Quote:
3.4.6 Design and Content of Mailer's Postmark
The mailer's precancel postmark must contain specific elements:
a. The mailing date (day, month, and year) if used on First-Class Mail; the month and year of mailing may be shown on Standard Mail.
b. The words "Mailer's Postmark" followed by the permit number and enough lines to deface (cancel) the postage.
c. Either the city, state, and 5-digit ZIP Code of the Post Office where the precancel permit is held and the mailing is to be deposited, or the words "Mailed From ZIP Code" followed by the 5-digit ZIP Code of the mailing office. (If that Post Office is assigned more than one 5-digit ZIP Code, the precancel postmark must show the 5-digit ZIP Code assigned to the postmaster.)
The above is from the Domestic Mail Manual, Section 604 [
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm#1080435 ]. It appears that the mailing date is required for First-Class mail but is optional for Standard Mail.
I've gone through my limited collection of MPPs and none include a date. Here are a few examples:
A Google search turned up a study on questionnaire returns that was published in the
Journal of Marketing Research, May 1978 that suggests a psychological reason for stamp usage:
Quote:...Historically, it has been shown that the use of a stamp elicits a significantly higher rate of return than does the permit-return business reply envelope [6]. Erdos [2] ascribes this differential return rate to the fact that stamps represent money to potential respondents whereas business reply envelopes do not...He also states that the permit-return envelopes give the appearance of junk mail and stamps effect a more personal note...
Source:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3151265 There may also be a cost advantage to using the MPP rather than a permit indicia.
Posted 08/06/2011 7:29 pm
