Does Anyone Have A Mailer's Postmark Permit?

@IBrakeForStamps, Why cancel? It's fun and it prevents your covers from being ruined by the hideous USPS spray-on cancels. It is also a good way to send stamps that are minimally defaced, rather than totally obliterated. Possessing and using MPPs also make your mail more unique as you are the sole issuer of our cancels. Further, possessing an MPP allows the MPP holder to use presorted postage on mail items!

MPPs, though, are primarily used for commercial reasons/bulk mail. They only have to pay 5¢ or something and are billed the difference. I am not sure what the requirements are here as I use my MPP for philatelic purposes and am never charged — if I use precancelled stamps, it os for their face values of 5 or 10 cents.

Humm, I must be out of touch on this. I have had a MPP for a lot of years, and I have to use first class postage, NOT allowed to use presorted stamps (other than at the face value to make up first class rate). When did this change? Just curious. Presorted stamps are intended for large volume business mail.
Secondly, here in my state ALL mail for domestic service goes through a spray cancel sorting center. The only way to get around it is to mail overseas which goes through another center and does not overspray items. You can get around the spray center you mail items over the one ounce rate (3 and up ounces in a large envelope marked do not bend ( and pay the premium for that service). Just saying....

All stuff I never knew. Thanks!


-IBFS

@PostStat4ever and @IBrakeForStamps --

DMM Art. 604 Sect. 3.5 says:

"Stamp Collectors: Subject to USPS policy in 608.4.0, precanceled postage may be bought for philatelic purposes as well as postage payment. A stamp collector may mail matter bearing precanceled postage if the collector has a permit to use precanceled postage at the Post Office where the mail is presented. Creating philatelic oddities or precanceling issues or denominations that would not otherwise see legitimate mail use is not permitted. Mail orders must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope." (Read here: http://pe.usps.com/text/DMM300/604.htm#1080435)

This is to show that MPP holders are permitted to use precancelled postage. I have.

From my Boerne, Tex. MPP:



From my San Antonio, Tex. MPP:





You'll notice that the above images show precancelled stamps on domestic postcards and 1 oz. First Class Mail, as well as non-domestic.

The key to preventing these from getting overpostmarked -- sprayed -- is to have the postal clerk separate your mail and note that it's already been cancelled. Seeing that I do not expect them to write a note on my items, I include a printout when I hand them my postmarked mail. This is important so that the whole chain of workers -- and I have no idea how many handle my mail beyond the counter -- understand what they are dealing with.



The sheet works well! In fact, when I mailed some postcards from San Diego last month I wrote out such a sheet by hand, had the clerk hand-cancel my postcards with the office's CDS, and asked her to place my postcards in their own bin along with the note. She went out of her way to do it for my sake, and, what do you know!, the hand cancelled items made it to their destinations without a spray cancel. This, of course, did rely on a willing postal worker which are not at all offices. :)

Back to mail bearing precanceled stamps -- I use a hand stamp that cites the DMM to make it clear that I use the stamps in accord with official policy. This eliminates questions, especially since very few believe it is possible for Joe Q to use precancelled postage.

Here is an example:



And, to end this, here is an example of a processed cover -- see the bar code at the bottom -- that was not machine cancelled and not even marked "non-machinable" (which comes at a cost). This is also domestic, within the USPS' territory. It's my first day of issue on my Kyle, Tx. MPP #1 back in spring.



Handcancelled mail is fun and has its rewards -- and international philatelists I know think it is amazing that we are able to cancel our own mail in the United States. A penpal of mine in Japan said she is quite envious of our ability to hand cancel our own mail for philatelic purposes.

Cheers!

Kyle

canarywolf: Yes I agree. You can use anything you want as long as it makes up the first class rate (or whatever rate you are trying to use). I also have a Precancel Use Permit so I can use precancels on mail, again as long as it equals the first class normal rate.
Unfortunately, my state still oversprays everything.....

PoStat4Ever– Ok, then we agree. I wasn't sure what you meant. As far as the spray-ons, what a shame! Have they separated out your mail and had them note what it is? Mine was continually over cancelled until a fellow MPPer told me about including a notice sheet. Having made that a part of the drop off has been a success. It's very rare things get overpostmarked now.

My Boerne and San Antonio MPPs both are dropped off at the offices where issued, but are ultimately processed through the San Antonio GMF; my Kyle MPP is processed through the Austin GMF. I a, not sure where cancelling happens – in the local office or at the main facility – but what I do gets my mail past the hurdles.

On a different note, would you like to swap cancels? I'd happily send covers to youif you collect. Let me know!

