US Mail system unfair but ....

[wamegun]

This article showed on my news feed. Apparently the US State Dept says that the postage rates paid by international countries to ship their items isn't enough. 😂

Had to share due to this topic surfacing occasionally about how unfair the rate is when shipping from say China to the US.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mail-fees/u-s-calls-foreign-mail-system-unfair-in-surprise-wi...

[newatlantean]

This'll hurt the Red Chinese knock-off factories that Ebay collaborates with.

Ebay was probably counting on these collaborations going forward as "organic growth".  Now that advantage will soon be gone.  OUCH.

[tymcbray530i]

NPR had a good piece on yesterday about international postage and how complex the system is- and yes, there is an international organization that negotiates pricing.  USPS is renegotiating so there are more equitable standards compared to other countries, say China.  Seems the "last mile" cost is the most, and most expensive for the US.  I don't quite understand the calculus of it all.  It made my brain hurt after a while, and I teach algebra in high school.

[nowthatsjustducky]

First there was the military boot manufacturer doing time for lying about their Made in USA logo, when it turned out they were being manufactured in China and having tear away Made in China logos put on them over the USA ones.

Now this administration is looking at leveling the field in the postage arena.  Good bet we will see more issues being tackled that are dear to domestic sellers here and on other venues.

[carlmarxx]

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@tymcbray530i wrote:

NPR had a good piece on yesterday about international postage and how complex the system is- and yes, there is an international organization that negotiates pricing.  USPS is renegotiating so there are more equitable standards compared to other countries, say China.  Seems the "last mile" cost is the most, and most expensive for the US.  I don't quite understand the calculus of it all.  It made my brain hurt after a while, and I teach algebra in high school.

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The UPU look's the countries  population  standard of living .   the  country  has no one  living  in huts  then they can pay higher rates .  If they have half  that live in huts  then country  is  poor  like Zimbabwe and gets cheap rate deal : i.e. China 

[sharingtheland]

I didn't hear the NPR commentary but I would assume the "last mile" is the most costly because it is the most labor- intensive, least efficient per dollar spent and slowest leg in the USPS system.   

I mean, there are no machines, airplanes or large trucks involved; it's all human hands (and brains) making the laborious house-to-house personal deliveries, one at a time.