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Comment by lotsofpulp | Hacker News Reader

Supposedly mail is so rare now that those bulk mail advertising items are the only thing sustaining the USPS' daily delivery operations. Without the, stamp price would have to be far higher.

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Perhaps they should increase the stamp price then? I don't think I get ANYTHING of value in stamped/prepaid envelopes at this point (I just throw all my mail in a box and shred it when it fills up). In the past year, I think the mail I actually wanted to receive could be counted on two hands, far outweighed by credit card offers, political flyers, and other crap.

In the stamp area, there is a note for either "first class", "non-profit", or "presorted standard" aka "PRE-STD". Normal mail is first class. Standard is spam.

Once you figure that out, it makes sorting the mail real quick. Never has standard ever been important, even if it comes from a company that I do business with.

Yup, I basically never get anything sent first class. Greeting/holiday cards are about the only thing, and my parents these days just throw them into a priority mail care package anyway (and I'm past the age for the rush of wedding invitations).

What about the Pre STD ?

Presorted Standard is cheaper than First Class. First class is sent with some expectations on whether it will be delivered and how quickly. Standard is "best effort". If a company wants you to pay a bill, then they want to make sure you get it, they pay extra for that stamp. If a company wants to send an advert that they know you are going to throw in the trash anyway, they cheap out.

But for the life of me, I have not been able to figure out the price of a Standard stamp. USPS sells stamps online, but you'd think it would be easier to find the price, but still I can't find it. I would love to know how much is spent on mail that no one really cares about.

that sounds like a win-win-win-win: instant huge cut to carbon emissions, less trees cut down, demand released on diesel market, I get less spam

Possibly. There may or may not be a national security resiliency offered by continuing to operate a 6 days per week nationwide logistics network.

Either way, it’s not in USPS’ hands since Congress would have to change that requirement.

Can they increase the digital stamp price for all the spam mail I receive?

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