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Comment by systemtest | Hacker News Reader

How can it be that low? The Netherlands has a stamp rate of €1.40 for 20 grams and you can traverse that country in three hours. 20 to 50 grams is €2.80. If you have to cross a border that goes up to €4.22

Can you send a letter thousands of miles for only 61 cents? That's amazing!

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https://www.britannica.com/question/How-is-the-USPS-funded

>the USPS faced financial difficulties, posting losses of $6.5 billion in fiscal 2023 and $8 billion in fiscal 2024, leading to a request for $14 billion in government assistance.

It would appear that the USPS operates at a loss at these prices

In the same sense that public roads "operate at a loss", sure. Neither toll-free roads or the USPS were originally intended to somehow break-even. They're infrastructure services provided by the government towards a functioning society.

From the link I shared: "Today, the USPS receives no direct government or taxpayer funding."

>Can you send a letter thousands of miles for only 61 cents?

Letter, no. 61 cents is the post card rate, so you can send a post card thousands of miles for that. If you introduce an outside envelope its 78 cents to mail that thousands of miles, up to 1oz.

That is still very impressive from my European viewpoint.

It's impressive to me too, as an American. Especially when you consider that rates include from the east coast of a continent to the west coast, faraway islands (Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa) as well as closer islands (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands).

afaik PostNL has to make a profit and the USPS can operate at a loss.

Classic Dutch privatization

PostNL is a private company that used to be government owned. PostNL currently operates at a loss for mail delivery. They are mandated by law to deliver mail and that is something they can't get out of. There is not a maximum what PostNL can ask for stamps but the ACM (Authority Consumer & Market) can step in if they raise prices too much.

So it appears to be privatised but with strict government regulations.

Economy of scale. By the time it gets sorted and on a truck, 100 miles is roughly the same cost as 1000.

for $1.70 you can send a letter to almost anywhere in the world.

https://www.usps.com/international/first-class-mail-internat...

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