Imagine a world without the post office...

[pendragon1998]

I was just ATS reading a thread about a delivery dispute over a coin. It got me to thinking - what if the postal system as we know if in the US was being designed today? Imagine that as of yesterday, mail was ONLY sent by dropping it off in post boxes or at a post offfice, and that all deliveries were picked up in person at PO boxes. That is to say: no personal mail boxes at your house.

 

Now, imagine someone comes along and wants to 'reform' the way mail is delivered. They tell you they want to stick an unlocked box next to your driveway and that all your bills, letters, bank statements, and small packages will be deposited in it daily, while all of your outgoing mail (complete with any checks you may be (stupid enough to be) mailing) will henceforth be arriving in those mailboxes.

 

Can you imagine the uproar from people who would be outraged over the complete lack of security involved in having all of that info and value being left in unlocked boxes with only our general trust in our fellow man to prevent it from being stolen?

 

Maybe I'm just being silly, but to me the modern mailbox seems to be at best an audacious, naive approach to mail handling - and at worst, an anachronism that is in serious need of federally-mandated reforms (i.e., requiring all mail boxes to be secure and lockable or locked).

[MunkyMan95]

FedEx?

[WinstonWare]

Bicycle Messenger?

[gedis3]

Star Trek Transporter Technology...

[dooly]

We dont have mail boxes

[okbustchaser]

Your mailbox doesn't lock??? Let me know the next time you win an Ebay auction.

[ibyandsellsmith]

I cut a hole in my door and put a mail-slot in it, not that I can't trust people. I just DONT trust people.

[Zoins]

Star Trek Transporter Technology...

Imagine Star Trek Replicator Technology? You could make any rare coin you want, tone it, throw it away, try again.

[DC Dawg]

Star Trek Transporter Technology...

Imagine Star Trek Replicator Technology? You could make any rare coin you want, tone it, throw it away, try again.

Well, if you're going to go that far, I want to travel back in time. I don't want to save Joan Collins, I want to go back to 1933 and grab (at least) one of those Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, find some way to get some papers on them showing legitimacy (e.g., the export papers for King Farouk of Egypt), and then come back to sell it for $10 million, or so!

 

Scott

[Zoins]

People probably wouldn't care about rare coins....

[michael]

you never appreciate what you got; until you don't have it anymore.............................

[Ted K-migration]

Didn't really think about it until reading the OP, but I'm glad my mailbox is locked. Unfortunately I don't have outgoing mail service at my apt complex, but when I mail things it's easy enough to get to a blue box or just go to the post office. On reflection, though, this is why when I ship coins of value, I always do it with signature confirmation. That way I know it's (hopefully) not just left randomly somewhere where someone could steal it.

 

On time travel, I was talking to a friend of mine about it this morning, amusingly enough, and my first response was that I'd go back and get my hands on as many bank wrapped wide rim 79 suzies as I could carry...I guess I have slightly lower aspirations than some folks.