USPS shipping prices ?

I bought insurance through USPS on ten 78 rpm German picture disks and other collectable 78's. A few of the records were broken in shipping and they paid the claim without any animosity at MY established value in two weeks. I've never had a piece of mail lost or undelivered. The Postal Service handles billions and billions of pieces of mail every year with very few complaints. We enjoy the most efficient, lowest cost and quickest most reliable service on the planet bar none. In this case you do, in fact, get what you pay for. BTW, those $7.70 boxes will go all the way to Iraq. There are still places in this country without electricity and phone service. Name me one place where the mail doesn't go for a flat rate. The companies that ship cheaper won't do this because they are not compelled to by law while the Postal Service is. Making points is tiring. Just let me say that I'm so very disappointed in the lack of knowledge by so many educated people in our society about the HOW and WHY our system is set up the way it is. Equality began in this country through the example set forth by the US Postal Service. Try comparing shipping records via all methods. Media Mail is subsidized for the benefit of libraries, schools and charitable publishing companies. It's the concept of equality that gives us audiophiles the right to ship our media (vinyl, CD's, books, magazines and tapes) at a subsidized rate too. Does UPS or FEDEX deliver all our governments mail for free? Schools in the country are abysmal as proven by the thread head.

Dougmc,

While junk mail is a significant revenue source it is not a source of profit. The history of the Postal Service is an incredible story. Some of the most interesting aspects occured in the late 60's and early 70's when Congress (proving that they are and can be bought) peeled off the most profitable services and handed them over to private enterprise. That's the only reason UPS and Fedex, etc. exist today. The Postal Service is today a quasi-private mix of government/private enterprise. What they provide to society is much more important than most citizens realize. Important enough that the founding fathers ensured it be created as we knew it before the 60's. IMO, the Postal Service is government at its finest. I choose to use it as much as possible because of its reliability and also to add to its profitability so that GWB and the 535 boneheads that control this country don't also wish to turn it over to private enterprise. Would anybody be foolish enough to believe UPS or Fedex would do it as well? Proper functioning of society demands reliable delivery of important documents and most people take for granted what is dropped into their mailbox every day. Sorry for the rant but I feel strongly about this issue along with a number of other issues that can have negative consequences for all of us. Don't get me started on schools. I'd melt down. LOL