Successfully Redeeming IRCs

I have always found it handy to quote, and show if necessary, the Postal Manual when having a "disagreement" with the Post Office. You probably will still have to ask for a supervisor or, if in a rural setting, the Post Master. Small towns are wonderful most of the time as you may know the Post Master or they, you, and they may actually work the counter.

Google 'Postal manual' to get listing of all things Postal or do a search on USPS.com (no that is NOT a typo...they use ".com" not '.gov'. Don't ask me why.).

Here is the resulting URL for IRC's frpm USPS.com;

https://pe.usps.com/imm_archive/html/imm_archive_20070514/imm/immc3.6.25.htm

 

The IRC, International Reply Coupon, was designed for aiding in QSL reply from third world countries with individual incomes make it hard to purchase international postage. Many Postal Clerks today do not have any idea of how to sell or exchange. Some offices will not have any on hand simply because of the lack of requests. I suggest asking supervisors or Postmasters to order a minimum quantity for your souvenir purchase.

I worked for nearly 40 years on the front line of the USPS and handled many transactions selling and exchanging IRC's. I spent many years in the hip pocket of experienced clerks watching, asking and learning. I noticed in my final several years 'new hires' did not wish to learn from an old pro. I and was even told to just keep my thoughts to myself. I didn't need to be told twice. It was an honor to serve each customer to the best of my ability as I just tried to set an example for the next generation.

 

I quit years ago with IRCs, green stamps work for me.

Fred AE2DX

 

I'm not sure how economical it is, but you can order them online from Swiss Post:

https://www.postshop.ch/en/Products...ts/International-reply-coupon-A181400?L=1&I=1

You'll probably save quite a bit of money buying them from a QSL manager.

 

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned him. For those who don't know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ponzi#Origin_of_the_term_"Ponzi_scheme"_and_IRC_scheme

Pyramid schemes come and go, and while IRCs are disappearing, something similar should be possible. Say, in the U.S. postage rates are going up in January. Now if we just get the cash to buy a few million dollars worth of forever stamps and hold them.....

 

Oops, fumbled this in twice.

 

and my problem is that I am receiving IRC's from expired years from foreign HAMS.
This is not very nice as they can't be redeemed at ALL. 73 de Alan, K6IPM

 

because the USPS is a special type of corporation and not a part of the US Government anymore. there's a special relationship there (like the Smithsonian, and the Presidio Trust) to the US Government, but it's not a part of the US Government anymore.

i, too, have had great success taking the relevant bit of the postal manual with me to the post awful when having to do stuff like this. it cuts on all the irrelevant chit chat with an unknowing counter staffer.

 

I'm lucky, for me is so easier then to buy a stamp. Last week I had 15 IRC's, went to the post office, trade it for stamps and gone 3 minutes transaction.
To all a very merry x-mas with all the love and health.
73
Eloy
CU3AK

 

Brad doesn't work at the Ames, Ia post office. I hadn't bought or redeemed any IRC's from the USPS in years and had about a dozen from a qsl manager to redeem and actually remembered to do this. The post office in our small town has not handled IRC's in the 24 years that we've lived here and i had gone to Ames in the past to purchase them. The postal worker at Ames that waited on me was polite and though he was unfamiliar with IRC's, apparently found someone that was and promptly exchanged the IRC's for Global Forever stamps.
I was told years ago that international postage is kind of a different thing and that normal "forever" stamps are for domestic use only. This probably is due to accounting for sales that the clearing house for the international postage sales (International Postal Union?) gets.
We have had some great people at our little post office.
73, Clay W0FS

 

YES INDEED there ARE "BRADS" in and UNFORTUNATELY EVERY occupation! IN FACT...it was THE CORE REASON I had to GET OUT of the commercial aircraft repair career! The BRADS of this world WERE KILLING ME...and some of them...the airlines were paying IN EXCESS OF $50.00 /hour for their collective services!!!

 

Cant buy IRC's here in Yarraman. Post Office workers never heard of them

 

I received one some years ago and my experience is recounted in a thread somewhere on this forum. Suffice it to say, the best advice I received was to send it off to someone else. I had an SASE from a ham in Sweden so I sent it to him as I recall! Best way for me to deal with it and hopefully he was able to use it.

 

Here in Brazil the Correios website (Brazil Postal Service) has a page dedicated to IRC (Cupom Resposta Internacional), where it informs that the coupons can be exchanged in the agencies type AC and AF only.

I searched but did not find the meaning for AC or AF agencies. My city has AC agencies and does not have AF agencies.

The coupon has an expiration date, can not be shaved, crumpled or folded to be changed.

I was just finishing this message when I noticed there is a warning on the IRC page:

Product Not Available

So, Brazilian hams can not buy IRCs!

I can not believe...

73
Pesce