Danish postal service to stop delivering letters after 400 years

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sun 21 Dec 2025 02.00 EST
Last modified on Sun 21 Dec 2025 07.31 EST


The Danish postal service will deliver its last letter on 30 December, ending a more than 400-year-old tradition. Announcing the decision earlier this year to stop delivering letters, PostNord, formed in 2009 in a merger of the Swedish and Danish postal services, said it would cut 1,500 jobs in Denmark and remove 1,500 red postboxes amid the “increasing digitalisation” of Danish society.

Describing Denmark as “one of the most digitalised countries in the world”, the company said the demand for letters had “fallen drastically” while online shopping continued to increase, prompting the decision to instead focus on parcels.

It took only three hours for 1,000 of the distinctive postboxes, which have already been dismantled, to be bought up when they went on sale earlier this month with a price tag of 2,000 DKK (£235) each for those in good condition and 1,500 DKK (£176) for those a little more well-worn. A further 200 will be auctioned in January. PostNord, which will continue to deliver letters in Sweden, has said it will refund unused Danish stamps for a limited time.

Danes will still be able to send letters, using the delivery company Dao, which already delivers letters in Denmark but will expand its services from 1 January from about 30m letters in 2025 to 80m next year. But customers will instead have to go to a Dao shop to post their letters – or pay extra to have it collected from home – and pay for postage either online or via an app.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/21/denmark-postnord-postal-delivery-letters-society

---

The GOP seems to be trying to push us to go this route too.

[Nittersing]

1. Yeah. GOP has been working towards privatizing USPS for a while...

[oasis]

39. I remember Newt Gingrich toying with the idea.

Back then, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) said Newt would probably privatize his own grandmother if he had the chance.

[barbtries]

2. makes me sad

but if i'm honest, i rarely send letters by post anymore.

[generalbetrayus]

4. I have mixed feelings. I still pay some of my bills

Via USPS, but I wouldn’t miss all the mail I get asking for money.

[Polybius]

15. Of those bills that you still pay by mail, can you pay them online?

It's a lot easier if the option is there.

[Dixiegrrrl]

17. Paying online is fine till the internet goes down b/c power or other reasons.

We recently had a 2 day power outage, have had 4 day outages. All weather related, but live in an area where same weather prevents quick repairs.

[markodochartaigh]

29. One thing that I have learned here in Florida

is when a hurricane approaches, pay the next month's bills.

[barbtries]

25. i'm not sure where my checks are,

it's been so long since I wrote one.

[generalbetrayus]

35. I can, but I have reasons for not doing so. In one case,

I have to pay a fee of 13 dollars to pay it online as opposed to whatever a first class stamp costs nowadays.

[LiberalArkie]

16. I would miss the delivery by the USPS. Out here in rural Arkansas and as a 77 year old it is nice to have. There have

been several elderly people saved by postal carriers who noticed the mail piled up in the mailboxes for many days and notified police.

I do not thing UPS or FedEx would even notice if there was a large pile of boxes at the door.

[anciano]

3. This could very feasibly happen here in the US in the not too distant future....

along with the transition to a "cashless" and "checkless" monetary system as well. We seem to be rapidly evolving toward the complete digitalization of modern life.

[GiqueCee]

10. Ones and zeroes...

... have no intrinsic value. There is no physical manifestation of digital currency; it depends on a shared delusion, just like the emperor's new clothes. and then there's the question: What happens if there is an Electro-Magnetic Pulse that makes it all go POOF?
Nothing good, we can be assured of that.
The USPS is the only business entity mentioned in the Constitution. The unbridled greed of corporatists has been the driving force behind efforts to destroy the Postal Service, such as the obscene requirement for the USPS to pay its retirement fund years in advance, which puts it in the hole every quarter. No other business entity or government agency is saddled with such an onerous demand.
Those proposing the total digitization of commerce don't give a happy rat's ass how forcing such a transition will affect those of limited means. "Little People" – meaning you and me – are given no choice in such matters, and the sales pitch is always a noxious stew of lies seasoned with veiled malicious threats if one fails to bend the knee to these sociopaths and their malign machinations.
Those of limited intellectual capacity lap up the bullshit Kool-Aid that corporatists spoon-feed them, and if it's to their own detriment, that's bad enough, but the rest of us get dragged into that mendacious sewer, too, and that's to the detriment of ALL of us, whether we like it or not.

[angrychair]

21. Exactly

Up until now the only thing that has saved USPS from Republicans is the Constitution.

Also, I think it's incredibly naive to think that that just means free email of bills. That isn't how capitalism works in America. They will absolutely monetize emails or charge people to pay their bills electronically.
What I am absolutely positive of is that no way in hell billionaires and corporations are not going to ensure they make even more money off of us

[generalbetrayus]

36. See my comment 35. Paying a fee to pay a bill online

Is already here.

