How The USPS Can Profit From Stamps
You know times are hard when a virtual monopoly can’t make money. In raising a first class stamp from 42 cents to 44 cents, the post office virtually guaranteed it would continue to lose money for at least the rest of this year.
The increase needed to be significantly higher to offset the losses they have already taken and stave off the future losses they are surely going to take. Current estimates show the post office has lost $2.3 billion in just the first half of this year, skyrocketing past the disaster of last year’s loss of $2.8 billion. Can you say “complacency”?
Instead of running the operation like a business, they do things exactly the opposite. Take commemorative stamps for example. Instead of charging a premium to at least cover the cost of the special art work, operational expenses and such, they leave the price fixed. So all of the cost is absorbed by the operation.
For example, they just came out with the Simpsons Collection, which just begs for the question: If someone wants a Bart Simpson stamp, shouldn’t they pay extra for it?
If it was run like a business, they would surely charge more because it’s highly likely that the people that want Bart Simpson stamps, need Bart Simpson stamps. As the saying goes, stamps: 44 cents; stamps with your favorite Simpsons character on it: priceless.
But if they really want to run it like a business, then they would need to think big. For example, what if they just offer to not deliver junk mail to you for a fee? Now that’s a business mind at work. Charge you to not do something. Brilliant!
This is exactly what the post office should be doing, and it’s something they will be good at. They’ll cut costs, increase revenues, and be profitable in no time. And it’s good for the environment. Now that's thinking like a monopolist!
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