Help Me - Forever Stamp From Post Office (1 Viewer)

Having this discussion.

You know the "Forever" stamps where you buy them and they are good for the future regardless of whether the stamp price increases.

I get it, you lock in the rate.

My friend claims the Forever stamps cost the same as a regular stamp. And you don't have to buy them in bulk.

I say that is impossible. There is no way anyone would ever buy anything other than a forever stamp if that were the case.

I say there is some sort of extra charge for the forever stamp.

Is that right?

No.  They have had these stamps for a while. Basically, that is all they sell anymore for 1st class.  It just assures they don't have to deal with people buying penny stamps more than anything.

Mad Cow said:

No.  They have had these stamps for a while. Basically, that is all they sell anymore for 1st class.  It just assures they don't have to deal with people buying penny stamps more than anything.

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So basically, there is no other "non forever" choice? Except for special or decorative stamps?

The first Forever Stamp went on sale in April 2007 and it featured an image of the Liberty Bell.  In 2011, all first-class one ounce stamps became forever stamps with the exception of stamps in coils of 500, 3,000, and 10,000. 

As the name suggests, Forever Stamps can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used and no matter how prices may change in the future. 

Forever Stamps are always sold at the same price as a regular First-Class Mail stamp.

The Postal Service developed the Forever Stamp for consumers ease of use during price changes. Forever Stamps are available for purchase at post offices nationwide, online at usps.com, and by phone at 1-800-STAMP-24 (1-800-782-6724). They are sold in sheets and booklets of 20.

https://about.usps.com/news/fact-sheets/forever-stamp-facts.htm

kutta said:

The first Forever Stamp went on sale in April 2007 and it featured an image of the Liberty Bell.  In 2011, all first-class one ounce stamps became forever stamps with the exception of stamps in coils of 500, 3,000, and 10,000. 

As the name suggests, Forever Stamps can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used and no matter how prices may change in the future. 

Forever Stamps are always sold at the same price as a regular First-Class Mail stamp.

The Postal Service developed the Forever Stamp for consumers ease of use during price changes. Forever Stamps are available for purchase at post offices nationwide, online at usps.com, and by phone at 1-800-STAMP-24 (1-800-782-6724). They are sold in sheets and booklets of 20.

https://about.usps.com/news/fact-sheets/forever-stamp-facts.htm




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Thanks. That answers my question. 

I said there was a no way they would offer a non forever and a forever at the same price as zero people would buy the non forever. 

Joe Bryant said:

I said there was a no way they would offer a non forever and a forever at the same price as zero people would buy the non forever. 

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This is not true at all.

A lot of people collect stamps and/or prefer to get holiday stamps, specialty stamps, etc...  

Mad Cow said:

No.  They have had these stamps for a while. Basically, that is all they sell anymore for 1st class.  It just assures they don't have to deal with people buying penny stamps more than anything.

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Yeah, I can't imagine those 1 cent stamps were anything but a money suck for the post office to produce and sell. If you add in the extra cost of all that extra handling when they returned mail for "insufficient postage" whenever there was a price change.... seems like a no-brainer.

It's also not a surprise they were introduced in the late 2000's. The 40's no price hike, the 50's 1 price hike, the 60's 2 price hikes, the 70's 4 price hikes, the 80's 4 price hikes, the 90's 3 price hikes, and the 2000's had six price hikes. At that time it looked like they were trending ever closer to a price hike every year. People would get pretty tired of a first class stamp "expiring" a few months after you bought them.

guru_007 said:

This is not true at all.

A lot of people collect stamps and/or prefer to get holiday stamps, specialty stamps, etc...  

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Pretty sure all the stamps you named are Forever now.

First Class mail declines every year, correct?

BobbyLayne said:

First Class mail declines every year, correct?

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Yeah, 1st class letters really has dried up, standard letters (3rd class, mostly junk), is enough to keep the automation machines running. Flats and magazines are decreasing as well every year.   Priority mail is the main focus of the postal service in my opinion.   The requirement for the postal service to pre-pay employees retirement is what causes the postal service to have such huge deficits every year.  No other company or organization is required to do this.   The number of career employees has been reduced greatly over the last 15 years and now a good percentage of employees are non-career, lower paid employees which is allowing the postal service to get a better handle over their total expenses.   There is a lot of turnover in these non-career employees which is a big headache having to keep retraining new employees.  There is huge turnover especially in the letter carriers/rural carriers craft.

Kevrunner said:

  The requirement for the postal service to pre-pay employees retirement is what causes the postal service to have such huge deficits every year.

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You vote political right-wing, you get political right-wing. Insanity.

If they put some Disney character on the stamp, a lot of people would pay double.  Or if you are buying 250 stamps to mail out a wedding invitation, you want something nice and whether is forever or not won't matter

But it will cost the Post Office money to not have forever stamps.  If they raise the price 2 cents, they are probably better off delivering the item than returning to sender.

I have Mr Rogers stamps, and I just confirmed the are “forever”. So holiday stamps and others likely are all forever as well.

They better be forever. Thats how long it would take me to use a roll these days. 

I bought a sheet of 20 of those 2007 liberty bell Forever stamps, and I still have 5 or 6 of them on the fridge with a magnet.  

Works out to needing roughly one stamp per year.  I'm doing my part to keep mail alive!