Collecting 40 cents Ma'am

The oddest thing occurred to me today. Well, not really me. My sister, since she answered the door first. The postman came to our door to collect 40 cents for postage due on two envelopes.

It all started a couple weeks ago when I was bidding ferociously for vintage stamps. Just a little something to perk up my mailings. I bid and won two auctions from the same seller for vintage stamps from around the world.

They took a long time to come, but, today, they finally arrived. Why it took the USPS an entire week to send a first class envelope from Nevada to California is beyond my comprehension. It wasn't heavy. It wasn't a real package. It was just a thick envelope of old postage stamps. Go figure.

My biggest surprise was seeing the postman at our door asking us for 40 cents. That has never ever happened to us before. In the past, if any mail was missing postage, it would be sent back to the sender before I'd ever receive anything. Is this a new policy?

It doesn't seem like an effective policy change. It slows down the mail carrier's route by having to walk up to the door, ring the doorbell, wait for anyone to answer the door, and then collect money, before continuing his/her route. And what if the mail I am paying for was junk mail? Or unwanted, unsolicited mail? Why would I pay for that? Shouldn't it be the sender's responsibility to affix proper postage? Gee... am I now able to send mail to friends with a 5 cent stamp and let them pick up the rest of the tab? Doesn't seem like the best way to do things.

However, at the end of the day, I'm not too upset over losing 40 cents. I'll live. It's the irony that kills me and gives me cause to laugh. My package of postage stamps lacked the necessary postage to get to me. Postage for postage! Get it? Oh, how it kills me still. :)