The Wisdom of Seth

This morning an article by Seth http://www.sethgodin.com appeared in my inbox. I subscribe to his witty, often point-on short saying or articles.
Todays’ was a reflection of what happens daily. So here is what he said, I take his “back in the old days” to mean pre COVID “
“I hate this restaurant” Back in the old days, I took someone to a local Italian restaurant for dinner. As we looked over the menu, complete with regional specialties and handmade pastas, he started to sulk. With a sullen look, he said, “I want a hamburger and french fries.” Somehow, the patient kitchen staff figured out how to produce this out of thin air, and a tantrum was narrowly averted.
But I’ve been thinking about that interaction a lot. In his mind, “restaurant” meant, “a place where I can get a hamburger and french fries.”
If you look at many 1 star reviews (of books, of music, of restaurants of shops) this is precisely what you’re going to see.
A mismatch of expectations. A mismatch that is blamed, completely, on the person who created the work, not the critic. It doesn’t matter that the thing was clearly marked. It doesn’t matter that the thing was extraordinarily well-produced. And it doesn’t matter if just about everyone else experiencing it was thoroughly delighted.
Because for this spoiled, under-informed and impatient patron, it failed. This failure comes from a few contributing factors, all amplified by our culture: First, you can’t know if you’re going to like an experience until you experience it. All you know is your understanding of what was on offer. And because there are so many choices and there’s so much noise, we rarely take the time to actually read the label, or we get carried away by the coming attractions, or we just don’t care enough to pay attention until we’re already involved. [And marketers are complicit, because in the face of too much noise, they hype what’s on offer and overpromise…]
Second, because many people are afraid. They’re afraid of the new and even more than that, afraid of change. Most people in our culture would like to be entertained not transformed, lectured at instead of learning.
Third, the double-edged sword of giving everyone a microphone means that we’ve amplified the voices of dissent at the same time we’ve given people a chance to speak up about their desires.
This means that mass culture is far more divisive than it ever was before, and it also means that bubbles of interest are more likely to be served.
And so the fork in the road:

You can either turn your operation into a cross between McDonald’s and Disney, selling the regular kind, pandering to the middle, putting everything in exactly the category they hoped for and challenging no expectations… Or you can do the incredibly hard work of transgressing genres, challenging expectations and seeking out the few people who want to experience something that matters, instead of something that’s merely safe.”
WOW So much to unpack, but so true.
Have you ever noticed that only the people who are unhappy actually post reviews on that unmentionable website that pretends to rate everything? (Unmentionable because I will not give them more air.) But pondering on Seth’s post, is it because they had different expectations? Did the value in their mind not match what they ordered? And that is exactly what Seth says. And every website sends you immediately a link to review every item, whether it is a toothpick or a car!
And as merchants and jewelry designers, we all fall victim to wanting those incredible reviews, yet subjecting ourselves to those people who are unhappy or having a bad day or were clueless as to what they really wanted. Or in our case can’t understand that handmade means NO Two are Ever Alike, PERIOD.
And this was so timely as one of my neighbors in our warehouse complex wanted to see our warehouse location/SKU system. They sell on Amazon much larger items than our small jewelry components, but for anyone making picking/packing easier and preventing errors is always an interest.
As they were looking at some of our racks and racks of beads, findings, crystals, they asked Why? Why what?
Why Venetian Beads, don’t we know that we could buy beads from China for much less? I could see the math going on in his head, we could buy pounds of “similar” beads for at least 1/10 the price…..and supposedly our customers would be just as anxious to buy them.
….NOT
So picture this: Two Chinese men! and me trying to explain that we aren’t really selling beads so much as we are selling a story, a romance of a beautiful culture and handmade (yes lovingly because they love the artform, the story of Venice glass artists are that way). And that there is a story behind every bead we have, a family, and that I can look at a bead anywhere and know who made it, who made the tools, who made the glass canes and the millefiori.
And for the final, not to deter from the rich history of China, it is just my personal choice. Or as I say often #whyiwork
Venice is where I want to be at the end of any day….and BTW #whyisellMuranoGlass

