Using Back-Of-The-Book And Inscribed Stamps For First-Class Postage?

What inscriptions on a stamp make it ineligible to pay for postage by an individual retail consumer?

Obviously airmail issues can be used; obviously officials and postage dues cannot. Can someone assist in dividing the following list into those that are valid for First-Class postage (at face value at time of purchase) and those that are not?

Air Post Special Delivery
Certified Mail
Parcel Post
Special Delivery
Special Handling
"Auth Nonprofit Org" / "Nonprofit" / "Nonprofit Org"
"Bulk Rate"
"For U.S. addresses only"

If there are any that I have omitted, please feel free to answer those as well.

Thank you!

Nonprofit stamps and bulk rate stamps as well as any precancelled stamps can not be used except by permit holders.

Peter

This may help answer your question ... right out of the USPS Operations Manual:



So in essence, Special Delivery Stamps, Certified Mail Stamps, Postage Due stamps, Special Handling Stamps, Foreign Stamps, UN Stamps (unless mailed at the UN in NY), cutout stamps from postal stationery, etc., are not valid for postage if mailed through the US Postal Service.

oops I been using some special delivery, I better quit I guess

I've used a few special delivery stamps in the past with no issue along with a couple of the certified stamps. Oh well.

Not as bad as some who got away with using Christmas Seals as stamps.

There's s seller who I've stopped ordering from because he ships every lot with cut squares from postal stationary as postage on First-Class parcels.

So far he's gotten away with it, but best case they'd arrive postage due if someone notices.

Thanks everyone (especially Petert4522 and the encyclopedic answer from wt1)! I guess that covers everything, except for "For U.S. addresses only". This screenshot is from an APS document on nondenominated postage, and reads as follows:





So it appears that the inscription was for UPU compliance and no longer holds, and so stamps bearing this inscription can be used on internationally-bound mail, too.

Of course, it all boils down to convincing a postal clerk that you are right, if you are trying to drop something off at a Post Office counter. But it seems I'll need to find something else to do with that lot of faulty Special Delivery stamps someone gave me.

I've used special deliveries as well with no issues, not knowing that they weren't valid. I suppose clerks and mail handlers probably aren't familiar with the rule and/or are too busy to bother with tracking someone down to recover 50 cents in revenue.

Hmm. I guess I don't know USPS terminology as well as I thought I did. Would Scott #2265 be valid for me to use to pay First Class retail postage if I were to affix an additional 26¢? I can't puzzle it out from the POM excerpt that wt1 attached.

The stamp above, Scott 2265 is a precancel. It can be used only if you have a permit to use precanceled stamps. The permit is easy to obtain and does not cost a thing if you are a stamp collector.
For the use of precanceled stamps see the USPS Quick Service Guide 604b.
For a precancel permit ask any postal clerk for form 3615.
If you like to do all this on-line go to the PNC3 website http://pnc3.org and click on the reference tab.

Peter

Thanks, Peter. Very helpful.

I believe Peter is not correct here. It is not a precancel. It is a special rate stamp. Its effect was, at the time of issue and for whatever period the 21c rate was in effect, single usage of this stamp paid the first-class rate for organizations that presorted their mail according to USPS requirements.

For anyone else, then or today, it is a 21c stamp and yes, you can use it to pay part of any rate, including the current first-class rate.

Note that section 1.2 of the USPS manual quoted in prior posts says that ALL stamps since 1860 are valid EXCEPT for the exceptions listed in 1.3. This special rate stamp is NOT one of the listed exceptions and is not subject to precancel rules because it is not, in fact, precanceled.

Chris

Yes, I was wrong. In collector circles we call these "service inscribed". It is the USPS that used to call these precanceled when they first arrived on the scene. A sign that they are not meant for common usage is the fact that they are not tagged.

Peter

Actually, I think the answer on the cover you displayed is No. The First Class flag stamp would have paid the full first class rate and the 21c Presorted First Class stamp is redundant.

The First Class Flag stamp is worth 41c in postage, its value at purchase which never changes. Only the Forever stamps vary depending on the current class rate. You have a postage value of 62c on your cover, an overage of 15c.