Amazon, USPS Sign Sunday Delivery Deal

The Amazon-friendly Obama Administration has just concluded another Amazon-friendly deal with the secretive tech company. According to a story in today's Seattle Times, the PO and Jeff Bezos' firm will begin Sunday deliveries in time for the Christmas shopping season. The arrangement is currently limited to the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, the two leading retail markets in the United States.

The deal gives Amazon a significant commercial advantage, in that it can use the USPS infrastructure and staff to deliver goods. The extra available delivery day is also another arrow in Amazon's competitive quiver.

How taxpayers benefit from this agreement was not exactly spelled out, although Amazon will pay for the privilege of going postal. It's public knowledge that the USPS is desperate for money. Amazon has the cash, and the clout with the Obama Administration, to make a deal. According to the Seattle Times story, any firm could have negotiated with the Postal Service for a Sunday gig. However, USPS officials acknowledged only Amazon pursued a deal. One wonders why.

Amazon's Chattanooga, TN facility,
cited by President Obama as an example of
"middle-class" job creation

Of course, as with all things Amazon, the contract is under seal. Inquiring minds would like to know why a federal contract not connected to national security should be a closely guarded secret.

This is Amazon's second federal contract coup this year. Earlier in 2013, the Seattle-based enterprise signed a contract to provide the CIA with cloud-based data systems and management.