Postage Dues Used As Postage

You folks who collect U.S. we need a reading on this..we purhased a set of scott catalogs for the fellow who makes up our auction lots..it came media mail franked with a whole bunch of stamps including FOUR ONE DOLLAR POSTAGE DUE STAMPS...are they now legal tender to use for regular postage ??????????

Phil:

First off... KEEP THE WRAPPER!! It's an odd use of the Postage Dues.

Secondly, as stamp collectors, there are a tonne of stamps wee have laying around for postage, that we know the local postal people do not know about. The postie saw $4 in postage, and away he went.

Did you know that sinve 1997, the U.S. Special Delivery stamps were no longer valid for any postage? Someone at the OPS gave me four mint 30¢ ones, and I used them for return postage. Obviously, the postal people did not know they were invalid for postage.

I assume the same thing for the postage dues, in your case.

David

David, the package came from a fairly large mail order dealer..there was the .00 label from the post office and like I say..a lot of mostly 32 cent stamps and the postage dues..you would think a fairly large outfit would know better...or perhaps they know they can get away with it....i do not know !

Phil, did the sender have a permit number written on the package?
Senders with a precancel use permit can use all kinds of fractional
pre-sorts on their mail. Have several pieces plastered with stamps
which could not normally be used as postage but that permit holders
are allowed to use.

Larry I dont see a permit number apparent on the box...would it have to be on the package or could the shipper just show the post office that they have a permit # ???

I would bet my money on Phil's explanation. There are so many items that show up with uncancelled and/or unusual stamps that I figure no one at USPS even noticed or cared that there were postage dues on there.

Never underestimate the power of laziness and ineptitude!

Greg only fear and loathing keep me from doing the same thing...i usually bring an envelope to the post office and humbly ask..do I have enough postage on this ???? I would hate to send out something to a collector and be the one that is caught because of the wrong postage....

I'm the same way phil

I always get the postal clerk to check the postage on my packets. I usually have more than enough but what can I say I love colorful envelopes. I am always surprized whent I recieve packets with older postage and the fact that they are still valid.

Dianne

Diane I have some stamps from Rick L. and Bobgggg to send along when we do our swap !!

Phil, on the ones I have the seller has written it on the packages.
I used to have a bulk permit during the 1980's when the rate was
12-1/2 cents. Before I gave it up I was able to use what was left
of these stamps on first class mail -- 2 for 25-cents. I didn't
have to give a permit number on the letters, as best I can remember,
but couldn't just drop them into the mail or bring them to the front
counter but had to take them to the bulk mailing section for acceptance.

First off, I used to work for the Post Office. Not the USPS, but Canada Post.

I can tell you that the average employee knows nothing about philately. That not only goes for the counter staff, but also the letter carriers. The problem with counter staff has gotten worse since I worked there because of the installation of so-called "sub-Post Offices" in drug stores and the like, that are staffed with teenagers. They are not trained by the Post Office, they are usually trained by the senior person in charge, who may have been trained (or not) by the Post Office, usually years ago.

Given this, it's not a stretch to see that a package will go as long as the values of all the stamps on the package add up to the rate in effect.


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Wpg:

The 7-Eleven down the street from me is staffed by intelligent people. I gave them each a bottle of wine, and they let me sort through stamps they have, and let me cancel my own covers and packages. Phil Bruno has a lovely recent used Canada collectioon that is beautifully cancelled.

I use a lot of obsolete postage. When I use the olympics semi-postals from the 1970's, the folks at those RPO's (Retail Postal Outlets) often say: "10¢ +5¢... thats fifteen cents, eh?"

David

LOL!

Funny enough, I used to hand my CDS (Circular Date Stamp) and pad across the counter to anyone who wanted to cancel their own stamps (fellow collectors, of course, without wine).

Take it from me: the most dangerous piece of PO equipment is the Roller Cancel in the hands of a Casual...


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