[Dx-qsl] Re: Return Postage

[Bob Nielsen]

On Fri, Feb 25, 2005 at 09:51:29PM +0900, Kenji Rikitake JJ1BDX wrote:
> John, NT5C writes:
> > Sure makes the USPO worldwide airmail rate of 80c look like a bargain!
> 
> It is.
> 
> JA regular airmail rate for NA/EU: JPY110 (>USD1.00, <EUR1.00)
> (for a letter no heavier than 25 grams)
>    
> JA IRC price: JPY150 for 1IRC 
> 
> JA IRC exchange value for a Japan Post stamp: JPY130 for 1IRC
> (equivalent to the airmail letter (<= 25grams) rate for SA/AF)
> 
> It's not so easy to cash back USD1 bills (or Greenstamps) to JPY bills
> in Japan, unless you have *way many* USD1 bills, since banks here charge
> a lot of handling fee.  I've been caged in Japanese borders for 7 years,
> so the *one and only* purpose for exchanging JPYs to USDs is to send
> them for QSL cards, ham radio awards, and some ARRL goods :-)
> 
> I owe a ham who sent an Abraham Lincoln (USD5 bill) instead of a George
> Washington (USD1 bill) for (probably refunding my) return postage, for a
> recent ARRL Int'l DX 2005 CW contest pin order; I only had one USD5
> bill.  (USD5 bills are hard to exchange here, unless you pre-order them
> at a local large post office, because banks here in Osaka still don't
> have USD5 bills, though they have plenty of USD1 and USD10 bills.)
> 
> So if you ever send a SAE with return postage to me from somewhere
> abroad in NA/EU, 1IRC or USD2 are the best choice so far.

Probably US $2 bills should be avoided because they are somewhat rare 
even here!  2 X $1 would be easier to exchange.

Bob N7XY