Postal Service employees have been given the word:  No more free tape left on retail counters.

Certainly you have to hope even this little bit of savings will make a difference, at a time when the  U.S. Postal Service is looking at losses of at least $10$5 billion in fiscal 2011.

The flyer here, handed out internally to downtown Spokane postal workers, lays out the rules. It sums up the new harsh reality of No More Free Tape. Customers won't find rolls of tape to use on packages or containers. In other words: buy your own, or buy tape from the post office.

Another sign of the new hard reality: The Postal Service is giving customers notice they should return any stolen items.

A Nov. 11 Washington Post story noted: Starting Saturday, the cash-strapped delivery service said, it is giving customers two weeks to return stolen equipment, no questions asked.

The USPS spent nearly $50 million last year replacing equipment that was stolen or inadvertently taken and never returned by customers, officials said this week, labeling such thefts “a serious issue.”

“We are in a financial crisis and simply cannot afford this type of unnecessary expense,” said David Williams, vice president of USPS network operations. “The equipment is federal property, and we want it back.”

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