Murano an Island in Crisis

Today Murano is again in crisis due partially to the COVID19 shutdown and the lack of tourists since Italy is allowing the citizens of only a handful of countries easy entry. The crisis was already in progress due to the competition of inexpensive glass from other sources which you can find when you walk along the small streets in Murano and Venice. Clearly this is in direct opposition to rules enacted by the Counsel of Venice in 1271 prohibiting the importation of glass from other countries into Venice as well as prohibiting foreign glassworkers from working in Venice. And 20 years later, they moved all furnaces (except for Orsini which still operates in Venice but makes only mosaics) to Murano a secluded group of islands.

Glass Cooling in the Annealing Oven in MuranoTOUCH TIMESBut tough times are not new to Murano. Among the events that threatened the livelihood of Murano was the very Muranese themselves who left and took their knowledge to other countries in Europe in the 1500s. This gave birth to the Bohemian crystals in direct competition of Murano. It was not until the 1700s when Murano became famous for its chandeliers that they enjoyed some prosperity. This was short-lived with the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. The Napoleon decree of 1806 the abolishing of all schools of arts and crafts which brought the glass making industry of Murano to a halt.
Subsequently Napoleon ceded the Veneto (the area of Venice and surroundings) to the the Hapsburgs of Austria in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Favoring their own glass workers, the Austrians placed heavy duties on both the exportation of glass as well as the importation of the raw materials needed to make glass. Nearly half of the glass factories closed during the Hapsburg era, and those that remained were only beads and bottles. The glass industry of Venice/Murano received a boost from Antonio Salviati, a Venetian lawyer who gave up his profession in 1859 to run a furnace and his marketing skills and the creations of glass gave rise to an era of prosperity.
Then came World War I and World War II which ravaged the islands by sending the men of the furnaces off to fight. Many of today’s aging maestro went to work at 9-10 years old in the remaining furnaces to help support their families.

Tools of the Trade
COVID19 ShutdownNow COVID19 has created another crisis and tragedy in Murano and Venice. Without the tourism (a love/hate relationship) there is no market for the glass. The cost of operating a furnace is astronomical especially the cost of the gas to maintain the temperature of the molten glass. You can’t simply turn off the light switch as you walk out the door. The glass has to stay in a molten state or it will break the crucible (pot) which holds it.
One in Two Glass Workers Unemployed July 2020
Today it is reported by Confartigianato (organization that promotes the craft) that one in two glass workers in Murano are on unemployment and remain at home. In July 85% of the companies had workers applying for the unemployment. It is slightly improved in the days since the August holiday dropping to 74%. But for those truly passionate glass workers (both artistic and production) they see hope. But they do need support from the Italian government and of course from all us Murano glass lovers….every. But they are not without hope and the Venice Glass Week went on without all of us who would so love being there. They even set up a “floating furnace” on a boat demonstrating all over Venice.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/e02_GMNwc6c

If you want to get a glimpse of the passion the workers share, watch this film from Zuecca Project and is called “Man in the Glass”. It is in Italian, but there are English subtitles. Click on the Image below to watch.

For me, this is the heart of #whyiwork.

Bead and Button Magazine and Show Calls It Quits

The news arrived unexpectedly a short email notice that Bead and Button, the beloved magazine is closing. No one in the industry had heard whispers of this. I quizzed everyone! But alas it was a “corporate” decision that “things are not as lucrative as they once were”. October will be their last issue and of course our last advertisement. We have advertised in the magazine since 1998, so a good 20+ years. It was our first advertisement buy and in those days, it was all about beading. And it was always a good investment.
The Bead and Button Show was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June of each year. We exhibited in the show only one year. It was difficult to get an invite and it conflicted with other business. But in 2013, we made the cut! Usually we ship by truck to shows, but the Bead and Button Show was back to back to a show in Las Vegas, so our only solution was to drive 800 pounds of beautiful Murano Glass Beads from Las Vegas to Milwaukee….A real road trip.

