Re-using stamps

[Megan]

Originally Posted by wrreck

If we catch it you'll have your mail delayed because it will be returned to you, no matter how far along in the delivery path it is caught. It might make it all the way to it's destination, only to be found and returned. Now, if you put that reused stamp on your credit card bill and you have to pay a late payment plus higher interest rates due to your letter being delayed, is it really worth it just to save yourself 42 cents? I think not.

Great point! And thanks for your work as a letter carrier! I know how much of a thankless that job can be, but I know that I very much appreciate what you do.

[purplefdu]

lol, it really tickles me pink when I read about people thinking they are pulling a fast one on old Uncle Sam. Has history not taught you that eventually he catches on and then you must pay your dues and then some?

POSTAL INSPECTORS Postal Inspectors, like the FBI agents, get their man or woman, as the case may be. Do you need a postal inspector? The postal inspector(s) closest to you can be found by going to the Inspection Service Office Locator at http://www.framed.usps.com/ncsc/locators/find-is.html and typing in your (zip code) or (city and state). If you go to (http://www.framed.usps.com/postalins...s/newsmenu.htm ), you will find citations to news articles about the success stories of postal inspectors who "got their man/woman". Did you ever peel off an uncancelled postage stamp off an envelope just received in the mail, and use that stamp again? If so, you have committed a federal crime!!! Per the Postal Poster Warning! Reusing Postage (a pdf file), which cites U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 471and 1720 it is illegal to "Reuse a postage stamp whether cancelled or not". It is also a crime to attempt to remove cancellation marks from postage stamps ( http://www.framed.usps.com/cpim/ftp/posters/pos5.pdf ). This Poster is part of the "Postal Publications" link at the Postal Inspectors’ home page (http://www.framed.usps.com/postalinspectors/ ). Postage stamp reuse is hurts the postal service revenue, but most people are concerned with electronic and paper mail fraud and problems which impact them. "How to get off mailing lists", Junk e-mail", Identity theft", "Didn’t get what you ordered" and "Senior sweepstakes victims" are some of the examples of mail fraud (links) found at the Inspection Service "Mail Fraud" web page http://www.framed.usps.com/postalins...ud/welcome.htm .web page.

http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0105.html

Dated 2001. can't imagine he's decided he wants to let it go on since then with the rise in postal rates....

[Greg]

Even if it's hard/impossible to be caught... is it even worth the time/effort?

Let's say I'm looking to reuse a $0.42 stamp. If I'm earning minimum wage ($6.55), I earn that 42 cents in a little less than 4 minutes.

So, if it takes you less than 4 minutes to reuse a stamp (legalities aside), it's worth the effort.

[purplefdu]

With that thinking anything that makes more than you could earn in the same amount of time is worth the effort...should we start snatching purses as well? Cause I can imagine the town I live near I could make a couple hundred in those four minutes and face similar charges if caught...the point of the discussion is the legalities not the frugalness. Its the thrill of "putting one over on the man" not saving .42

[s99]

Originally Posted by Greg

Let's say I'm looking to reuse a $0.42 stamp. If I'm earning minimum wage ($6.55), I earn that 42 cents in a little less than 4 minutes.

So, if it takes you less than 4 minutes to reuse a stamp (legalities aside), it's worth the effort.

Are you suggesting that the best solution is to do this while at work so that you earn an extra $0.42 on top of your wages!


Now I'm not sure if this is an urban legend, but I remember reading that some stamps are marked with a UV pen. This allows them to track and catch people who do this.

[jmarti22]

Is that what the black markings on the stamps mean? That they have been used and that they can track you down?

[ConcreteDoll]

I haven't done it out of lazyness. But I have thought about it. I think most of my mail has markings on the stamp anyway.

[Julie Rains]

I used to collect stamps and am familiar with removing stamps from letters but only to behold their beauty afterward. Cool but time-consuming; not something I do now.

[AlmostFrugal]

I don't advocate reusing stamps that have already gone through the mail, that's fraud and illegal. BUT, if you have a stamp on an envelope which obviously hasn't gone through the mail, you can take it to the Post Office and they'll exchange it for you. For example: when I was getting married I put stamps on all the self addressed stamped return cards... but I did too many. So I took them back to the post office and they gave me fresh stamps in return. I'm not sure if this is still applicable, as this was 12 years ago, but I saved about $20 at the time.

[redsoxmaniac]

The post office is already seriously in the red. How else can you send something 3000 miles. Try driving it. Best to suck it up and pay the 42 cents or else we'll all eventually be dealing with a privatized snail mail system and if its anything like FedEx or Brown me thinks you'll be paying a lot more than 42 cents to send your mom a birthday card.