You know how sometimes you’re in a town where it seems like there’s a pillar box in every corner, and in other places they’re simply nowhere to be found? Different postal operators have different policies about their post boxes coverage, and so we thought it would be interesting to find out how far the average postcrosser has to walk (or drive!) to mail their cards.
A total of 9928 postcrossers answered our poll last week, and here are the combined results of that informal survey:
Overall, looks like most of us don’t have to go that far to mail our postcards, which is great news! Just over 50% of postcrossers walk just 500 meters (or 547 yards) or less to post something, and the farthest category (5 km-3.1 miles or more) is the one with the least amount of postcrossers (7.8%).
Naturally, the really interesting data is at the country level. Let’s have a closer look:
So, looking at the graph, a few countries seem to do things a little differently. For instance, Malaysia and Indonesia definitely stand out, with about a quarter of postcrossers having to go 5km (3.1 miles) or more until they find a mailbox, followed by Brazil with 19.12% of postcrossers in that category. Indonesia and Brazil are both huge countries, so we understand that it might be hard to cover that much area with mailboxes or post offices… but Malaysia is harder to explain. 🤔 Any thoughts?
On the other end of the spectrum, postcrossers in Hong Kong and Canada walk the least to get to their mail collection points: between 38–39% of them only has to go a few steps from their home to get it done. That’s brilliant! Japan and Switzerland are also doing very well in this regard, with over 75% having to walk just under 500m (547 yards) to get their mail going.
Knowing that in the US mail carriers pick up the outgoing mail from mailboxes when delivering mail, we were a bit surprised to find out that these statistics don’t seem to reflect this ultra-convenient service. Is this not a generalized service, perhaps?
So, what do you think? Do you get enough exercise out of mailing your postcards, or do you wish it was slightly farther away so that you could hatch some Pokémon eggs with those extra steps? 😅 Feel free to chime in on the comments below!
PS – As usual, only countries with more than 50 votes are included, so that the results can be more meaningful.
65 comments so far
I understood the poll to be asking about a regular
Mail box. So I had our Post Office in mind when
answering.
So I picked the nearest official postbox. which is 443 meters and actually not used by me because it's not on my commuting ways and is only reachable when going through some shady areas you probably won't visit if you don't have to.
I have (at least) 3 mailboxes less than 500 m from home, one of them about 50 m. Sometimes I wish they were farther away, to get some exercise.
In India, letter boxes are available not just at the Post Offices but also at prominent public places like bus-stations, government buildings, markets etc.
But I know many who prefer visiting the local P.O. to ensure that the cancellation on the card is crisp and accurate.
I always look forward to postcards with a clean readable postmark, so I would also like the recipient of my postcards to get a nice stamp with a neat postmark.
There is a possibility to send mail closer, but usually it's not on my way. Also, I'm more confident in the successful sending of mail, if I do it in the main post office. And, of course, it is also a pleasant reason for a walk. :-)
And if I paid for the air service, what opportunities for sending mail could be imagined? The second plane to catch up with the one on which the mail flies and transmit in the air?.. :-)
It would be so much fun :-)
But... in reality, the main thing-the reliability of the shipment, so people choose the place where the service is most trusted. And they expect that the addressee will like it, good luck in postcrossing, love and beauty in everything :-)
I miss home pick-up in the U.S.!
Mailboxes are still there around the big streets on my city, but they're just standing there as memorials.. or trash can by those people who don't understand the use of mailboxes. Some even have holes on the bottom so everyone can steal our mails! :(
In the capital, Kota Kinabalu, it was easier
good and customer-friendly !
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