The show was amazing. We had exhibited at Tuscon for years, but there was a much more intimate feeling to Bead and Button as it was all under one roof, everyone was into beading and there were millions of classes. It was like a family reunion. And the sheer number of beads was exhausting.
I can’t question the thought process of the owners of the magazine and show (well actually I can). It appears that the decision stems from the same thing I see at every show. I keep saying we got to get some younger friends. And that the number of advertisers was decreasing as were the number of participants at the shows. I just wish some really innovative people had found a way to keep the magazine going and of course the show because I still believe there is a place for them both. Because there are many shows, and some may say too many. But the quality of this show, the teachers at the show were in a class of its own.
Bead and Button appreciated its advertisers and the people who wrote articles. Each year at Tucson for years they hosted a night to celebrate with their advertisers. For many years it was in the local museum.
And if the COVID19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that everyone needs a hobby, something you can do with your hand, something creative! to stay sane!
You can read the article written in the Craft Industry Allicance which quotes Dan Hickey, CEO of Kalmbach Media. You can draw your own conclusion. (Click Here)
Now I am sorry I threw out all those old issues when we made our last warehouse move.
And I wish we could have had a Farewell Party! Best wishes to everyone there in their future careers.

Another Crisis in Murano: Glass Furnaces Re-Start Costs

I always knew we in the Murano Glass, Venetian Glass and beads world were a small eco system. But COVID19 and the resultant shutdown of Italy, most specifically Venice and Murano have really brought it home.
Venetians say we hate tourist and the annoyance to our daily lives they create. UNESCO says Venice can’t maintain the volume of tourist. The list of grievances goes on and on:
1) we can’t get on a vaporetto because the entrance way is blocked by tourist who have no clue where they are going 2) we can’t get on a vaporetto because the tourist have piled more luggage than the explorers searching for the Northwest Passage 3) tourist eating take away food on the steps of a church or someone’s front door step 4) tourist taking a swim in the canal 5) tourist who behave badly or walk around Piazza San Marco in bikinis 6) tourist rentals that displace locals 7) tourist who do not respect the history of Venice.

You get the point, pretty much everything the tourist does annoys someone and with valid reasons.

When Italy closed everything in early March, that put an end to tourist and not a surprise, it put an end to a lot of other things. Italians had a strict 200 Meter (656 feet) distance they could travel from their house except for the grocery store or the doctor and even then they had to download and print a document to show to the local police. Churches, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, cafes, well everything an Italian holds near and dear was closed.
And along with that all the tourist shops in Venice and Murano were closed which meant that there was no longer a demand for Murano glass. And this is where our little eco system fell apart. I had never thought much about how dependent those of us who sell Venetian Glass, Murano Glass, and Murano Glass beads were on this tourist business. Individually, none of us can support the island of Murano and the furnaces. But as an ecosystem, we all get what we need and we keep the furnaces burning…..until
Until we didn’t! The furnaces require a number of days to cool the furnaces without cracking everything. This article in Forbes of an interview with Fabiano Amadi of Ars Cenedese, a prestigious furnace in Murano supplying glass world wide gives you a pretty good idea of how difficult it was for them to shutdown and the hurdles they are encountering to reopen. Because even though Italy did it’s part and is now in a good place to re-open….The rest of the world did not match the strick shutdown and therefore many countries are still not allowed back in Italy, specifically the US. Which means that even though the shops in San Marco can open, there are not tourist to buy. Museums, malls and small galleries across the US are only just now able to open again with some restrictions, which means that the demand for Murano glass is still very low.

