After buying and selling stuff overseas I'm starting to wonder how the international postal service works. When you post something overseas the payment goes to the postal service in the country of departure. How is the item's journey in the country of destination paid for/ Is it
-to be remitted from the country of departure's postal service (in bulk, I'd presume)
-or paid for by the country of destination's taxpayers
Hope it's not a dumb question.
Seb
Not a dumb question at all...actually quite a reasonable question. The answer, as I have read/heard, is elegant in its simplicity. It is all based on "the honor system". It is accepted, that for every letter that gets mailed from nation "A" to nation "B" (with the fees being paid to "A"); that there will be a return posting from "B" to "A" (the payment going to "B"). Of course, this is not 100% true, but with bazillions of items going "to and fro" by mail, it *does* seem to balance out pretty well, when all is said and done.
Where's Cliffy from 'Cheers' when ya need him
Chek
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) establishes schedules of 'terminal dues' that countries must accept as payment for the delivery of international mail.
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