Do you frequently send packages by mail?

Do you rely on the United States Postal Service to correspond with your customers?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then look out! Coming soon, it is going to cost you more than ever before.

Last Friday, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that a first class postage stamp is going up 9 percent, costing their customers 37 cents per stamp beginning June 30, 2002.

The USPS justifies the 3-cent increase in first class postage rates by saying that they need a revenue boost to try to cope with the lost business and “hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from the terror attacks” last year.

Am I the only one who sees how ludicrous that justification for the price increase is?

After the terrorist attacks happened in September, what did America’s retailers do to try to lure customers back into their stores?

Did they raise their prices?!?! NO!

That would have been ridiculous!

They did just the opposite. They dramatically lowered their prices to attract more customers to their store.

I think the USPS could learn a lesson from this business model.

If the USPS lowered the price of stamps when a customer buys, for example, a roll of 100 stamps, can you imagine the increase in revenue that would ensue?

Would you purchase a roll of 100 stamps for $30 to save $7 on postage?

I sure would!

I run a small business over the Internet that requires me to send about 5-10 packages through the mail every day. The increase in postage rates is going to increase my costs by at least 10-15 cents for each package I mail.

When business picks up, that is going to quickly add up to a lot of money taken from my bottom line!

A discount would help me keep shipping costs down and allow me to keep more profit from the sale of the products I sell.

The USPS says the increases in postage rates will provide them with some “breathing room” to deal with their financial problems.

The USPS had a total loss of $1.68 billion last year and anticipates one of $1.35 billion this year, despite freezing new construction and cutting 12,000 jobs.

After the attacks in New York and Washington and the anthrax-by-mail contamination last year, the USPS had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for repairs, decontamination and health care.

The USPS claims that they need cash flow to begin soon.

What better way to increase their cash flow than to have a sale on stamps?

What do you think?

(Of course, there is no way the USPS will ever consider this idea. After all, they are a part of the U.S. government. If it makes sense, then the government does not understand it. We can all hope, though!)