Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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post letters from your own letter box

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Every letter box would have a letter-in slot and a letter-out tray. The postman delivers mail into letter-in slot and takes mail from the letter-out tray.
xaviergisz, Dec 29 2008

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       the postman collects from our office every day but we have to pay for the service which is only reasonable really.
po, Dec 29 2008
  

       Out in the wilds of North America, home letter boxes have a special device known as a "Flag" which can be placed in the up position to inform the mail carrier that they are to remove outgoing letters from the letter box before delivering mail. This system works fairly well. I'm surprised that such a simple system, so long ago perfected by the colonies has not yet come in vogue at the heart of the empire.   

       All the same, I would think that this U.S. tradition makes a very slight variation on your idea [MFD-widely known to exist]
ye_river_xiv, Dec 29 2008
  

       I thought this was a joke (or I was missing something). I still expect I'm missing something. Do Brits really not enjoy at-home mail pick up?   

       [po]: We pay for pickup too, in the cost of the stamp. At home or at the office doesn't much matter, though cheaper rates can be had for different classes of service.
phoenix, Dec 29 2008
  

       Psst: I believe [xaviergisz] lives in Australia, and is an Australian, and not British. If you're unsure of the difference, please ask [UnaBubba] to explain it to you. I'd like to watch that.
pertinax, Dec 29 2008
  

       he'd probably begin with beer and football. thanks, phoe - one thing though, does the postman have a key to your flagged postbox or do you trust your neighbours?
po, Dec 29 2008
  

       This idea occurred to me too. It couldn't be that hard to implement somehow. Maybe it's just that the UK is still in the dark ages. Yes, that's it.
wagster, Dec 29 2008
  

       of course, it may *have* to come if they continue to close all our post offices
po, Dec 29 2008
  

       "he'd probably begin with beer and football."
...and accents, diet...
phoenix, Dec 29 2008
  

       We keep a clothespin on our mailbox for this purpose. Pinned letters are picked up when letter carrier delivers.
tatterdemalion, Dec 29 2008
  

       We get mail to the hole-in-the-wall, and the carrier will pick up previously mis-delivered mail marked as such. But within 100 miles, service varies quite a bit, from neighbourhood postboxes to full-fledged gotta-walk-into-town type of thing.   

       I think the reason that walking posties don't pick up is people who run small businesses out of their homes and occasionally have large runs to send (fine for a truck, not so much for a walker).
FlyingToaster, Dec 29 2008
  

       baked in the US as [phoenix] says, but I live on a huge hill, so years ago they decided to put a large lock box at the bottom with separate locking boxes for us hill-dwellers. There is an out-going slot, but I still have to go down the hill...
xandram, Dec 30 2008
  
      
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