How does the USPS deal with excess postage?

[Colibri]

@alphaboi867

If some puts say two 39¢ stamps on an envelope instead of a single 41¢ stamp or a 39¢ and a 2¢ stamps will the US Postal Service still deliver it?

They will try to, but the letter will go almost twice as far as it was supposed to, and somebody else will get it. So don’t do it.

[Moirai]

Reusing uncancelled stamps is actually much easier now that the USPS has gone to self-sticking stamps instead of the ones you lick. They come right back off of most letters, even if they’ve been on there for a week.

The trick is to peel the envelope away from the stamp, rather than the stamp away from the envelope.

Say, I’m not in trouble now, am I?

[JSexton]

@Colibri

They will try to, but the letter will go almost twice as far as it was supposed to, and somebody else will get it. So don’t do it.

Stamps aren’t for distance, they’re for weight. So they’ll need to pour some postal sand in the envelope to make it weight enough to be worth 82 cents.

[UncleRojelio]

@JSexton

Stamps aren’t for distance, they’re for weight. So they’ll need to pour some postal sand in the envelope to make it weight enough to be worth 82 cents.

Don’t they still use the traditional white postal powder, or was that getting too confusing?

[Telemark]

Groucho: Ms Dimple, mail this letter for me.

Ms Dimple: But it doesn’t have a stamp on it.

Groucho: Just drop it in the post box when no one is looking.

Ms Dimple: Besides, this letter is too heavy, it’ll need an extra stamp.

Groucho: Don’t be silly, that’ll just make it heavier.

[Bryan_Ekers]

Reminds me of a “Tippy Turtle” cartoon (remember him?) in which he builds a balsa-wood box around a helium balloon and tries to mail it. When it floats, registering negative weight, he demands payment.

[Sapo]

@Bryan Ekers

Reminds me of a “Tippy Turtle” cartoon (remember him?) in which he builds a balsa-wood box around a helium balloon and tries to mail it. When it floats, registering negative weight, he demands payment.

very funny.

Size might kick in, though, and still cost money. I guess it would depend on how big it would really need to be and what service was being used.

[DrDeth]

@panache45

Cite? Are you seriously saying that if I put a stamp on an envelope, then decide not to mail it, it’s illegal for me to remove the stamp and apply it to another envelope?

I don’t know about if you decide not to mail it, but I went down to the PO one day and had put three stamp on a fat envelope. Since there just happened to be no line, I had them weight it, and it turned out I had “overpaid” by a satmp and a few pennies. So, I said “Hey I’ll just pry this one extra stamp of” and the PO worker said 'Sorry, I can’t let you do that. Once you have turned it over, we can’t let you take stamps off."

[Chronos]

Size might kick in, though, and still cost money. I guess it would depend on how big it would really need to be and what service was being used.

Remember, the first stamp covers up to one ounce. So the range from (-infinity,1] still costs (currently) 41 cents.

There are also charges based on the size of the package, as defined (for what reason, I know not) as length plus girth.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

How do they handle excess postage? Simple.

They sell you more stamps sooner, because you run out sooner. It’s sort of like a win-win for them.

[Skywatcher]

@Pygmy Rugger

Other “warning signs” I remember off the top of my head are: protruding wires, leaky or oily package, misspelled address and/or wrong titles, lumpy envelopes, and strange smells.

Also excess packaging materials.

I used to work in a mail room. No bombs but plenty of hate mail for Chairman Hodsoll.