Postal Service Selling USPS Toy Trucks to Battle Losses

Step aside, Hot Wheels—there’s a new toy car in town. In a recent move to raise money to fight staggering financial losses, the United States Postal Service has begun selling USPS toy trucks and other toy cars on its website.

Mail Volume and Revenue Have Cratered Due to Coronavirus

Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Postal Service was already in a difficult financial situation. USPS found itself saddled with billions of dollars in debt, mostly as a result of onerous pre-funding legislation that Congress passed in 2006. Now, however, USPS has been hit with a one-two punch with COVID-19.

The global pandemic has led to an unprecedented uptick of digital gatherings as Americans shelter in place. Digital communication and video-sharing services like Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM) and TikTok have become household names. In that way, all of us are now more in touch with each other than ever.

On the other hand, our nation’s first and oldest connector, the US Postal Service, has suffered great losses. Heavy travel restrictions means less postcards sent. Dwindling advertising budgets mean less Marketing Mail…and these are just two of the most obvious examples. As an overall result of Coronavirus, volumes of First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail have drastically shrunk—and those two services are still how the Postal Service makes the majority of its revenue.

How Selling USPS Toy Trucks Will (Hopefully) Help

The Postal Service hopes that selling toy models of its trucks and other cars will provide some addition to revenue. Obviously, sales from toy cars aren’t going to be enough to generate the billions of dollars USPS needs to stay operational. In this case, however, any help is better than no help at all.

The selection features vintage USPS delivery vans from the 70’s, as well as the more recent LLV’s that we see on the street each day. In addition, there are also a variety of non-USPS related vehicles such as vintage Shelby Cobras, Dodge Chargers, and Plymouth Hemi Cudas.

Want to pick up a USPS toy truck or another toy car? Visit the USPS website to order them online.