unload?

[Lex]

Do we get to have a moving party for you?  Help you unload?

Sounds good! 

[Kat Kanning]

Alirght!  When you know the date for sure, I'll schedule the party

[Ron Helwig]

It looks like the post office sells 2 cent stamps... I guess i'll have to buy some tomorrow.

Did i mention that i hate the USPS?

Yeah, it sucks.  I also had to buy 1 cent stamps because postcards went up 1 cent.

Why don't we all start using 39 1-cent stamps on letters? 
How much does it cost the USPS to make each stamp?

[Russell Kanning]

Actually since we all pay for it .....how much does it cost us to make stamps?

[Lloyd Danforth]

I don't imagine the cost of printing them is very high.  The question I want an answer to is what percentage of all of the stamps printed go into collections, never to be put on an envelope, with the PO never having to 'deliver' on their end of the deal?

[Russell Kanning]

Hey .... we can do that too.

[KBCraig]

I don't imagine the cost of printing them is very high.  The question I want an answer to is what percentage of all of the stamps printed go into collections, never to be put on an envelope, with the PO never having to 'deliver' on their end of the deal?

Why do you think they are constantly coming out with new designs, new themes, and advertising them?

All profit, no product!

[Lex]

I don't imagine the cost of printing them is very high.  The question I want an answer to is what percentage of all of the stamps printed go into collections, never to be put on an envelope, with the PO never having to 'deliver' on their end of the deal?

Why do you think they are constantly coming out with new designs, new themes, and advertising them?

All profit, no product!

Well, arguably, the design on the stamp is the product in the case of collectors.

[cathleeninnh]

I don't think the USPS should be in that business. Even if it is profitable, which I question. Back to basics, no designs; let the collectors switch to baseball cards.

Cathleen

[Lloyd Danforth]

Although the designs have something to do with it, it is the built in scarcity, due to a limited printing that makes them collectable.

[Russell Kanning]

Have I mentioned that there is a limited supply of raffle tickets?

[Lex]

I don't think the USPS should be in that business. Even if it is profitable, which I question. Back to basics, no designs; let the collectors switch to baseball cards.

USPS is not profitable.

A bit dated but still valid I think:

For Immediate Release
Contact: Mark Carpenter
(202) 467-5300
July 10, 2003

USPS Retail Operations Grossly Mismanaged

(Washington, D.C.) ? Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today publicized the results of an audit by the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General (IG) on operations at its approximately 1,400 postal retail operations.  The report was obtained by CAGW despite being unavailable on the USPS? IG website.  A postal retail store operates much like a traditional post office except that it features an open display area so that customers can purchase merchandise and stamps without standing in full service lines.

?This report demonstrates that the USPS has no business being in any competitive businesses,? said CAGW Special Projects Director Leslie Paige.  ?If the postal service can?t even adhere to basic accounting standards or determine the financial viability of its retail stores, it should not be permitted to compete freely in the private sector in other commercial activities.?

The report, dated February 28, 2002, discloses that USPS improperly accounted for key financial data.  For example, labor and revenue figures for both the new retail stores and traditional retail post offices were lumped together, making it impossible to determine retail store profitability.  Construction cost estimates were also not reliable, the report said, because the USPS did not itemize the costs of building the facilities.  Also, managers at postal retail outlets failed to implement management controls over store operations, putting the USPS at high risk for financial losses due to theft.

Some of the report?s specific findings were:

? Open merchandise counters designed to expedite customer service were not staffed at a majority of the visited sites;

? Merchandise was not tracked or inventoried at any of the visited sites; and

? Security systems designed to detect theft of stamps and other merchandise did not sense such items when they passed through sensors.
 
USPS? reply to the IG report includes the astonishing assertion that the auditors should not have been trying to determine the stores? profitability at all because ?the vast majority of post offices regardless of format (postal store or traditional) are not profitable, much like component parts of other USPS networks (e.g. individual plants or carrier routes).?  Though the auditors agreed with postal management?s assertion that most post offices are not profitable, they stated that it is still important to evaluate financial performance in order to make decisions.

?At the June hearing before the President?s Commission on Postal Reform, Postmaster General Potter reiterated his long-standing desire to have the USPS compete freely in the private sector and retain profits,? stated Paige.  ?When asked to be specific about what goods USPS would offer, Mr. Potter said the agency should be able to offer anything that makes money, such as beverages, greeting cards, and financial services.  This report clearly shows that the USPS has mismanaged its current retail outlets.  Such financial incompetence should not be rewarded by giving the USPS more freedom to fail and lose millions more ratepayer dollars.?

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.

[Russell Kanning]

Did you have a number preference?