I tried getting one of these and have given up. My local USPS branch had never seen one of these permit requests before, and it took quite a bit of handholding and patient explanation walking through the MPP Club documentation to get them to even initiate the process.

No, the problem is the approval person at the St Lous regional center. Despite my efforts to explain via phone what I want and that it is permitted, they are insisting that all the documentation is wrong and that I am actually wanting a business-class service for which there is a fee, and that such a MPP will only allow me to preprint cancels for presort mailings, not philatelic use.

I would have loved to have one, but I can't deal with idiotic bureacracies, of which the USPS is a shining example.

Ditto! Was told that a permit would cost me $200 & that there was no such thing as a "free permit for collectors". Since I don't have much excess postage tied up in "unused" precancels, I decided not to pursue the topic.

canarywolf: sample of my MPP is over on page 2 of this thread. Will email you later today (this evening).

@poStat4evR - I'll look forward to hearing from you! Grateful I can get your cancel.

@revenuecollector @JLLebbert I am sad to hear this. Joe LoPreiato of Enotria has a total of twenty-eight precancel permits from various offices. He would've had more if not for roadblocks with certain postal employees – and he heard some horror stories from others. There have been screaming matches over MPPs! So the people at your branches didn't even consider the PS form? I can give you my contact at the San Antonio central office if you want. He issued me mine and went through the paperwork from the MPP Club with me. He had to refresh himself on the issue process, but did acknowledge that MPPs can be issued at no annual cost for philatelic purposes. (Few seek these as we do, so it's no surprise people are clueless at USPS.) His name is Paul Baker. My second permit I got was issued at the post office in Boerne, a town outside of incorporated San Antonio. I directed that office to contact Paul and he gave them pointers (and obviously legitimized what I wanted). I hold the fourth permit from that office. I have an MPP from an additional town also. I hope to get more, but I am on "pause" for the time being.

canarywolf: One of the reasons I decided not to pursue a permit was that supposedly all such permits were handled by only one branch post office in our community ... and said post office was on the far north side of the city while I reside on the far south. I also understand that all mail using precancels must be submitted at the branch holding the permit. Maybe someone can verify this for me. If not true, I might consider trying again. But if true, and I think it is, the permit is definitely not worth the long trek north. I can think of three branch POs & the main PO that are significantly closer. There are probably others as well.

JLLebbert: The mailers postmark permit is indeed required to be mailed at the issuing station ONLY. I have a PO Box at it, so I just drop it off in the outbox when I go down to get my mail daily. I think I have used the Precancel Permit by just stamping the envelope and dropping it off at a PO (different). It has been a while since I used it.
As for your delema, I would think the main post office would be a better bet and closer to you. Call the postmaster and ask him/her about it. Both permits are free. Just paperwork involved.

@JLLebbrrt: I have never heard that certain offices are designated for MPPs while others aren't. In my experience, I got two permits at the offices where I drop the mail items. They have my info on file. In San Antonio – and this may lend to your idea – my local office referred me to the General Mail Facility where I was issued my permit. However, the GMF noted the location where I would drop my mail. (The ZIP on my MPP also matches that PO.) While I don't know if there is a "sole issuer" of sorts in larger cities/areas having multiple POs, I do know that any office should have the capacity to handle MPPs – whether they issue it, or are associated with an issue by a central PO. I would start asking questions again. Start with the office you want and if they send you elsewhere follow that with the intention to getting an MPP at the desired location. Take the paperwork on the MPP Club website and fill out your PS form. This may take multiple attempts and follow-ups – that's been my experience – but you are permitted to get an MPP. This is not a question.

For what it's worth, I have an MPP at an office an hour and a half away. I have mailed through them a few times — see my Kyle, Texas MPP#1 above — yet I have never set foot in their office! My initial set up what done through the phone and mailing them the docs, and the mail I have had them carry was done through remailing. I would send a few postmarked items in a large envelopes – usually costs under 2 dollars – to my contact at bulk mailing at the office location. Costs a bit more, but makes MPP use at far offices possible. Heck, if you want a postmark in Kyle, Texas you could have MPP#2! Haha.

Anyways, hope all this helps ...

PS - I apologize for the typos. Expect more. My keyboard / ipad is a pain with this forum.

Although not my cancel, here is one I found in my collection that shows, back in the time, one could use most any pattern for the cancel.
This one is from Soquel, California (I am omitting the users name and address) but this uses a Maltese cross (old German style) that also has tie-ins to the surfing craze (Soquel being one surfing beach along the California coast). It is kinda neat. Just thought I would share.