Forever Stamps - Why Buy Anything Else?
I read the news yesterday that the price of stamps is going up by a penny in May to $0.42. It seems like the price just went up to $0.41 not that long ago, but honestly, I don’t quite remember when it happened, so it could have been a while back. As I get older time seems to go by faster.
When the price of stamps went up the last time, a new stamp was introduced called the Forever Stamp. The idea is, you buy this stamp (it has a Liberty Bell on it) and it will always be worth the first class postage rate, no matter how much that rate goes up in the future. When they came out, I bought two books of them (40 stamps total), and since the only bill I pay with a stamp generally is my mortgage, I still have about 30 of them left. Hmm… I think that means it has been less than a year since the rate went up. Well, either that or I had some old stamps to use up first.
My question is, why does the post office even make stamps denominated with the actual first class rate any more? Do people still buy $0.41 stamps vs buying Forever stamps? Is it really worth risking the price changing and having to buy additional postage to have pretty stamps on your mail? There’s even a Jury Duty stamp - does the post office really sell a lot of those? I have a cost-cutting suggestion for the USPS - stop paying to produce stamps no one will use. Just simplify and streamline and only make Forever stamps for the first class rate. Then maybe you won’t have to raise the rates all the time.
Maybe I should go buy another book of Forever stamps before the rate goes up… For all the ways the post office generally annoys me, I’ll give them this one thing. I wish I could guarantee my other forms of money would be worth the same in the future as they are today like I can those stamps. Well, unless the USPS changes its mind.
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February 13th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Actually, all those different kinds of stamps generate profit for the post office because collectors buy them then don’t use the service that they pay for so essentially they are subsidizing your stamps, over $100 million a year.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
As far as I can tell, they sell most of their stamps these days to collectors. And it’s quite profitable for them because most of the stamps sold never get redeemed for actual postal service.
I agree that the Forever stamp suddenly looks like a great idea. They probably keep bumping up the price of postage just to sell more of them - the price to purchase them rises when the rates rise, so there will likely be a run on them this month.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Wow, Liz
I didn’t realize stamp collecting was that big! I guess I’m glad it is if it keeps costs down.
paidtwice, I totally agree with you about the postal service just using the Forever Stamp. It makes a lot of sense since they seem to be *constantly* changing the rates. Grrr! I use a ton of stamps at work, so it’s really frustrating to have to buy a bunch of penny stamps to add to everything when the rate change happens. Government! *sigh*
February 13th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I am going to have to look into how big stamp collecting is. My step-grandfather was a philatelist and I did a fair amount of auction-hunting in my teens for him, and it seems like $100 million is a really high number. But who knows - people collect anything.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
The post office prints the majority of its stamp variety for collectors, actually. They don’t intend lots of these stamps to be used but know that they will sell a certain volume of each stamp because of the collector market. That is the reason we still have the regular (non-self-adhesive) kind of stamp around. Because the self-adhesive stamps are not as collectable as they can’t be mounted properly.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Looks like the price change will go into effect on May 12. The USPS page you referenced says that “we will adjust our mailing services prices each May”, so it will be a year by time that rolls around.
I generally would agree that there are lots of useless stamps. With one exception though. I bought a couple of sheets of Star Wars stamps when they were available a couple years ago. There was something fun about using them whenever I sent something to somebody that I knew. Its not everyday that you get a piece of mail with Darth Vader or Yoda in the corner
February 13th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I’ve read, and I can try to track down the source, that inflation rates make these stamps a really bad idea. I know it seems like they change the rate constantly, but they don’t all that often, and according to what I read, not enough to make these flat rate stamps worth your while. (Although they relieve the annoyance of using multiple stamps to make up the difference after a hike . . .)
February 13th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Okay, so RC, what you are saying is I shouldn’t go stock up on 1000 forever stamps.
But I don’t think they’re a bad idea - if you are buying the same amount you would anyway, buying these vs buying a $0.41 stamp means that the ones left over after a rate hike don’t have to be supplemented with more $.
I will admit I want to buy a whole ton of them. I don’t think enough about inflation, generally.
Okay… bring out the commenters who love Jury Duty stamps!!
February 13th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
You are assuming that a government run agency is looking for ways to spend money wisely. Not going to happen.
