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Works the same way as old-school junk mail. Your postal service gets paid well by junk mailers to put trash in your mailbox, so they're disincentivized to fix t

Works the same way as old-school junk mail. Your postal service gets paid well by junk mailers to put trash in your mailbox, so they're disincentivized to fix the systemic issue. I can't find a good quality source on this, but it's been said that about 45-50% of USPS & Canada Post's revenue comes from junk mail. They could fix it, but it would probably lead to a collapse of the entire post system due to revenue shortfalls. A true tragedy of the commons.

kgdiem 2y ago
I was pissy one day after my mailbox was so full the mail carrier say it in front of the mailbox and I came up with a solution I haven’t tried — return to sender! This would decrease their profit per-item by 1/2. Key piece tho, are you able to return pre-sorted mail to sender?
- lazide 2y ago
  You can’t. USPS thought of this a loooong time ago. Frankly, junk mail is one of the primary things keeping the USPS afloat.
  - kgdiem 2y ago
    I did some research and you can send a letter to the post master to request they stop delivering for certain addresses. Seems there’s a service for this too https://www.paperkarma.com/product/paperkarma-subscription/ https://www.paperkarma.com/product/paperkarma-subscription/ > Mail Withheld From Delivery. An addressee may request his or her postmaster, in writing, to withhold from delivery for a period not exceeding 2 years any foreign letter or printed matter bearing a specified name or address appearing on the outside. Such mail is marked “Refused” by the Post Office™ and treated as undeliverable. https://about.usps.com/what/business-services/delivery-growth-management/assets/pdf/section-611.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/business-services/delivery-growt...
fn-mote 2y ago
The assertion that scam texts are the same as junk mail is absurd unless you believe that there are unsophisticated victims falling for junk mail offers. I don’t buy the comparison at all. I assume the point is “there is no economic incentive to fix the situation” … but that is an extremely generic claim.

kgdiem 2y ago

I was pissy one day after my mailbox was so full the mail carrier say it in front of the mailbox and I came up with a solution I haven’t tried — return to sender! This would decrease their profit per-item by 1/2. Key piece tho, are you able to return pre-sorted mail to sender?

lazide 2y ago
You can’t. USPS thought of this a loooong time ago. Frankly, junk mail is one of the primary things keeping the USPS afloat.
- kgdiem 2y ago
  I did some research and you can send a letter to the post master to request they stop delivering for certain addresses. Seems there’s a service for this too https://www.paperkarma.com/product/paperkarma-subscription/ https://www.paperkarma.com/product/paperkarma-subscription/ > Mail Withheld From Delivery. An addressee may request his or her postmaster, in writing, to withhold from delivery for a period not exceeding 2 years any foreign letter or printed matter bearing a specified name or address appearing on the outside. Such mail is marked “Refused” by the Post Office™ and treated as undeliverable. https://about.usps.com/what/business-services/delivery-growth-management/assets/pdf/section-611.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/business-services/delivery-growt...

fn-mote 2y ago

The assertion that scam texts are the same as junk mail is absurd unless you believe that there are unsophisticated victims falling for junk mail offers. I don’t buy the comparison at all. I assume the point is “there is no economic incentive to fix the situation” … but that is an extremely generic claim.