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And the bigger deal (to me) is that none of the competitors are really competitors in the key area of the USPS--first class mail delivery. Can UPS, FedEX deliver a letter (or a bill, or check, or...) for $0.55?

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Given that they're forbidden by law from doing so (without first paying the postage to the USPS), no.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Express_Statutes

Do you honestly think any private company would offer services like that to EVERY US address for $0.55/per?

If I understand that correctly, one of the private carriers should be offering to deliver letters at ~$1.10 per ($0.55 to USPS plus $0.55 internal cost). The closest I've seen is closer to $10.

The USPS tithe isn't the bottleneck, but it would definitely make sense to unwind once a private carrier could break the $2/letter barrier.

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