I'm an idiot, and fuck Canada Post

[ScienceSexSavings]

In December, Canada Post announced a number of changes that pissed most of the nation off, including changing the price of a stamp from 63 cents to 85 cents when bought in a pack, or $1.00 when purchased individually. I have to send insurance claims by mail because my cheap student plan doesn't do direct billing. Being the bright young mustachian that I am, I bought a roll of 100 stamps before the change took effect. Today I got that roll out to send some insurance claims and realized that they're fucking 63 cent stamps and not permanent stamps! Now I'm going to end up spending an additional $20 or so on small stamps to cobble together the right amount, and may end up paying even more if the price increases again before I finish the roll. So pissed about this!

[hybrid]

Good lord, it's Friday afternoon, spring is on the way, and you're this upset about $20? Cheer up! SPRING IS COMING.

Oh, right, Canada Post. Got it. Well, hope you feel better by mid-May.

[warfreak2]

Good lord, it's Friday afternoon, spring is on the way, and you're this upset about $20? Cheer up! SPRING IS COMING.

Oh, right, Canada Post. Got it. Well, hope you feel better by mid-May.

I've been calling it summer here since mid-February. Also, our postal service just got privatised and the government lost a boatload of money on the sale. I think I have a few stamps somewhere, just in case some backwards organisation can't tell their email inbox from their recycle bin; bought a book of 12 stamps about 8 years ago, haven't gotten through them yet.

[geekette]

Maybe you can return them?

[ScienceSexSavings]

Good lord, it's Friday afternoon, spring is on the way, and you're this upset about $20? Cheer up! SPRING IS COMING.

Oh, right, Canada Post. Got it. Well, hope you feel better by mid-May.

Too true... and yes, I am mad about $20, mostly because I specifically took steps to avoid spending it. On the bright side, the 22 cent stamps the issued for this situation are really pretty! They have monarch butterflies on a blue background, so I can pretend it's spring ;)

I doubt that I could exchange them for permanent stamps now that the price change has taken effect. A few weeks ago, that may have worked.

[SAHD]

I too get really pissed off when I screw up and it cost me any amount of money, even $5.  I would rather waiste money on almost anything than make a mistake and cost me something.  I take it personally.  We try very hard to scrimp and save to reach FIRE i.e. use less water, lower the heat, turn of the lights, clip coupons and so on... that when you just throw away money on a mistake it makes some of your hard work for not.

Fight for every dollar.

[hybrid]

I too get really pissed off when I screw up and it cost me any amount of money, even $5.  I would rather waiste money on almost anything than make a mistake and cost me something.  I take it personally.  We try very hard to scrimp and save to reach FIRE i.e. use less water, lower the heat, turn of the lights, clip coupons and so on... that when you just throw away money on a mistake it makes some of your hard work for not.

Fight for every dollar.

I get what you are saying, I do. But it's not healthy. If you make a mistake and it costs you something and you get upset about it eventually you stop taking chances because you might make a mistake.

Part of the beauty of this site is learning to think outside of the box and change routines, habits, lifestyles, and that is really hard to do without making some mistakes. No one is perfect, so don't kick yourself when you achieve less than perfection. You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

I've made a bunch of mistakes over the last year with my new-to-me road bike, especially with inner tubes and lights, but if I hadn't made those mistakes I probably wouldn't be cycling.

[seanc0x0]

Good lord, it's Friday afternoon, spring is on the way, and you're this upset about $20? Cheer up! SPRING IS COMING.

Oh, right, Canada Post. Got it. Well, hope you feel better by mid-May.

Too true... and yes, I am mad about $20, mostly because I specifically took steps to avoid spending it. On the bright side, the 22 cent stamps the issued for this situation are really pretty! They have monarch butterflies on a blue background, so I can pretend it's spring ;)

I doubt that I could exchange them for permanent stamps now that the price change has taken effect. A few weeks ago, that may have worked.

Probably not... Canada Post stopped selling permanent stamps immediately after the announcement specifically because they knew people would stockpile them.  As someone who often uses stamps (amateur radio is my main hobby, traditionally post cards are exchanged to confirm a contact), it pissed me off to no end and I vowed to avoid the postal system where possible in the future. Fortunately now there are online methods of confirmation.

[ScienceSexSavings]

I too get really pissed off when I screw up and it cost me any amount of money, even $5.  I would rather waiste money on almost anything than make a mistake and cost me something.  I take it personally.  We try very hard to scrimp and save to reach FIRE i.e. use less water, lower the heat, turn of the lights, clip coupons and so on... that when you just throw away money on a mistake it makes some of your hard work for not.

