This is a good idea, and if the USPS had any brains, they'd have gone metric years ago. Notice that their letter scales weigh only to the nearest 0.1 of an ounce or 2.8 g. Their shipping categories, at least for letters, at to within 0.5 ounce. By switching to grams, they could establish far more granular set of categories, and could stealthily bump more letters into the higher price brackets, based on the gram being a smaller unit. In a way, they'd rid themselves of the need to raise the rates every year.
However, as it was described to me by an employee, the USPS has a monolithic management structure that is fond of seeking efficiency in the most costly ways. One of them was a recent multimillion dollar analysis and redesign of carrier routes that was scrapped because someone forgot to realize that it actually takes a mailman several seconds to walk up to each house's mailbox. Since we're on the topic, a quick note to Victor: USPS going metric would be one of those major coups in the US for our cause, along with km on the roads or liters at the gas pump. All the other shipping companies would have to follow suit, along with all their customers. Remek On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 4:35 PM, Robert H. Bushnell <[email protected] > wrote: > > 2009 March 18 > On 2009 March 13 I asked the US Postal Service: > Where can I find postage rates in grams? > When will postage rates be in grams? > > From [email protected] > Steven S of USPS answered: > postage pricing is determined by ounces. We do not have > any plans of changing the pricing system to grams. > > I then asked: > why USPS does not comply with Executive Order 12770 and > the Metric Conversion Act of 1975? > > Steven S of USPS then replied: > we do not have any information pertaining to compliance > with Executive Order 12770 or Metric Conversion Act of 1975. > > > He then said > You are welcome to contact your Post Office for any > additional Information. Based on your zIP Code of 80303, > the contact information for your Post Office is: > FLAT IRONS ANNEX > 1800 38TH ST > BOULDER CO 80301 > > Can any of you tell me how to proceed? > Robert Bushnell > >