[reACTIONary]

28. In actual fact, all we have right now, and for some time, is ones and zeros....

..... almost all of our money consists of nothing more than ledger entries in bank accounts. Those physical pieces of paper you carry around in your wallet have no intrinsic value beyond their usefulness in communicating updates to those ledger entries between individuals. They are really no more or less than substitutes or analogs of those ones and zeros. A means of conveying information.

And, over all, a medium of exchange that has intrinsic value, like gold, is not as good for the economy as is fiat currency - digital or physical.

[GiqueCee]

30. When Nixon, bless his black, shriveled little heart...

... took us off the gold standard internationally in 1971 (FDR did it domestically in '33), we at least had a robust manufacturing capacity to back up the value of the dollar. Then Reagan happened. He effectively eliminated restrictions on overseas production, and... well, here we are.

And people wonder why my hatred of the Republican Party burns hotter than the surface of the Sun.

[reACTIONary]

33. The general economic consensus is that a gold standard, both domestic and international, ...

is a detrimental policy, leading to price volatility and hindering economic response to shocks (like recessions), with most economists seeing it as less stable than modern fiat systems.

Paul Krugman makes that case against the goldbugs.

Even the Ur-Libertarian, F.A. Hayek, eventually came around and admitted the value of "token money," albeit in the service of yet another odd-ball libertarian scheme: The Denationalisation of Money.

[popsdenver]

19. Will the Refereees at football games

have to start flipping a microchip or iPhone?

[generalbetrayus]

37. A worthless Trump commemorative coin.

[Evolve Dammit]

22. AI and crypto is what they want, IMHO

[IronLionZion]

5. Article doesn't say if this affects holiday cards and other greeting cards

I know some people like to still send those as a tradition. And the article did say there is an increase in young people sending letters to provide some old school personal touch in an increasingly digital world. Letters are so rare it can feel exciting to get or send one these days.

Then there are business mailings for various purposes. Electronic stuff is easier to ignore than paper mail in your mailbox.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "Article doesn't say if this affects holiday cards and other greeting cards"

People there can still send those, but by a private company called "Dao".

https://dao.as/en/

Their equivalent to our government-run "postal service" will be shut down after December 30.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. USPS is pricing itself out of reach

They need to control their costs instead of raising prices twice a year. Every rural address doesn't need 6 day a week delivery. They must have sunk money into post offices, interiors and exteriors and parking lots have gone through an upgrade in my area. 15 years ago the postmistress would hire a local elder to vacuum twice a month. Now it's cleaning services, floor waxers, carpet shampooing, painting, window films, paving.

Posted in response to: we're going that route here too

[eppur_se_muova]

18. USPS's chief budget constraint is the GOP Congress's requirement that the pension fund be FULLY funded --

something which no private company is required to do. GOP wants to kill the USPS and turn it all over to Venture Capital, and what better way to do that than to force price increases through arbitrarily imposed costs, thus driving away customers ?

The arguments about offering "too much service" is a GOP talking point to distract from their attempts to explode the USPS budget.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. "USPS's chief budget constraint is the GOP Congress's requirement that the pension fund be FULLY funded"

There is no requirement to "fully fund" the retirement for USPS.

USPS retirement benefits are either FERS or CSRS (the latter for those who were hired before 1984).

The USPS Inspector General described what was going on with the actual pension (annuity) - What is the debate about the Postal Service’s share of pension costs?

USPS OIG paper on the history - Postal Retirement Funds in Perspective: Historical Evolution and Ongoing Challenges

In a nutshell, the issue is that the postal service has to do their contributions from their own revenue (employees contribute per the percentages from CSRS or FERS).

The one financial killer was the pre-fund of health benefits mandate that occurred in 2006 under Shrub and THAT was repealed 3 years ago -

H.R.3076 - Postal Service Reform Act of 2022

Public Law No: 117-108 (04/06/2022)

Postal Service Reform Act of 2022

This bill addresses the finances and operations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The bill requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish the Postal Service Health Benefits Program within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program under which OPM may contract with carriers to offer health benefits plans for USPS employees and retirees.

The bill provides for coordinated enrollment of retirees under this program and Medicare.

The bill repeals the requirement that the USPS annually prepay future retirement health benefits.

Additionally, the USPS may establish a program to enter into agreements with an agency of any state government, local government, or tribal government, and with other government agencies, to provide certain nonpostal products and services that reasonably contribute to the costs of the USPS and meet other specified criteria.

The USPS must develop and maintain a publicly available dashboard to track service performance and must report regularly on its operations and financial condition.

The Postal Regulatory Commission must annually submit to the USPS a budget of its expenses. It must also conduct a study to identify the causes and effects of postal inefficiencies relating to flats (e.g., large envelopes).

