Public Postal Scale in the Library? The Idea that Failed

By Richard Bruce Ph.C. Economics University of California, Davis

I bought an electronic postal scale and gave it to the library so the public could use it. It seemed like a good idea, but it is used very little.

The normal thing is to write about the ideas that work. This is different because I am warning you of an idea that seemed like a good one, but fizzled. It fizzled, it did not explode, there were no big problems, it is just that people did not use the postal scale.

The postal scale was placed in a prominent place near the public access computers. There is a clear sign above it identifying it as a free postal scale available to the public. It just seems that few are interested in using it.

Before I set it up in the library. I set it up in a friend's store downtown. This store rents movies, and sells comics, collectible card games like magic, and various other nerdy stuff. The idea failed there too, but my friend did not give it a fair trial. He covered the scale with stuffed animals he was selling. On the other hand there was almost no demand for the scale at the store.

Who knows there maybe someone else who wants to try this idea, or has tried it in the past. Perhaps you can tell me that it worked someplace else, or confirm that it does not work. You can make a public or private comment here.

Last updated October 18, 2014