Read the Article in Forbes written by Rebecca Ann Hughes

Dark Days For Italy’s Historic Murano Glass Industry

To keep a furnace working is expensive whether it is a gas or electric furnace. To create glass sculptures requires a crew of a minimum of 3 and depending on the piece 5 well trained glass blowers. Then there is the person who mixes the batch, from raw mineral elements and the time it takes to get a batch ready to work. Today most furnaces do not have sufficient orders from both Venice/Murano and foreign buyers to keep their furnaces heated. And without sufficient orders they face another shutdown of the furnaces and the days or weeks it will take on both sides of a shutdown plus the cost of repairs and maintenance.
From our beads perspective, we have only one furnace which creates all the glass canes we use, but they also depend on the orders of all the small bead makers and lamp workers of Venice and the surrounding areas as well as major suppliers of glass canes across the world. And since I can’t buy every bead every bead maker can produce, we need those shops selling jewelry in Venice and Murano to be ordering new jewelry creating a demand for more beads, more canes and of utmost importance, more work for the Muranese.
So I keep buying way more beads than we need. It helps feed families in Murano and Venice as well as helping make their rent payment and keep my little part of the ecosystem working for better days.

Update from Murano

The latest from Murano during their shut down. They are in their 9th week and now a few things are beginning to open. It is a welcome for everyone, that they may, hopefully, begin getting their espresso and cappuccino again soon.Venice has been extremely fortunate to have few cases of COVID19 and still in Murano, we do not hear of even one case.
But the impacts of the shutdown of everything, and the lack of tourist has a ripple effect throughout the community. Now I know I like to complain about the quantity of tourist, their lack of sensibilities, their lack of respect of monuments, buildings, and especially their lack of respect the older people of Venice.
BUT, the fact is that Venice and Murano need the tourist. It is their main source of income. The restaurants (like the restaurants all over the world) are suffering during this and no expenses do not stop just because you are closed. The bills for rents, mortgages, utilities, insurance and I am sure there are others continue to arrive in the post.
So I have been strategizing with them on ways I can help once they are back open. Yet the larger issue is when will the tourists return.
So here again is a letter from my dear friend who sees the future as bleak at this moment. What I want you to get from this is the sincerity with which Venetians, Muranese (even the men) can speak. They are not afraid to show emotions whatever they may be. It is part of why I love this little piece of the earth so much. And we’ve been through many years together, marriages, divorces (yes occasionally even in Italy), births, first communions, birthdays, and sadly, deaths in our families. Yet through all of this they speak from their heart, with compassion….We could all learn a lot.

Celebrating 25 Years @VenetianBeadShop

La Fenice furnace on Murano whose owner GianFranco Albertini taught me the ins and outs of Murano Glass
Taking a walk down memory lane, 25 years ago in August we made our first buying trip to Venice. Now why our Italian son-in-law never thought to tell us that Italy is “Closed” in August is still a mystery. We arrived with our little printed indexed list of glass blowers, indexed by location and type of products all worked out with the Italian Trade Commission in Atlanta in the preceding months. No Waze or Google maps just our printed maps of the city which really didn’t have a lot of detail, so we drew our own maps, penciled in places we liked, glass we liked as we explored with our limited Italian language.

Just one night in the oven of a hotel where we stayed in the hot humid August night sent us searching at the Information Office for hotels with air conditioning a rare find in the early 90s in Venice. We discovered the Lido and a couple of hotels which were only open in the summer, catering to the French and German tourists, which of course led us to discover the necessity of the vaporetto and restaurants on Lido where we still enjoy eating 25 years later.

One of the unknown amazing Maestro in Murano and one of favorite, Alessandro Barbaro. His lion and leopards are my favorite. They look like they might just move. So in the early morning we would head to Murano with our lists, only to discover most of them were closed. But there were a few wonderful suppliers who were gracious, though they were probably wondering about the crazy Americans who came in August. We still work with many of those suppliers. And I am sure many of our early suppliers thought we would be there once and never come back. Fooled them!

Murano Glass Canes from the Effetre furnace who supplies all our glass canes
They say love is blind, and luckily so is the love of Venice and Murano where we fell as they say head over heels in love with both the people and the glass. It has been a journey of discovery, joy and pain and fierce friendships.

