This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
When you need to ship a package, which company first comes to mind? According to last year's Battle of the Brands non-scientific poll, an overwhelming majority said they favored United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) over FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX). Higher fuel surcharges, a weak economy, reduced domestic package volume, and a recent push from the U.S. Postal Service have impacted both of these international shipping companies in the past year, but Americans still want the same quality service at a discount price.
Let's take a look at a few changes since last year:
The US Postal Service Tries To Gain Ground
The largest player in the U.S. overnight package delivery business is attempting to increase its market share in the fast-delivery business next month. USPS is barely holding on to its 32% market share in the business, as FedEx and UPS continue to push the envelope at 31% and 25% market share, respectively. For the first time, shippers using Express Mail, Priority Mail, and several other parcel services will be able to get lower rates for large- and medium-volume contracts, according to the agency. Will UPS and FedEx need to cut their prices further to compete with the USPS?

In a record-setting one-day stamp auction that
The US Postal Service's new "Forever Stamp" is the hottest thing since those 1918 "Inverted Jenny," and the USPS says that it has printed a whopping 4 billion of the always-good stamps; that's enough for everyone in the country to mail 15 first-class standard-size envelopes. And they'll print more, a USPS spokesperson insists, as much as anyone could want.
Here I am in my early 30s, already complaining about how inexpensive things used to be. While my grandparents would tell me about their 10-cent movie dates or $10,000 homes, I recall the 22-cent stamp fairly vividly (apparently, when I was born, my birth announcements could have been sent for a dime a pop). In my memory, I've seen the price of sending first-class correspondence rise from under a quarter to, as of May 14, 41 cents. In fact, rates have been hiked 13 times in 32 years.
The U.S. Postal Service is looking to








