Bob Lauf's comments about work load and availability of volunteers at PBS (a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation) are right on. Arnold Trachtenberg, who does the majority of our bulk mailing, along with the seed and bulb exchanges, could probably tell you how many items he mails in a year. Just know it is considerable and more than many non-profits much, much larger than PBS. Mind you, Arnold has been doing this almost since the inception of PBS! All of our mailing volunteers live in large cities with heavy traffic and distances to drive to the nearest post office. Yes, this would take a huge amount of time and money for gas to have to make that trip every day and spend hours in line. I live in a tiny town with a p.o. ten blocks away. However, I have to drive 35 miles round-trip to drop off my UPS packages. Gas is $5.59 and has been for some time and I'm fully aware it is much more expensive elsewhere, and very common here, I drive a truck. Electric is not a safe option due to our remoteness. As to whether money is being taken away from the post offices, they have serious budget constraints and increasing business costs just as does everyone else. So far, unlike many countries we have 6-day-a-week mail service and our system is one of the most efficient in the world. At PBS, we do our best to be efficient with members' contributions and dues while providing a much needed service unlike any other organization's. The bottom line is simply: we do the best we can. And no, stamps.com is not a scam, it is a legitimate service, although it has its issues also. Taxpayers pay for the post office services although it is a semi-governmental corporation. We pay the dentist, the mechanic and the garbage man for services they provide. Regards, Robin Hansen President, PBS _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…