Sending a letter to a Dutch address is now cheaper from Germany

The price of a Dutch stamp has been rising rapidly for years. Since July 1st of this year, a simple stamp costs €1.31. Ten years ago, it was only 69 cents.

And even with that much higher rate, PostNL can't deliver mail profitably. Yesterday, the company announced it wants a €30 million government subsidy to cover its losses.

These sharply increased rates have created a surprising phenomenon: it is now cheaper to send mail from Germany to the Netherlands than from the Netherlands itself.

Sending a simple item of mail from Germany to the Netherlands, such as a postcard or letter weighing less than 20 grams, costs €1.25. Sending a letter within the Netherlands costs 6 cents more.

It's probably not worth the detour, unless you want to send a ridiculous number of postcards. But for people who already live in the border region and occasionally go to Germany for groceries, tobacco, and other supplies, it's a nice saving of 6 cents per letter.

Residents of Zeeland and Brabant hoping to pull off the same trick in Belgium will be disappointed. Sending an item from Belgium to the Netherlands costs €2.90 (up to 50 grams).

PostNL has not yet responded to questions from RTL Z.

PostNL is losing money delivering letters and cards. The publicly traded company is now seeking funding from the government, which requires PostNL to provide mail delivery services in the Netherlands. But the government refuses. Is this justified? See it here: