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August 09, 2007
I send a lot of CDs and DVDs through the U.S. Postal Service, and it is obvious now that the recent postal rate hike was a clever move to markedly raise rates without most consumers noticing. Although junk mailers and other mail-based business protested the increase, most people sort of shrugged because we didn't realize that the increase in rates was tied to a change in definition of what a "parcel" is. In the past, you could send a padded envelope with a CD in it at first-class letter rate. Now, the same package apparently has to be shipped as a parcel. This could be because the postal service can't figure out how to automate things like Netflix mailers. I sent a 1.6 oz. CD package today and it was $1.30. Before the change, this same package would have cost 63 cents; the new rate represents a 106% increase. My guess is that these new "parcels" represent a large percentage of what people actually put in the mail; when was the last time you sent a bunch of letters to someone?
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