The best way for postal service to improve and come down in price is for the USPS to go out of business and allow the free market to set prices. I bet there are all kinds of PS employees who could figure out how to keep the price of a stamp lower - if there was an incentive to do so.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
My last batch of stamps were 41-centers, because I saw they had Yoda stamps, and I like Yoda. I only have a few left, though, and I’ll definitely have used them all before the rate jumps, so my next purchase will be a batch of Forever stamps.
I realize I shouldn’t trust the USPS with this kind of surplus, but I almost wish they would raise the price of stamps to 50 cents now instead of inching up the rate incrementally every year. It would save me a lot of math when I’m mailing packages and trying to figure how many times .41 goes into 2.13.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I agree with the other comments about collectors - I’ve still got a sheet of Elvis stamps somewhere!
But I also think that certain themed stamps will always be popular. I like to buy holiday stamps every December for my Christmas cards, and most of my friends and family use them too. I also know tons of couples who used “love” stamps for their wedding invitations. For personal mail, it’s fun to add that extra little touch.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Here’s a link to an old USA Today article from 2005 with some interesting statistics. (not sure how to put a link in correctly)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-15-peddling-postage_x.htm
According to the article, the post office makes $150 - 200 million per year from unused stamps and the Elvis stamps made $36 million. Star Wars stamps came out last year and they were a huge seller too.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I can’t remember when I last bought stamps. I never use them. I pay all my bills online and my only snail mail correspondence is at Christmas. Funny how things have changed.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Boo! I don’t like stamps. There’s only one bill I have to pay with actual paper and stamps and it sucks. It’s always the last one I deal with and usually ends up late because every time I go to pay it, I can’t find a stamp or a pen or any checks (because I rarely write checks) and whatever, I’ll just do it tomorrow and ugh. I hate it.
But I understand, in theory, that it’s kind of cool to get actual paper letters. I guess. In theory.
The stamp rates just went up in May or June 2007, by the way.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I work in the mailing industry (not for the USPS) and the rates last increased in May 2007. They plan on increasing the rates every May until 2010 to “catch up” with inflation.
As far as the forever stamp goes, I agree that it makes sense to buy them instead of $0.41 stamps, but I think inflation would neglect any savings you achieve by buying a bunch of them.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I ended up with some regular stamps the last time I went. I didn’t realize you had to specifically ask for the Forever Stamps, I just thought they were the new standard. Low and behold, I got home with a batch of 41 cent flags. Oh well, is we don’t use them in time, there is a stamp machine in my office building that sells 1 cent stamps.
BTW - does anyone know how Forever stamps work with normal postage rates for things that cost more? I assume they are equal to the first-class rates current denomination?
Also, I think the Forever Stamp is a good deal for the Post Office as well because they do not have to get rid of leftover stock of old stamps when the rates rise.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I bought 200 Forever Stamps last May when the stamp rate increased. I don’t mail things often, but every now and again I do mail letters or cards. I figured, I’ll spend the money now (when I had it), and have stamps literally forever. I figure eventually I’ll have to restock my forever stamps, but it will be several years down the road. I saved my receipt too so that I remember how much I paid for them.
February 14th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I pay nearly all of my bills online or in person (bank for mortgage and payment center right next to bank).
But I have about 4-5 books of stamps bought for Christmas cards. I bought some, couldn’t find them, then had to buy more, then found the ones I’d misplaced.
I wonder if they’ll let me exchange my Christmas stamps for the forever stamps?
February 14th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I recall when the Forever Stamp first came out last year, there was a guy that bought several thousand dollars worth as an investment. With the price increase from 41 cents to 42 cents per stamp, on a $10,000 investment he’s made $243 in less than a year! Not much, but still…..
February 14th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
This is the first I’ve heard of the forever stamp. Where have I been????????????????????
March 5th, 2008 at 4:42 am
We’ve had stamps without a face value on them for many years now, they have become standard. The French post-office still prints the other ones, I think, because there is a variety of different rates for Europe and the rest of the world too, for different weights, so it makes sense to be able to add up the amounts.
Unfortunately, imo the resulting advantage for consumers is very slight. Few people send lots of letters these days. As a business owner, most of my mail goes via e-mail, and I use checks less and less often. But every penny saved is a good penny.