$100? Can I pay you in Bugs Bunny stamps?

September 29, 2006 6:15 AM

Are stamps a legal form of currency?

I saw this ad in the back of a magazine that said, "in lieu of funds, subscribers can send stamps as payment." Although this may be a way to cover costs, I would have to send in the sum total of the subscription cost in stamps, as though I were paying with actual money. I know the mag wants at least something in lieu of cash.

But are there other places that willingly accept postage as a form of legal currency?

Is there law to back this up?

What is the government's position on stamps as a replacement for money?

posted by parmanparman to work & money (16 comments total)

Remember, that in a free society, you don't need a law expressly permitting you to do something. Why on earth would this be against the law? Why would the government have a position?

The only relevant legal matter I can offer here is that income from barter (which is what this is) is still taxable in the U.S.
posted by grouse at 6:21 AM on September 29, 2006

Stamps are not currency meaning that people do not have to take them as if they were money. However the fact that stamps have a money value associated with them means that many people -- especially people who have to send a lot of mail -- are willing to accept them because they know they can use them for the face value. So, while I could say "I'll accept bottle caps as payment" fewer people are willing to do that because of the fluctuation in the value of bottlecaps (or relative worthlessness of them). Accepting stamps is similar to accepting subway tokens or something that has a fixed value associated with it, even if it's not money itself.

This is an interesting thing, actually, you can find unusued postage stamps on Ebay for less than face value, especially being sold by people in Canada or other places where the stamps are basically worthless except as something to be sold. As someone who sends a lot of mail, I find that I save money buying stamps online, even when I figure shipping costs in. A lot of people who exchange zines will take stamps for all or some of the purchase/sale price. If you're going to be taking the money you get and buying stamps with it anyhow, this saves time, and as grouse implies, may be a smalltimey tax dodge.
posted by jessamyn at 6:34 AM on September 29, 2006

zines used to do this all the time.
posted by Alt F4 at 6:56 AM on September 29, 2006

oops.
posted by Alt F4 at 6:57 AM on September 29, 2006

Some of the utility companies around here (Pennsylvania) will use them to pay the balance of your account if you move.
posted by Alison at 6:58 AM on September 29, 2006

Of course, just because something is currency, it doesn't mean you have to accept it either. You are within your rights to refuse a $100 bill for payment of something. Now if someone owes you $100 for a debt that has already been incurred (not a transaction you are undergoing now) then you must accept a valid $100 bill as it is legal tender.

Of course here in the UK, there are various bits of currency (such as Scottish banknotes) which are not legal tender, but people will accept them for payment anyway.
posted by grouse at 7:02 AM on September 29, 2006

@grouse: I actually had someone (a right tool) refuse a scottish banknote when I was visiting a friend in Shepard's Bush a few years back - I was pretty angry at that.

Stamps as payment is not as prevalent as it was some time ago in the U.S. - if you go back and look at classified adverts in the back of old copies of magazines and the like you'll see a lot of them mention stamps as payment. Lately though, you're more likely to see a statement to the contrary (something like "we don't accept stamps") than one permitting stamps as payment.
posted by sablazo at 7:15 AM on September 29, 2006

About five years ago, I paid the fee at a parking ramp using stamps, since I was completely cashless at the time. The attendant found it quite amusing.
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:20 AM on September 29, 2006

I think stamps are *almost* currency. I have been told that you can take unused stamps back to the Post Office and exchange them for face value in cash.

Stamps aren't very durable, and can be cancelled, so they're not very GOOD currency. But they otherwise fulfill the major function of currency... being a portable representation of value that can be exchanged for goods and services. It just (sometimes) takes an extra stop at the Post Office.
posted by Malor at 7:28 AM on September 29, 2006

I have been told that you can take unused stamps back to the Post Office and exchange them for face value in cash.

Here are the rules. (And there are a lot of rules).
posted by grouse at 7:37 AM on September 29, 2006

Nobody is obligated to take stamps as currency. I assume the reason the magazine is offering this is some sort of way to avoid paying taxes. The stamps don't have to be placed in a bank account which means they will not show up on tax forms as income. I can't believe too many people take advantage of this as a method of payment so any benefit would be minimal but it probably saves them a special trip to the post office.
posted by JJ86 at 8:27 AM on September 29, 2006

I remember when I was a kid UK Postal Orders would sometimes have one or two stamps added to them to make up amount. So if you were buying something that cost £5.12, the £5 postal order would have 12p worth of stamps stuck onto it. I have no idea if this practice still continues.
posted by essexjan at 9:06 AM on September 29, 2006

Stamps aren't very durable, and can be cancelled, so they're not very GOOD currency.

They also depreciate in value as postal rates rise. However, the post office is now offering some kind of $0.40 stamp that is good no matter how high rates rise, which should tell you something about the future the post office expects.
posted by sonofsamiam at 9:12 AM on September 29, 2006

They also depreciate in value as postal rates rise.

Yeah, but a 22 cent stamp is still going to be worth 22 cents even if it now costs more to send a letter.
posted by grouse at 10:12 AM on September 29, 2006

I understand they are quite popular as currency in prisons.
posted by Megafly at 12:07 PM on September 29, 2006

Here's Cecil Adams' take on the issue from, uh, 25 years ago.
posted by Ian A.T. at 2:24 AM on October 1, 2006