Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
  • You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • The Retevis Holidays giveaway winner has been selected! Check Here to see who won!

IRC

EDUK8TR

EDUK8TR

Active Member
Apr 6, 2005
930
39
38
West Central Highlands, VA
s1339.photobucket.com
I feel the need to rant:cursing: today so bear with me. I spent over an hour and a half yesterday trying to redeem an IRC (International Reply Coupon) at my local USPS Office. My first attempt resulted in only being turned away saying they had never seen one and didn't know what to do with it. Something I took in stride due to the little town that I live in. This resulted in a search and query at the USPS website which described what an IRC was but provided no help in redemption protocol that I could take back to the local office. I then called customer service and again no real help except that I call a main office long distance for aide. They were nice and told me to take the IRC back to the local office, along with their number and have the clerk call said number and they would walk them through the process. So, I did. Even then they couldn't get their software to accept payment via the IRC. There was nothing in there that would match up. After the 90 min:cursing: wait the postmaster finally intervened and told the clerk to accept the IRC as payment at the rate of 1 oz postage and sent me on my way. I sure hope my QSL card actually makes it to the SWL listener who requested it in Finland.

OK I'm done with my rant now.:redface:

Wayne C.
WV4L
 

After you telling us about the IRC the other night I wondered how they would redeem them. I've heard about them being used but never knew what was involved.
 
Last time I asked for IRC's at the post office I got a blank "Radio Shack" type stare from the attendant.The three people working the counter had never heard of an IRC.The Post Master found them after a ten minute search and told me that these were the first he sold in close to five years.
 
IMD262 said:
Last time I asked for IRC's at the post office I got a blank "Radio Shack" type stare from the attendant.The three people working the counter had never heard of an IRC.The Post Master found them after a ten minute search and told me that these were the first he sold in close to five years.
Click to expand...

At least you were dealing with the purchase of a US IRC, which are great if you want to make sure you get a return QSL. I was dealing with trying to redeem a Finnish IRC that was written in Finnish and had every language on the back except English.:confused1:
FYI, when sending a QSL card to a foreign country don't put any call signs on the envelope. It is known that some unscrupulous postal clerks in some countries troll for these types of mail because they know they may contain some type of enumeration for return postage and pocket the $$.:scared:

73

Wayne C.
WV4L
 
FYI, when sending a QSL card to a foreign country don't put any call signs on the envelope. It is known that some unscrupulous postal clerks in some countries troll for these types of mail because they know they may contain some type of enumeration for return postage and pocket the $$
Click to expand...

Good advice Wayne.
 
I seem to recall seeing something being different about IRCs in the last few months. No idea where it was, or what it was now, but I think I would not count on them being around for much longer. It could have been just some more problems redeeming them, but I think it was something 'more' than that.
I'm not about to try telling you how to do QSLing. But, using the various 'buro's sort of makes sense/cents. I figure it's just a matter of time before the 'paper' QSLs are history anyway. The 'electronic' kind are going to be much more accepted.
- 'Doc
 
Another one of my hobbies is Fly Fishing, which in turn leads one naturally to Fly Tying, well during the winter, typically I participate in Fly Swaps, a set number of individuals Tye a Fly for each person in the swap, and send it to the SwapMeister, who distributes one to each, and returns in an SASE. Ok, enough of the lengthy explanation...

Anyhow, quite often we have a participant in a foreign country, and these IRCs are complete garbage, if they are even accepted, many times the recipient ends up paying additional postage, or other problems. I was told it has to do with the postal service having issues collecting payment for the IRC.

Don't think anyone has ever come up with a decent solution besides, Paying the person either with currency in the mailed article, or PayPal. Definitely a PITA....
 
If you understand how to use IRC's and your local post office is halfways competent then IRC's are a good thing. Most people think that one IRC is good for return airmail postage from wherever in the world. Not so. One IRC will send a letter surface mail, basically a "slow boat from China" sort of thing, from almost anywhere in the world. It takes at least two IRC's for airmail. I have both sent and received IRC's and never had a problem except for the first time when I had to show the local postmaster where to stamp it. :biggrin:

They are not a cheap way to pay for postage but sometimes it makes the difference between getting that rare QSL or not.

An IRC primer.

N6HB: An INTERNATIONAL REPLY COUPON Primer
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.


      Top Bottom