Stand-up Talk for Retail Employees: Nondenominated IBI (“Hidden Postage”) Labels

The Postal Service offers many different online postage payment options for the convenience of our customers. Customers may chose Click-N-Ship (a USPS product) or an authorized PC Postage provider such as eBay (Pitney Bowes), Endicia, Stamps.com, or Pitney Bowes, Inc. This stand-up talk provides information regarding online labels (with printed information-based indicia (IBI) postage) so that you will be familiar with these postage labels — because many customers will bring packages with these labels affixed into Post Offices for mailing, especially dur­ing the holiday mailing season.

Some business mailers do not wish their customers (addressees) to see the amount of postage paid on a par­ticular item. The Postal Service allows customers who pro­duce postage labels through Click-N-Ship or another authorized PC Postage provider to print labels without reflecting the amount of postage in numeric format, similar to nondenominated postage stamps. On these labels, the postage amount paid is in the IBI barcode. This has been referred to as “stealth postage,” “hidden postage,” or, pref­erably, “nondenominated IBI.” Although the postage amount in numeric format is not visible for conventional visual postage verification, there is always a text descrip­tion of the type of postage paid printed as part of the indi­cia, which identifies the following:

• Mail class.
• Mailed-from ZIP Code.
• Weight.
• Any surcharge that was paid.

Zones may also appear in the indicia area (when appli­cable). See Exhibit 1 for an image of a label with nonde­nominated IBI postage.

Exhibit 1
Sample of Stamps.com Label With Nondenominated IBI

For all nondenominated IBI pieces, if the item being shipped matches the description in the text portion of the indicia, then assume the correct postage has been paid.

Nondenominated IBI is available on Priority Mail items with electronic no-fee Delivery Confirmation service, Pack­age Services items with Delivery Confirmation service, and Express Mail items. Nondenominated IBI cannot be printed reflecting First-Class Mail letter rates or flat rates, so it should not appear on letters or large envelopes.

Please note that nondenominated IBI is available with Click-N-Ship service on international mail only (Express Mail International and Priority Mail International). It is not available on domestic Click-N-Ship labels. For additional information, see the article titled “Hidden Postage Indicia” in Postal Bulletin 22208 (6-7-07, pages 86–87).

Remember: For all nondenominated IBI pieces, if the item being shipped matches the description in the text por­tion of the indicia, then assume the correct postage has been paid. Please accept these pieces in the same manner as any other PC Postage product. If a nondenominated IBI label appears to be photocopied or not original, please con­tact your supervisor and/or Postal Inspector.