Comment by alias_neo

Comment by alias_neo 15 hours ago

21 replies

> but ordering stamps... on eBay

OP was ordering US stamps to include _in_ the letter, on an SAE (self-addressed envelope) they were sending _from_ the UK, so that the FSF could reply (from the US) using said stamps.

As a millennial myself, I have no idea where else I'd look for <recipient country> stamps should I want to include them on a SAE I was sending to said country, so that they recipient wouldn't incur the cost of replying to me.

I don't find looking on eBay particularly strange, though I'd do a quick search for alternatives first.

Someone 15 hours ago

> I have no idea where else I'd look for <recipient country> stamps should I want to include them on a SAE I was sending to said country

I would try to buy them online from their post office. For the USA, there is https://www.usps.com/business/postage-options.htm:

“Print Labels Online with Click-N-Ship

With your free USPS.com account, you can pay for postage and print just one label or a batch of shipping labels online”

Germany has (https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/germany-news/deutsche-pos...):

“You simply need to open the app, select the appropriate postage service, tick “Code for labelling” (Code zum Beschriften), and pay with PayPal. You will then immediately receive a code, consisting of the letters #PORTO and an eight-digit string, which you must write in pen in the top right-hand corner of the envelope or postcard. Then, just pop it in the post box, and you’re done! The code is valid for 14 days and can only be used for Germany-bound mail.”

That 14-day limit may not be a good idea for this use case.

  • seabass-labrax 10 hours ago

    The Deutsche Post '#PORTO' method does not apply to international shipments, unfortunately. However, you can still purchase barcode labels online for printing, and conventional stamps are simply values in Euro cents so can be used for both domestic and international deliveries.

    In addition, the 14-day limit no longer applies. Deutsche Post were challenged in court, and the digital stamps must now last for as long as conventional stamps do:

    https://nrwe.justiz.nrw.de/olgs/koeln/j2023/3_U_148_22_Urtei...

  • mvdtnz 10 hours ago

    I just priced a stamp to send to New Zealand using that USPS website and it came to over USD$20 so that's not a realistic option. To be fair I had to take some guesses with weight (what the fuck is an ounce and how many letters fit into one?) and dimensions (they don't have units on that website, so I guess my letter is 6x3 whatevers).

  • Suppafly 13 hours ago

    that honestly seems more complicated and likely to fail than just buying the correct stamps on ebay.

mjevans 15 hours ago

Offhand, I don't think I've ever mailed an International letter or package.

Is return postage something that, normally, my local post office would help me with? E.G. do they have some method of marking or adding post to a package that would be accepted globally (or at least within the destination country)?

  • Symbiote 15 hours ago

    That's the International Reply Coupon mentioned in the article, but it's not supported by all countries.

    I think I've sent far more international letters and parcels than domestic. Christmas cards for elderly relatives in the country I was born in, and postcards when I travelled abroad.

    Some obscure things I sold on eBay were mostly sent abroad.

    • mjevans 10 hours ago

      """

      United Kingdom

      The Royal Mail stopped selling IRCs on 31 December 2011[26] due to a lack of demand. United States

      The United States Postal Service stopped selling international reply coupons on 27 January 2013.[27]

      """

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reply_coupon#Uni...

      That explains why I was confounded in my efforts to search within USPS results.

  • dl9999 11 hours ago

    I send $3 U.S. with QSL (ham radio) cards. It seems like everybody is able to convert that to local currency to cover postage.

  • ahazred8ta 15 hours ago

    -

    • Lex-2008 14 hours ago

      yep, article also mentions them:

      > I was disappointed to find out that the UK’s Royal Mail discontinued international reply coupons in 2011. The only alternative that I could think of was to buy some US stamps.

mytailorisrich 15 hours ago

Sure but, on the other hand, this was overly kind of him. In general, unless it is explicitely requested that you must provide a stamped envelope for the reply the assumption of snail mail is that each side pays for its own envelopes and stamps.

  • palata 15 hours ago

    And you could also put a dollars bill in the envelope?

    • wongarsu 14 hours ago

      How to get accountants to hate you in one easy step

    • FeepingCreature 15 hours ago

      From the UK...?

      • dmurray 12 hours ago

        Perhaps a couple of grams of silver?

      • [removed] 14 hours ago
        [deleted]
      • pansa2 14 hours ago

        The Post Office will sell you US currency, but AFAIK not US stamps.