oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2002
- Posts
- 56,017
When my father was in his twenties and committing to London, there were six postal deliveries a day in his London suburb. He could, and did, send a postcard at lunchtime to tell his wife he would be late home because of overtime. It cost him a halfpenny stamp (1/480th of a pound) and he knew she would get it before she started the evening meal.
He complained when the frequency of delivery reduced to five a day.
Now? I am fortunate if I get five deliveries a week. Monday is always second-class advertising mail, nothing else.
I used to buy things on eBay from the US and Europe. I can't now. The cost of even sending a single used postcard from the US is far more than the purchase price. A package? Astronomical. As for Europe? Less than in the US but still too much.
Trying to send anything more than a standard letter from France involves a Byzantine set of procedures at a Post Office with unfriendly and unhelpful staff. Germany is not quite as bad but the processes are long - as are the queues.
The Chinese abuse the Universal Postal Union which provides that a letter or package will be delivered in the recipients' country at no cost apart from that said by the sender. The Chinese charges for international post are lower than for domestic post in any European country, the UK, or US - so the receiving country delivers Chinese mail at a loss - in the US a massive loss.
This gives Chinese suppliers a huge commercial advantage. They can send products cheaper from China to the US than a US supplier could send from one US state to another.
He complained when the frequency of delivery reduced to five a day.
Now? I am fortunate if I get five deliveries a week. Monday is always second-class advertising mail, nothing else.
I used to buy things on eBay from the US and Europe. I can't now. The cost of even sending a single used postcard from the US is far more than the purchase price. A package? Astronomical. As for Europe? Less than in the US but still too much.
Trying to send anything more than a standard letter from France involves a Byzantine set of procedures at a Post Office with unfriendly and unhelpful staff. Germany is not quite as bad but the processes are long - as are the queues.
The Chinese abuse the Universal Postal Union which provides that a letter or package will be delivered in the recipients' country at no cost apart from that said by the sender. The Chinese charges for international post are lower than for domestic post in any European country, the UK, or US - so the receiving country delivers Chinese mail at a loss - in the US a massive loss.
This gives Chinese suppliers a huge commercial advantage. They can send products cheaper from China to the US than a US supplier could send from one US state to another.
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