During the early time of SHanghai LPO, HK Post Office and Shanghai LPO shared the same building. So, why would any Shanghai resident would drop off international mail at Shanghai LPO, and Shanghai LPO forward the letter to HK PO? And, paid Shanghai LPO's postage / fee?
So, I am puzzled by the existence of the outbound Shanghai-origin international "combo" covers. Those mails' sender could just go to the foreign post offices to mail their letters, and save one candarin charged by the Shanghai LPO.作者: eureka168 时间: 2017-3-14 09:36
Just one more point.
According to my research and understanding, one of reasons for Shanghai LPO's creation was for Shanghai LPO to deliver international inbound mails. The agents of shipping companies (Such as P&O) was charging 4 cent per letter for delivering a letters at Shanghai. Shanghai LPO was setup to reduce the delivery fee; Shanghai LPO only charged one cent or free if the receiver had subscribed to Shanghai's services. For the trading companies, this should be big saving.
So, inbound combination covers were legitimate in my opinion. I am not so sure about outbound.