Even Flat Stanley goes to Venice…..He also got a gondola ride. Needless to say Marcella had the best Flat Stanley stories.
We did not begin buying beads, that came later. We began with glass from the furnaces, vases, bowls and bottles, figurines, clowns (by the hundreds). While we bought these, we actually had little idea of how to sell the products. We had spent a lot of time learning about importing, customs duties and even attended a college class on importing. We researched the market and knew there were few people in our area who carried any Murano Glass. But little prepares you for the ins and outs of importing, learning Harmonized Tariff Customs numbers (who knew they could carry a tune?). Then you learn about Teamster Strikes at the ports as we shipped a lot via container because it was less expensive. Our entire Christmas merchandise sat waiting to go through the Panama Canal because ships were backed up. We learned the “trade” routes of shipping companies.

Be careful what you fall in love with…..you can end up with a warehouse that looks like this.
But selling it? I think I discovered that I am way better at buying beautiful glass than selling it (and often I do not want to part with it). In those initial days, we made the rounds of school events, church events, and yes, even flea markets. But we read in the paper, you know those things we all used to read in the morning with our coffee, that there was quite a well-known Gem and Jewelry show in a town nearby, 3 days only, and 3 times each year. So on Friday afternoon, we went to the show to get a look and explore future show possibilities. After a short talk with the show promoter, he said, “well I like what you have and it so happens that we have a booth where the vendor cancelled, so if you can be here ready at 10 tomorrow am, you can have the booth.”

Franco made this beautiful red with his own secret recipe.
That began a very long night of pricing our products, and amazingly, we sold almost everything we had. At the end of the show, the promoter came and convinced us to sign up for his next show, so now we had 3 months to get more goods….well that called for another trip to Venice, Italian classes and our house became a warehouse packed with beautiful Murano Glass.

To be continued…..

Glass Conference in Murano and Fashion Show

The island of Murano was host to the GAS (Glass Art Society) with world wide participation. Everyone who works with glass paid tribute to the heritage of Murano. This week it was evident and the pure joy and excitement of the students of glass as they wandered around the island was abundantly obvious. While I might not completely agree with GAS selection of artist and venues, I do not believe that anyone went home unhappy with the experience.

I met artists from all over the world who paid $100+ dollars to tour Murano glass factories and watch maestri from around the world work alongside Muranese in the furnaces of Barovier & Toso, Venini, Effetre and Carlo Moretti. These are not your “tourist” factories, but truly production facilities and home to some of the most famous Maestri of Murano. There were presentations every day by the best in the business.

The Life Time Achievement Award was presented to the family of the famous Pino Signoretto as he unfortunately died late last December. His works are known around the world and many students from Pilchuck in Seattle were in attendance.

One of the more important discussion panels focused on the environmental issues of the minerals used to achieve the bright colors we all love. The panel included academics in chemistry and physics as the making of glass involves both. Specifically, the use of Cadium, Arsenic, and Lead. Glass producers, large and small are attempting to find a substitute as it is an essential mineral for some of our favorite colors, like red, rubino and opaque colors. The major risk is not in the end use of the glass, but for those who work producing the batch (made from soda, sand, and minerals) which are a hazard to breath when making the batch; for those involved in the working of the molten glass and for those who reheat the glass (such as lampworkers).Inhaling cadmium-laden dust quickly leads to respiratory tract and kidney problems which can be fatal (often from renal failure). There is a race to resolve this problem, and I only hope that the first one to achieve this goal is not allowed to patent the process as that would prohibit small furnaces from making their own glass. For those who depend on the glass rods from Effetre Moretti, we hope they find a solution quickly.

But the best part of the entire conference for me was the Glass Fashion Show. The artist had made their own outfits, some costumes took as long as 5 months to complete and one weighed about 70 pounds.

Several were lighted like Christmas Trees and glowed beautifully against the background of the water. It is a tradition at the end of the conference, but this year, the models arrived in gondolas and floated down the Rio del Vetrai. Both sides of the canal were crowded with the attendees of the conference gleefully drinking Spritz (the local favorite). Locals were watching out their windows upstairs. I left the sounds from the crowd as it gives you an idea of how rowdy and enthusiastic it was.