Fight for every dollar.

This sounds a lot like me! Fortunately I get over things pretty quickly, so my mental health should be alright.

Canada Post has gotten just plain outrageous! I'm looking forward to the day when I can submit insurance claims online or via direct billing :)

[Gerard]

I wonder, does Canada Post just seem outrageous because our point of comparison was even better (however much we liked to complain about it)? I mean, we're paying a dollar to have somebody carry something across the fuckin' country for us.

But yeah, I totally get that we over-angst about wasting five bucks when we could have avoided it (or, more accurately, when we know that we could have avoided it). Using the library probably saves me at least a hundred bucks a year (hard to tell, 'cause I read a lot of stuff that I would never buy). But I wail and gnash my teeth every time I have to pay a two-dollar late fee.

[GuitarStv]

Who the hell mails stuff any more?

[lifejoy]

Good lord, it's Friday afternoon, spring is on the way, and you're this upset about $20? Cheer up! SPRING IS COMING.

Oh, right, Canada Post. Got it. Well, hope you feel better by mid-May.

BAHAHAHAHA so true.

[scrubbyfish]

I, too, get very upset at surprise/preventable/mistake costs, so I feel ya!

And Canada Post sucks in so many, many ways...

1. Topic of this thread. Yes. Had I realized things, I could have made the rest of my life's living selling the P stamps!

2. Stealing all my kid's Valentines, then saying "it doesn't matter...it's only this much mail..." When I demanded a refund on my postal box service, they "found" all the missing mail. (In my previous life, when they also forgot to forward my mail in a move, I got my mail and $100 in compensation from them.)

3. Charging $16 to send what costs $4 to send in the USA. So I cross the border to mail those in batches.

4. The wildly high rates in general.

The good news? I pay for a postal box, but now that they're moving to suer/community boxes, that annual cost will be gone! And I do have enough P stamps to get me through 1-2 years (and 1-2 envelopes per month). I'm going to see about giving all the businesses my Visa number so I can reduce this further.

[MissStache]

I just stopped by to say:  OP, I think you have my favorite username of anyone in this forum.  It is fascinating!

[hybrid]

Who the hell mails stuff any more?

Can't speak for Canada, but this is what typical mail looks like in the US in 2014 (wife is a letter carrier of 26 years).

First class mail has dropped dramatically, but the PO still serves many purposes.  In order....

Bills.  Although I would venture the vast majority of users of this forum pay online, a great many people still receive their invoices in the mail. This is gradually decreasing every year, but it is  a slow process. The older generations that have not used computers much, if at all, still do their business the old fashioned way. Many smaller companies (say, your dentist or HVAC guy, for example) still bill this way.

Magazines. Less popular in the digital era but still popular. I get The Economist in printed format, never been a big fan of the digital version.

Parcels. This is a growth area for the PO and will be for the foreseeable future.

Direct Mail Advertising.  The dreaded "junk mail". But is it? Consider: With direct mail advertising one can target very specific geographic and demographic regions. That is not possible with any other medium. If it was not effective, companies would not use it. If I ever opt to expand my side gig of home computer support my intent is to send first class (not bulk rate!) mail to the very best neighborhoods of Richmond (as they make the best clients). At 0.50 a letter, I can target 100 households for $50 and have a very good chance my advertisement will actually be read by the prospective client. I only need a success rate of perhaps 2-3% to make this worth my while. And with Zillow I don't even need to purchase mailing lists, I can get 100 desirable addresses in 1/2 hour of point and click.

For the big boys, mailing lists and bulk rate mail are standard fare. 

[ScienceSexSavings]

I, too, get very upset at surprise/preventable/mistake costs, so I feel ya!

And Canada Post sucks in so many, many ways...

1. Topic of this thread. Yes. Had I realized things, I could have made the rest of my life's living selling the P stamps!

2. Stealing all my kid's Valentines, then saying "it doesn't matter...it's only this much mail..." When I demanded a refund on my postal box service, they "found" all the missing mail. (In my previous life, when they also forgot to forward my mail in a move, I got my mail and $100 in compensation from them.)

3. Charging $16 to send what costs $4 to send in the USA. So I cross the border to mail those in batches.

4. The wildly high rates in general.

The good news? I pay for a postal box, but now that they're moving to suer/community boxes, that annual cost will be gone! And I do have enough P stamps to get me through 1-2 years (and 1-2 envelopes per month). I'm going to see about giving all the businesses my Visa number so I can reduce this further.

