Reusing Stamps

Just finished reading this article in today's Toronto Star dealing
with ethics and stamp reuse.
What do you think ? Is it stealing ?

http://www.thestar.com/living/artic...euse-a-stamp

Here we go again ....

You'll find 1,000 opinions about this question in other theads, but you have to use the word GLUESTICK in your search query

I'm on the illegal/unethical side of the debate; many others here (whom I admire and respect greatly) will disagree vehemently.

KirkS

I'm on the other side, whether I appear on Kirk's list or not !

My reasons have been stated here a few times so I won't go into it again.
I think most know anyway.

Londonbus1.....[Motto], Alaways have a gluestick at arms reach

Oh, you're definitely on my list, buddy !

I guess I am a petty thief...if I found 5 dollars in the street I would pocket it..if I found a large roll of bills it would bother me...and I would turn it in somewhere...how many times I receive stamps that people I know collect and the post office left them uncancelled..i send them out on letters to my friends and hope the post office will cancel them this time around...i do what I do and I am not going to change my opinion of whats right and whats wrong !1

Even though I'm not fanatical about it, yes I have reused the odd
stamp and don't feel the least bit guilty or unethical.

I know it's been discussed before but I only provided the link to
the article since it's rare that stamps are mentioned anywhere
in the mainstream media.

There was never any intent by stamp producing entities for them to be reused. You can argue that it is unfair, but you can't argue whether or not they were intended for reuse. So if it is ok to make use of something with the express intent of not paying for that use is ok, then I am going to have a tough time teaching my kids right and wrong. (just my thoughts, I am certainly aware of the impossibility of foisting my ethics on someone else.)

A stamp is a contract wherein you agree to pay a fee for a service. Once the service has been rendered the contract has been satisfied, regardless of whether the document used to execute the contract has been properly canceled.

Therefore, once the mail item has been delivered, the stamp is no longer in effect. Re-use of the stamp is an act of fraud.

It is a fact of life that there are people who insist on committing fraud (and I would be a fraud if I said I did not). My problem is with people who try to say that the fraud they commit is not really fraud (which the writer of the article seems to suggest).

My take is a white-lie is still a lie.

I'd just rather add it to my collection instead of re-using it.

I just received an approval with 8 older beautiful stamps on the envelope and only 4 were cancelled.

The 4o cents or so to buy a stamp and mail a letter is still one of the best deals around.

I have a different slant to this thread which was odd really.

One day, must be at least 15 years ago or more, while I was in a local depratment store, I stumbled across a tobacco stamp, that was just lying on the floor, that apparently came off of a package of tobacco and the stamp had full gum just like it was issued. I carefully put it in my shirt pocket so it wouldn't get damaged and when I got home, I put it in my Canadian revenue album. In fact, I still have it. I found out later that it was in the grey zone between legal & illegal simply because of the way I found it. I can honestly state that I didn't take it off of any package myself since I was never a smoker. It was just lying on the floor and there for the taking.

Funny how one can come across some items.

Chimo

Bujutsu

That is a rather entertaining article and like a number of ethical issues, it all comes down to one's perspective. Someone mentioned that this was discussed in a previous SCF thread, so here's the link (it's a long one):

https://goscf.com/t/10595&whichpage...ms=Gluestick

Although there are many opinions, the majority of stamp collectors seem to think that if the post office doesn't go through the effort of cancelling the stamp, then the consumer has the right to re-use it.

The postal authorities may have a different view, but if we're talking only a few stamps, it is a given that the post office wouldn't bother to prosecute (not worth it) but if someone were to re-use hundreds or thousands of stamps (?) ... maybe (?)

Being from the US, I find it interesting that counterfeit stamps are now hitting the market and postal authorities seem more concerned with that, suggesting that they are now able to detect and "return-to-sender" such mail with counterfeit postage. I don't know whether they can or would bother to return soaked-off/re-used postage, but even so, for 59 cents (Canadian) or 44 cents (US) do you really want to chance not getting your mail through to its destination?

For the last 50+ years I bought thousands of dollars worth of
stamps from Canada Post for my collection which were not used
for postage. This was clear profit for CP minus the cost for printing
the stamps which is insignificant compared to their face value.
Therefore I have no qualms whatsoever by reusing a few which should
have been canceled anyway.
Why is it that most of these uncanceled stamps on mail
are from the US, GB and Canada ?
Other countries don't seem to have this problem. I've received lots
of mail from Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia over the years
and have rarely if if ever received mail from these were every stamp
was not canceled.
If the negligent postal services did their job properly they wouldn't
have to worry about people reusing stamps.

Litho,

I agree with all your points. Nearly all my European mail gets a decent cancel, especially Germany [as Dianne will soon find out ]. I will add Australia to those lazy nations who don't know a cancel from a Mars bar. Nearly all my mail from there arrives clean.

Let me look at this from another angle.
Let's assume I started collecting stamps in 2010, and only used stamps because I couldn't afford all todays garbage. And let us say I started to exchange and and write penpal letters to get more used stamps.
At the rate of uncancelled mail during the year 2010, I would now have given up on Stamp collecting because it would have been too frustrating to continue.
So another budding philatelist bites the dust because Royal Mail and others don't know how to cancel a letter.

I'd better shut up or this subject will be my favourite in 2011 also !

Londonbus1.....More tomorrow

That's a good point LB.

I collect either MNH or used. To me an uncanceled stamp with no
gum is just about worthless unless it's reused of course.

Why do we still have stamps? Because there are still a few collectors. In the village I live here in the wild wild east no one collects stamps, so no one buys one (anyway, there is the e-mail and telephone). I am the only lunatic, who enters from time to time, asking for new issues. On the bills instead of stamps for ex. I find printed the nr. of the contract between the telephone company and the Romanian Post. There are still old fashioned stamp collectors (and they spend a nice sum for new issues), who want their stamp cancelled. And if not, `eye for an eye`, I will reuse is, until it will be canceled.

Way to go Lunatic....er, sorry Wadmalatz !
Re-use it !

What would RM have me do with this lot?



As Litho said, an uncancelled stamp is worthless. So re-using is the only alternative.

But what about a truce with the worlds Postal services

Stamp Collectors and Postal services come to an agreement, passed by the UPU, that there will be a worldwide law that any stamps arriving uncancelled can be returned to the Postal Authority of origin to be cancelled and returned to the receiver by registered mail.

Just think how happy everyone will be. The Postal Services will save a fortune on security measures, there will be better, more efficient cancelling machines and extra jobs will be made available to cancel the returned stamps !

Sadly, there are always losers.
Makers of Gluesticks will come out on National strike

Londonbus1...now I'm really off to bed !