This Cannot Be Legit?

Very surprised to see this pop up as a random add on my browser. Two rolls of 100 first class stamps for $44.49? usdiscountstamps.com? They have a whole page of bargain offers for lots of up to 10,000 stamps, rolls of flag stamps, and some others. Anyone dealt with these folks?

Someone stealing stamps from their employer .

The liberal use of the USPS logo, USPS Post Office photos and photos of other US stamp NOT for sale are there to mislead. This is not associated with the USPS. Furthermore a review of the stamps offered up to 53% off face plus another "instant 8% discount on orders over $40 seem to be of designs known to be counterfeited in large quantities.

While so theft of stamp stock could find it way here, most likely these are counterfeit offerings.

That said, order a roll of 100 and if you get a roll with no plate number, then you know they are counterfeit and it is a crime to use them.

Very high probability of counterfeit stamps.

<<<<<That said, order a roll of 100 and if you get a roll with no plate number, then you know they are counterfeit and it is a crime to use them.>>>>>

Just one small thing wrong with this statement. Most fake/counterfeit stamps (coils) are done very well and DO have plate numbers!


Peter

They're counterfeits from China. The marketplace is being flooded with them. You can't legitimately get a discount on forever stamps beyond the low one offered by places like Costco. Otherwise, it's a scam, likely aimed at destabilizing the U.S. postal system.

No from what I have seen, others reported and Scott does not list coil plate numbers under their counterfeit listing which if existing are worthy of a reference. That said the fakes don't react to UV light in the manner of officially issued stamps, but how many common collectors have UV lights?


"Well, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the postal service, has said that if you see a deal on postage stamps that's 'too good to pass up?' — say half off — the stamps are 'probably counterfeit.'"

"In other words, the inspection service said, turning to an old adage about skepticism and thrift: 'If you see an online offer for stamps that seems too good to be true, it probably is.'"

The above is right on point with the discounted sales prices the website lists.

Groans....noise from the end of the mailing stamp era.

"Just one small thing wrong with this statement. Most fake/counterfeit stamps (coils) are done very well and DO have plate numbers!"

"No from what I have seen, others reported and Scott does not list coil plate numbers under their counterfeit listing which if existing are worthy of a reference."

I don't know about the most recent/current counterfeits, but a few and only a few of past counterfeit did have had plate numbers. Ome example is 5158(CF2) which is noted in Scott as being "the first mint counterfeit coil stamp found with a plate number (B1111)". (which begs the question was an earlier one found used?

"That said the fakes don't react to UV light in the manner of officially issued stamps, but how many common collectors have UV lights?"

I can't verify this myself (and I'm not slogging my way thru the bloated listings in Scott), but I think I have heard that at least one counterfeit has been found to be tagged. But in general, the vast majority are untagged. Problem is, for the past 15 or so years, many legit US stamps have so much optical brighteners that the hi-brite response often overwhelms the tagging response and they look bluish-white instead of yellow green under SWUV, so it could be had to see the difference under SWUV between a legit stamp and a counterfeit on hi-brite paper.

Until recently you could go on Alibaba and find manufacturers of fake Forever stamps from China. They are all gone now. Not out of business but no longer brazenly operating in the open. These are not backroom operations but rather they are large manufacturers with the latest printing technology and equipment in modern facilities. They have moved beyond Forever flag stamps to high value Priority Mail stamps and all the commemoratives that are issued. The USPS is losing hundreds of millions per year and IMO this counterfeiting is not sustainable. I would posit that fake stamps are not high on the diplomatic list of topics to work on, but Fentanyl does not seem to be on the list either. Anybody home?

I honestly think it is sustainable, depending on why it's being done. The people in China that are counterfeiting stamps, they're likely not doing it to make money, they're doing it with the full help and support of the Chinese government to destabilize the governments of the west. Keep in mind, it isn't just the U.S. this is happening in. Canada, the UK, Germany and France are all seeing massive increases in counterfeit stamps.

It is a stretch to say counterfeit stamps are likely to have a destabilizing effect on the US government. If it was counterfeit $20 bills, it would be a much more serious problem.

Agreed. The comments about destabilizing the West are a very big stretch of the imagination. It is a problem ... agreed. But we have more problems with our own citizens destabilizing our democracy than theft of our postal system.

I have to say that it dosent seem like to US government cares one way or another. These are openedly offered on eBay, the web, and elsewhere. It shouldn't take much to drive it underground. Order s few, and arrest the sender! Dosent seem like the postal service cares. I have filled out online complaints many times. (In fact, one of my first posts on this board was about this). Same sellers still in businesses.