With you on all of this - USPS prices amaze me, and I'm outrageously jealous of those pre-paid standardized shipping boxes you can buy in the States!

I grew up with a giant green community box, so I'm fine with that change, although it does seem kind of silly in my current urban neighbourood where curb space is already at a premium.

And damn, what I wouldn't give to have a hoarder's stash of permanent stamps to resell...

I just stopped by to say:  OP, I think you have my favorite username of anyone in this forum.  It is fascinating!

That made me giggle :) Someone asked me if it was my hobbies/interests in life lol. I like to say it's things I tend to teach/preach about when I get the chance...

[daverobev]

My FIL sent an envelope up to us near Ottawa, from Florida. Took 2 1/2 weeks. ($3! So cheap!)

Mail we get includes gas bills, shareholder stuff (trying to go electronic with this).

Stuff from ebay takes forever. Stuff from Amazon UK is actually pretty quick.. stuff from the UK generally, actually.

I feel for you, OP. Lots of people hoarded P stamps as soon as the announcement was made specifically because they withdrew those P stamps 'immediately'.

We've got 10 or so P stamps. Should last a year...

Worst thing is it being more expensive to send within Canada than *to* Canada. Mindblowing. But also understandable. Big country! Just crazy for me, where stuff in the UK comes next day or in 2 days.

[scrubbyfish]

Worst thing is it being more expensive to send within Canada than *to* Canada.

Yeah...there were articles in the paper about small businesses and people in general crossing the border from Canada to the US to mail things to Canada, because it would be a fraction of the cost.

Another funny one is that I can mail to Italy, South Africa, Australia, etc, for much cheaper than I can mail the exact same item within Canada. I explained to Canada Post that Ottawa is closer to Vancouver than Italy is, but they would hear none of that. (Actually, the reps are excellent and are precisely who suggested I cross the border to mail stuff. Best tip ever.)

[hybrid]

USPS prices amaze me, and I'm outrageously jealous of those pre-paid standardized shipping boxes you can buy in the States!

Postage in the US is ridiculously cheap in part because the PO is quite simply not charging enough any more to be a break even outfit (as is their mandate, they are supposed to be self-supporting). This has been the case for several years now, and the economic downturn exacerbated the problem.

There are numerous reforms that are desperately needed in the PO to reduce burgeoning costs, but like anything else in America there is very stiff resistance to change. Eliminating Saturday delivery, for example, is quite a popular notion and makes about 12% of letter carriers obsolete. Guess which union is fighting that tooth and nail for rather obvious and self-serving reasons.

[NewStachian]

I feel you, man. Little things like that that are inefficient piss me off to no end. But, I try to step back and calm down looking at the bigger picture. It's a 1-time small loss that plays almost no role in your real budget.

I readjusted about $170k the other day moving away from mutual funds and into low fee ETF's. I didn't notice one of my purchases had an $8 transaction fee and wanted to punch a wall...

[ScienceSexSavings]

USPS prices amaze me, and I'm outrageously jealous of those pre-paid standardized shipping boxes you can buy in the States!

Postage in the US is ridiculously cheap in part because the PO is quite simply not charging enough any more to be a break even outfit (as is their mandate, they are supposed to be self-supporting). This has been the case for several years now, and the economic downturn exacerbated the problem.

I knew they weren't doing well, but I always thought it was because of the pension program! I'm also just really jealous that you can pre-pay a box and ship it without getting in line, having it weighed, measured, etc.

I feel you, man. Little things like that that are inefficient piss me off to no end. But, I try to step back and calm down looking at the bigger picture. It's a 1-time small loss that plays almost no role in your real budget.

I readjusted about $170k the other day moving away from mutual funds and into low fee ETF's. I didn't notice one of my purchases had an $8 transaction fee and wanted to punch a wall...

That transaction fee would infuriate me... I know it's worth it in the long run, but damn!

[Christof]

I can so understand this... In Germany Deutsche Post increased price from 55 cents to 58 cent last year and then again to 60 cents this year. The German version of the Onion in response had an article about the introduction of a -1 cent stamp, so that everyone can use up their 3 cent stamps they bought just months ago.

[ScienceSexSavings]

For most of my life Canada Post would raise stamp prices by 1c every year, and we really did have 1c stamps being sold so that you could pair them with your old stamps! When I went in to get 22c stamps, they were out and gave me a bunch of 2c and 9c ones intead - really odd denominations.

[Christof]

Well, we do have 2 and 3 cent stamps now. The funny aspect of the article, though, was the introduction of a minus one cent stamp, so that you can combine two three cent and a minus one to get the five cent difference. ;)