Mark ~ I didn't know about stamps.com, however it seems that the postage has to be used on the day of printing so, in this particular case, it won't work I'm afraid. But good to know about it. Thank you very much for the offer of being a go-between - in other circs that's exactly what I'd want but Paul Howes has already volunteered to provide a solution. I should have guessed that GOONs would come up trumps...and in double quick time! best Anne H. 1020 LYFORD & spamalot On 4.2.15 21:16, Mark Bunch wrote: > Hi Ann, > > > You can print your own U.S. postage via stamps.com, but I'm not sure how you would calculate the correct amount -- just go a bit overboard, I guess. Otherwise, would you be willing to have a 3rd party stateside serve as a go-between? I'd be more than willing to do that (only because you said "Pythonesque"), even though I'm about as far away from Massachusetts as you can get outside of Alaska and Hawaii. > > > -Mark Bunch > > Othello, Washington, USA > > GOONS #6223 > > ---------------------------------------- >> Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2015 20:58:36 +0000 >> To: GOONS@rootsweb.com >> Subject: [G] Massachusetts marriage >> From: goons@rootsweb.com >> >> >> >> I have a Pythonesque problem getting details of a marriage from >> the City Clerk’s office in XXX,Massachusetts & wondered if anyone >> has hit similar, & whether they found an answer. Bear in mind that >> I live in the UK. >> >> FEES: The fee is $20 & should be paid using cash or a money order. >> No personal cheques are acceptable. I offered to pay via Visa but >> that’s not acceptable. I offered PayPay (and I would bear the cost >> of the charges which usually accrue to the recipient) but that’s not >> acceptable either. Mentally resigned myself to getting the dollars. >> >> POSTAGE: Subsequently I was told that I must provide “a self >> addressed pre paid envelope”. >> I explained that the website of the US Embassy in London >> says”"There is no retail outlet for U.S. stamps in the UK". >> I offered to pay the postage costs by adding extra dollars to the >> amount I would be sending. That’s not acceptable..... “The City of >> XXX does not have the means to send mail to England.” >> >> To get around the thorny postage problem I asked if the item could >> be scanned & sent as an attachment to an email....guess what - >> they “can not send Vital Records via email”! >> >> The one pro-active suggestion made by this department was that >> they had a mailer who used FEDEX. Not being familiar with >> Fedex I’ve pottered around their website, but think I must >> (surely!) have misunderstood the calculation process as it appears >> to be quoting US$56 or $81 depending on urgency. >> >> Ideas anyone??? >> >> best >> Anne H. >> 1020 Lyford >> >> >> _____________________________________________ >> >> RootsWeb lists - surnames, regions, software, etc http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GOONS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >