Rule change could see mail with counterfeit stamps go in trash

Late last year, I wrote about the scourge of counterfeit Forever stamps flooding various online marketplaces. Although priced well below face value, such listings are usually (if not always) for counterfeit stamps, and I’ve encouraged my readers to steer clear of such offerings.

If you’ve been on the fence about that idea, maybe a proposed rule change from the United States Postal Service will help change your mind. Barring any unexpected retraction of the change, the Domestic Mail Manual will be revised to reflect that, beginning April 1, “mail bearing counterfeit postage will be considered abandoned and disposed of at the discretion of the Postal Service.”

Yes, you read that correctly. Use counterfeit stamps, knowingly or unknowingly, and if your mail is caught, it goes in the trash without ever reaching its intended destination.

On one hand, I kind of like this idea. The USPS has received no payment for transporting or delivering mail with counterfeit stamps attached, so why should we expect them to do so? It would be like going into a store and handing the cashier an obviously fake $100 bill and expecting them to hand your purchase to you with a smile and no questions asked.

On the other hand…I’m guessing most people who buy discounted Forever stamps online aren’t aware that they’re purchasing counterfeit goods, and they’ll be mad that their mail didn’t get where it was supposed to go while they received no notification that there was even a problem.

Besides that, a lot of mail with counterfeit stamps currently seems to get to where it’s addressed without being assessed postage due, which suggests to me that either the USPS employees handling such mail either a) don’t notice or less likely b) don’t care. In that respect, I don’t know how much the proposed rule change will save the Postal Service vs. the potential lost good will of its customers.

It certainly seems like a sticky situation. What do you think of the proposed change?

Published 2023-02-18