The conference concluded with a giant party on the grounds of the San Pietro Church with local foods and drinks, music and dancing lasting to the wee hours. Sunday morning was quiet as every one recuperated! The opinion of many was that Murano should be the host of the conference again soon!

Silver Fill versus Sterling Silver

The patent on Gold Fill (process which is the same as Silver Fill) was filed in 1900 in Providence Rhode Island, the birthplace of the costume jewelry industry in the United States.

In case you weren’t clear on Silver Fill versus Sterling Silver, our Silver Findings are produced from either Silver Ingot or Silver Pebbles which are melted in the process before they are squashed, rolled, squeezed and otherwise manipulated into all those tiny round balls, earwires, charms, tubes or whatever you can think of.

Silver Fill seems an inaccurate name as you can clear see, there is no fill, that is the base metal, the silver sits on the outside.

Silver-filled, like gold-filled, consists of precious metal (silver) bonded to a base metal substrate (a red brass alloy, CDA #220). The 1/20 and 1/10 notation refers to the ratio of silver to brass core by weight, which is 5% and 10%, respectively.

The value of silver-filled is greater than silver-plated because silver-filled has an actual layer of sterling silver. The minimum thickness for silver plating is equal to 0.5 microns.

In 1/10 silver-filled, 10% of the total weight of the metal is silver.

In 1/20 silver-filled, 5% of the total weight of the metal is silver.

In single-clad sheet, the silver layer is bonded to one side of the sheet of brass.

In double-clad sheet, discs and other findings, silver layers are bonded to both sides of the sheet of brass.

The patent remains with US producers for Silver Fill and Gold Fill, so even when we buy some of our findings directly from our manufacturers in Italy, they actually trade materials with the US. So forget tariffs, forget International Trade Agreements….the metals houses have their own balance sheets and trading rules. And many of them hold patents on processes. (We’ll write more on that later.)

Silver Fill became popular when the price of silver soared above $48.00, clearly it was less expensive to use a base metal and silver of only ~10% of the weight. So to meet the demand, Silver Fill findings were produced.

As you can see now silver fluctuates around $15 which means that the additional work required to bond the silver to the base metal negates real savings.

So once again Silver is popular and many of our suppliers have discontinued the Silver Fill in favor of Silver. When they discontinue Silver Fill, we will also as we sell out the existing inventory.

Cheap Rates from China – Dianne Feinstein Answer? or Non-Answer?

Since I believe that our elected officials should hear what concerns us, I wrote both Mike Honda and Dianne Feinstein. (As normal I get a nothing response….but eventually they do respond.)

So that you can all see exactly her response I have copied it EXACTLY here. It is not a surprise. Basically Honda and Feinstein both stated how it is the responsibility of the UPU to negotiate these rates.

Fortunately ever so many years we get to show our approval or disapproval of how these people have performed in their jobs for the American people. We get to vote!

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message

Tue, Nov senator@feinstein.senate.gov <senator@feinstein.senate.gov> 8, 2016 at 6:10 AM
To: VenetianBeadShop
November 7, 2016
3263 Kifer Road
Santa Clara, California 95051

Thank you for contacting me regarding United States trade with China. I appreciate the time you took to write,
and I sincerely apologize for the delay in my response.
As you may know, in May 2010, the United States Postal Service (USPS) signed the TriLateral Shipping Alliance with eBay Greater China & Southeast Asia and China Post Express & Logistics Corporation. Under the terms of this agreement, USPS provides delivery confirmation and expedited shipping to lightweight goods shipped
from China to the U.S. in exchange for a fee from China Post. The postal services of Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea also have signed similar agreements with USPS.
I understand that you believe this agreement gives Chinese merchants an unfair advantage over U.S.merchants. According to USPS, the Universal Postal Union—a specialized agency of the United Nations—sets global postal policies and rates. The U.S. State Department, in conjunction with USPS, speaks on behalf of the
United States at Universal Postal Union gatherings. You may be interested to know that the Universal Postal Union has currently designated China as a
“developing country,” which explains why postal rates from that country are so low. According to USPS, at the next Universal Postal Union meeting later this year, China is expected to graduate from a “developing country” to an “industrialized country,” which will trigger a higher postal rate. That rate, however, will not come into effect until
2018.
Please be assured that I have carefully noted your thoughts on this issue, and I will keep your views in mind should related legislation come before me in the Senate.
Once again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will continue to keep me informed about issues of importance to you. Should you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington,
D.C., office at (202) 2243841
or visit my website at http://www.feinstein.senate.gov. Best regards.
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
DF:ar
Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website,Feinstein.senate.gov. And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me.