The USPS Office of Inspector General shall perform oversight of the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Almost 20 years of that pre-fund nonsense drained much of their money and left them in a hole with respect to funding other stuff and it's a matter of digging out of that.

One new "practical" problem manufactured by the now-departed DeJoy's nonsensical "logistics", is this perfect example that I will offer that is happening now to me - I bought some boxes of fudge from James Candy Company (that makes Fralinger's candy like salt water taffy, etc., and has been in business in Atlantic City, NJ since the 1880s). AC is about 60 miles SE from Philadelphia and they always sent USPS, and it basically got trucked straight to Philly.



But NOW, here is my current tracking -

Moving Through Network

Departed USPS Regional Facility
PHILADELPHIA PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 21, 2025, 6:35 am

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
PHILADELPHIA PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 19, 2025, 10:09 am

In Transit to Next Facility
December 19, 2025, 8:39 am

Departed USPS Regional Facility
JERSEY CITY NJ DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 19, 2025, 7:38 am

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
JERSEY CITY NJ DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 19, 2025, 2:12 am

Departed USPS Regional Facility
STAMFORD CT DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 19, 2025, 1:00 am

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
STAMFORD CT DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 18, 2025, 10:18 pm

Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 08401
December 17, 2025, 12:39 pm

Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 08401
December 17, 2025, 8:21 am

Highlighting = WTAF of sending the box FROM NJ, then TO CT, and then BACK to NJ again to get to Philly.

[eppur_se_muova]

31. Thanks for the info. Not all of use can keep up with all the wonky details. The main point I remembered was that ...

GOP Congresscritters had come up with an arbitrary, indirect way to handicap USPS so as to cripple it vs private delivery, and use the declining profits to excuse privatizing it. Glad to see the reforms, but they didn't clawback the damage that has been done. We need a Dem Congress to take care of that.

I had actually forgotten that DeJoy wasn't there anymore. There was so much other chaos going on at that time that that announcement got lost in the brown noise. (Also, I seem to recall there were multiple announcements that he "could" be leaving "sometime soon".)

[BumRushDaShow]

32. The damage was that pre-fund-for-75-years crap

and THAT was what threw them into massive debt, along with a loss of business as people started going more electronic. The pre-fund went away 3 years ago but the massive hole is still there.

And that provision was added in 2006 under Shrub and that year was also an election year, where for the first time in 12 years, Democrats took the House back, and installed Nancy Pelosi as Speaker (and in 2007, that is when we focused on getting the damn minimum wage increased from $5.15/hr to the current $7.25/hr). That minimum wage increase was slid on as a rider to an appropriations bill -

H.R.2 - Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007

When I commuted to work, I used to drive by Ben Franklin's original Post Office/Printing Shop that was a couple blocks from my office (and they still sell stamps, including commemoratives and I would buy stamps in there at lunch time ).

[generalbetrayus]

38. Somebody in your area must have real pull with the USPS.

I’ve lived in my town for 46 years now and we have the same PO building and parking lot we had 46 years ago during which time our population went from less than 10,000 to over 30,000. And my Democratic Congressman lives in my town!

[Karma13612]

7. I don't think our mail

Usage has dropped enuf yet to match the drop in usage that Denmark is seeing.

Once this goes into effect, they’ll have to figure out who is going to deliver ballots to voters. Maybe they’ll use Dao.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. "Once this goes into effect, they'll have to figure out who is going to deliver ballots to voters."

"Online" (electronic) voting...

Some day.

Of course some in the GOP are convinced that the entirety of the U.S. is like their podunk town and should be required to go vote "in person".

[Old Crank]

12. Danes have advanced voting

In special locations and citizens outside the country can vote at embassies or consulates.

Day of you show up with your polling card to a voting location.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. The difference though

is that the population of the ENTIRE country of Denmark (6 million) is 2 million LESS than the population of New York City (8 million).

[eggplant]

26. THIS

The sheer number of Americans in rural areas is what makes the USPS a requirement.

[Old Crank]

34. Yes.

And that is why UPS and FedEx pay the USPS to deliver in many rural locations.

[Bayard]

23. Online voting would be ripe for manipulation

Musk on steroids.

[dalton99a]

11. Kick

[Old Crank]

13. Denmark has 6 million people in half the area of Maine

The use of the mail system was getting too expensive even with that density and the fee up to 3,5 Oz. Nearly $4 per letter.
US has a large subsidy through the junk mail delivery. They also get a fair amount from UPS delivery in more remote areas.

Cost of mail in Germany is just over a dollar for 3/4 Oz. And $1.40 for international. The US is cheap.

[Mr. Sparkle]

20. A private company with no pension obligation's are able to do it cheaper for obvious reasons

I foresee a price rise from Dao in the not too distant future

[Prairie Gates]

24. We Await Silent Tristero's Empire