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Ads on the DEALER AD EXCHANGE are now FREE. Ad size has been reduced from 200 to 100 words, but you now get one ad for each of your products and services. Ads stay in the DAX rotation for the life of this journal.
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03-11-2025 - On the American Postal Workers Union website, I read about some of the union's concerns regarding the recent "Privatize the USPS" messages from the White House. The union feels that if the USPS is privatized, the focus will be on profits, not public service. Also, it is unknown what the situation for workers would be. Worker's contracts are currently with USPS and will not automatically transfer to a private company. Retirement benefits and health insurance would also be available in jeopardy. Also in the unknown category are discipline and termination issues, holiday and other benefits, grievance procedures, and seniority benefits. Another question is whether or not a private company would be required to deliver "everywhere," as is the case for USPS. Whatever happens will directly affect Mail Order Dealers.
03-11-2025 - In the mail today was a December 1927 issue of Spare Time Money Making, the Magazine of Opportunities. I bought it on eBay, and it's in very good shape. It contains a lot of interesting advertising. Do you know what's not in there? Multi-level marketing and gifting programs. I guess those wouldn't come along for a few more years.
03-11-2025 - Is it nearing the time for Mail Order Dealers to shift from snail mail to email? Not totally, but a hybrid condition. Sales circulars can be easily scanned into JPG files, and text documents can be easily converted to PDF files for transfer by email. Dealers could rely more on print advertising in industry publications, promoting their email and snail mail addresses as a point of contact. I mention this because the U.S. Post Office might face turbulence this year.
03-11-2025 - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - Technology is a perennial factor impacting the job outlook for many occupations, and artificial intelligence (AI) is a recent type of technology with potential impacts. Over the 2023–33 employment projections period, AI is expected to primarily affect occupations whose core tasks can be most easily replicated by Generative AI in its current form. However, other jobs, including some in the computer, legal, business and financial, and architecture and engineering occupational groups are also potentially susceptible to AI-related impacts, although the employment trajectories of these occupations remain uncertain.
03-11-2025 - Good Morning! I made a significant change to the Dealer Ad Exchange program to reinforce the publication's theme of products and services. I'm enjoying a slice of cold, leftover pizza with my coffee this morning. I also have Morse code on the Amateur (ham) Radio running in the background. Let's see what the Mail Carrier brings today!
03-10-2025 - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Economics Daily - From the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024, nonfarm business labor productivity increased 2.0 percent, reflecting a 2.6-percent increase in output and a 0.6-percent increase in hours worked. Over-the-year increases in labor productivity have ranged from 2.5 percent to 3.3 percent in each quarter since the third quarter of 2023. In manufacturing, labor productivity increased 0.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting a 0.4-percent decrease in output and a 0.7-percent decrease in hours worked.
03-10-2025 - Today, there was an offer for a gifting program in the mail. I won't name the program, but I will say that the promoter isn't making any money with it. Why would a dealer, making all the money they claim I can make, mail a sales letter that looks like a copy of a copy of a copy, black specks and fold marks included? I also received an offer for an "envelope stuffing" program. At least they called it what it is. Also enclosed was a program to help people collect unclaimed funds. Again, good quality copies. I also received an offer for a program called Unlimited Income 200! In the sad news department, Carman Enterprises returned my ad order with a note that the offer was no longer available.
03-10-2025 - I got my exercise in at one of our local Walmart stores. No, they don't have a gym or exercise room. What they have are raggedy shopping carts with minds of their own. After I put two cases of water in my cart, it was like lifting weights to keep the cart going straight. I don't know about your Walmart stores, but my local stores should hire a full-time front-end alignment technician for their shopping carts. Either that or get the same smooth-rolling carts Target uses.
03-10-2025 - I received a one-page sales circular selling an item that appears to interest Mail Order Dealers. The circular was neat in appearance, with closely-spaced text and few graphics. It was the kind of sales circular that I liked. The message that this was something I needed was compelling. It told me how many orders I would get and how much money I could make with this item, but after reading about 200 words, I still had no idea what the product was. The cost of this unknown item was $25.00. I had to pass.
03-10-2025 - From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission - Newly released Federal Trade Commission data show that consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, which represents a 25% increase over the prior year. According to the FTC’s data book, this number is not driven by an increase in fraud reports, which remained stable. Instead, the percentage of people who reported losing money to a fraud or scam increased by double digits. In 2023, 27% of people who reported a fraud said they lost money, while in 2024, that figure jumped to 38%. Consumers reported losing more money to investment scams—$5.7 billion—than any other category in 2024. That amount represents a 24% increase over 2023. The second highest reported loss amount came from imposter scams, with $2.95 billion reported lost. In 2024, consumers reported losing more money to scams where they paid with bank transfers or cryptocurrency than all other payment methods combined.