Speak Up – USPS Negotiating Preferential Rates to China

Cost of shipping First Class (with tracking) from China

What do you think about a seller in HongKong (China in general) shipping a 1 pound package to New York City for $3.66 while a seller in New York City pays slightly under $6.00 to ship the same weight package?

It gets worse for the 2 ounce package: A Chinese shipper can ship for .98 and the same package costs the US Shipper $2.45. See our previous Blog for data

This is the result of the UPU (Universal Postal Union) negotiation of rates with other countries. If you think this is deterimental to US businesses, giving Chinese (and other countries) an unfair advantage, then you can register your disapproval with the UPU, you must file through the Postal Regulatory Commission. Click Here for Website for voicing your opinion. (There is a short period for filing, and that is probably by design!)

Last year the USPS lost $75 Million dollars on this level service along (who knows how much on smaller weight packages). Anyone who thinks they can make this up by shipping this lost leader in larger volume missed math classes and economics 101. The deficit has to be made up by someone, and guess who that is? It is either higher USPS rates for everyone in the US or it is the US taxpayer!

I have spoken to the UPU who is collecting the protest and they are anxious to hear from the US citizens. These negotiations I believe were held in secret and partly supported by companies like eBay. Amazon has gone on record as opposing the rates.

Below is my letter to the UPU (and while I serious doubt it will be taken into consideration, I believe I speak for most US citizens that think this is patently unfair competition.

For more information read Ina Steiner’s Report

RE: UPU (IM2016-1) 20 July 2016
Statement from a Small Business AGAINST further sponsoring low cost shipping from China.

As Amazon told Congress last year, Chinese sellers can ship to the US.

A package weighing 1 pound cost an American Business ~$6.00 while a Chinese shipper pays only $3.66 (Yes I realize that Amazon is not a small business, but they represent a market place where many of us small businesses sell and they have valid, auditable data.)

The IG Office said: The terminal dues provided through the UPU framework are a money-losing proposition for the U.S. Postal Service and many other national posts, according to USPS Inspector General David Williams. The IG’s office has reported that the Postal Service lost $75 million last year delivering inbound mail from foreign senders, and the rise of the online channel for cross-border commerce is only adding to the challenge.

This presents an unfair competition to the very heart of American businesses.

The presumed assumption that this low cost shipping goods to Americans at a lower cost somehow benefits America is not valid.

It is hurting Small Businesses and by penalizing these small businesses, you are thwarting growth and employment.

Surely you realize that those low cost goods do NOT represent any employment in the US, just a burden on the Post Office to deliver the packages –without the same compensation as delivering packages shipped in the US.

The USPS is subsidizing these Chinese goods. And the deficit has to be made up. That either comes by way of Postal Increases or through bailout of the USPS at the detriment of US taxpayers. (This has to be patently clear to you.)
Rising Postal Rates, compound the injury to American Businesses.

Any supposed benefit to Americans purchasing goods from China under this unfair agreement are more than offset by the number of small businesses just throwing up their hands and laying off employees.

I may be a small voice of one, and doubt seriously any affect or that my submittal will be read, but I feel it my duty to go on record opposing this continued penalty to Small Businesses.

Brenda Nishimoto
The Unlimited US/VenetianBeadShop.com”

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