Sunday, 30 May 2010

A fading need !

Next month the cost of posting a letter in Australia will jump by five cents - to sixty cents !

The need for the postal service is in serious decline, and as mail use drops we can expect ever increasing costs. The day will come when posting a letter costs several dollars because the infrastructure in place to handle mail will be servicing a mere fraction of the present letter rate.

The mail is under attack on all fronts. Many people communicate with friends using email rather than writing letters. This new " Skype " software is making video calls both free and exciting - actually seeing the caller on the monitor is a new experience - and in the commercial world the letter is as outdated as button-up boots and buggy whips !

Little by little service providers are only accepting clients who agree to pay their bills by automatic bank transfer - and this will accelerate as the cost of a stamp to mail out your monthly bill pushes up costs.

Have you noticed the trend to add what is euphemistically called a " bill paying fee " of anything from fifty cents to two dollars to your bill total ?

How long will it be before postal charges will depend on the distance between point of posting and the address of the recipient ?

Probably not long, considering that the great bulk of mail travels to the mail boxes of corporations in either Sydney or Melbourne. We already have " distance rates " when mail is destined for overseas destinations. In many cases, mail between Wollongong and Perth travels similar distances.

Cheap mail rates were a thing of the past geared to high volumes - and those high volumes are fast fading from the scene.

Get ready for paying more for mailing a letter !

Much more !

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