On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 18:13:47 +0100, Brian Morrison put finger to
keyboard and typed:

Mark Goodge wrote:

Except that they're not unique if they can be printed multiple times.

The barcode is unique to the purchase. Once scanned on its way through
the postal system, it will generate an error if scanned in again and
hence prevent re-use of the same code.

Yes, but with the inconvenience on the addressee rather than the sender.

They can refuse to accept it.

I'm also suspicious that it makes it easier to connect a specific letter
with the sender since RM will have records of who bought which bar
codes. I'm temperamentally unsuited to such "improvements".

That is true, but it's true of all franked (as opposed to stamped)
mail. All this service is is one-off franking - making available to
the individual consumer a service that has been available to business
customers for a long time. Calling it "online stamps" is a misnomer,
it isn't a stamp at all in the usual sense (and hence complaints[1]
about it not having the Queen's head on, or being bad for
philatelists, are entirely missing the point).

[1] See http://tinyurl.com/g7nx9 - the Daily Mail declined to approve
my comment!

Mark
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