Why don’t 1st class postage stamps indicate a denomination? Like, back when dirt was new and postage was $0.13 the stamp said it was worth $0.13. Now I have no idea how much postage is–I just gotta put a stamp on the letter and away it goes, but here’s the catch:
What if I buy a roll of stamps that proclaim to be simply “First Class Postage” or more accurately mine have a picture of the Liberty Bell and the legend: FIRST CLASS FOREVER, and then postage goes up before I use them up? If I pay $.35 (or whatever the current rate is) am I expected to get some small denomination stamps to bring the total postage value to the current rate?
If not, what’s stopping me from investing in $10,000 worth of “First Class” postage stamps at the current rate, knowing full well that in a few years the postage will go up and I will be sending mail for pennies on the dollar? Huh? What’s stopping me?
The clue is in the word “FOREVER”. They’re valid… forever, whatever the current rate.
We have them in the UK too, but they go by the less snappy name of NVIs (Non Value Indicators).
As for the second part of your question, nothing is stopping you, but it’s unlikely to be the wisest way of investing your money. Postage is cheaper in real terms now than it has been for most of history since postage was invented.
I just traveled a thousand years in the future with my time machine. I couldn’t use the Forever stamps. Heck, nobody even remembered the existence of the U.S.
I guess I must be missing something very basic here. A stamp to send a regular letter costs .41 and it goes First Class. The Forever Stamp costs .42 and is good until well, forever, or whenever the USPS decides they’re not. Is the Post Office just betting that due to the frequent rate increases people will think they’re getting a good deal on a “Forever Stamp” for just one cent more, while in reality they’ll probably use them all before the next rate increase? That would seem to actually put a few cents extra in the Post Office’s pocket. Of course, that tactic would probably backfire as soon as they announce the date of their next increase and there’s a run on Forever Stamps.
No, it’s 42 cents now. Postage rates went up a month or so ago.
You could have bought forever stamps for 41 cents and use them for the 42-cent postage. That’s what I did. They are very useful to me, since I often send SASEs that don’t come back until after a postage increase.
The USPS likes getting the money now, even if the stamp was purchased for less-than-current postage rates.
The OP was confused about Forever Stamps, but they used to (still?) make stamps which don’t have a denomination listed, but still have a fixed value. I am speaking specifically about these 39 cent stamps. Do they still retain 39 cent value, and if not, then why did they make such a big deal about the Liberty Bell Forever stamps that came a few years later?
THOSE are still 39 cent stamps. For some reason I was never able to fathom, they’ve issued various non-denominated stamps which were understood to be of a certain value:
They didn’t. Often they only had a month or two to print the stamps. It’s much easier to print the letter stamps six months in advance and get them to the offices in plenty of time.
There is a real advantage to the Post Office in offereing ‘Forever’ stamps, which is of course why they offer them at all.
It’s a damn nuisance to them to have to print and distribute zillions of 1 or 2 or 3 cents stamps. It takes just as much money/time/effort to print those stamps as it does to print a 42 cent stamp, and for a lot less income. In addition, every time the rates go up they have to deal with another zillion ‘customer service events’ with people clogging the lines to buy eight two-cent stamps, which means added employee hours unless they want to have much longer lines and risk pissing off the ‘valuable’ customer who is overnighting a letter.
I know that for at least two months before the latest rate change the clerks at the local Post Office questioned everyone who was buying rolls of 41 cent stamps: Are you sure you will use them up by May 5th (or whatever it was)? If not, why not buy Forever stamps… and on into a little sales pitch.
Basically, the PO is happy to lose the extra pennies on outstanding first class stamps in order to avoid the extra expenses involved in selling the make-up stamps.
Lessee…$10k in $0.42 stamps = 23,810 stamps
If postage goes up to $0.44 then they’re worth $10,476
That’s like a 5% increase (better than a savings account or CD) which would be cool if postage rates go up within a year of me making my big buy. And definitely better odds than I saw in Vegas.
And here’s the gold: The post office announces rate hikes ahead of time so I don’t have to buy and then play the waiting game! I am so on this! (this is such a Cosmo Kramer scam)
When the rates went up a penny last month I was in the post office before the increase and the mailperson at the counter said she had a few people from small businesses who came in that day to buy $500-$1000 worth of the Forever stamps at the 41 cent price.
*Norm Gunderson: They announced it.
Marge Gunderson: They announced it?
Norm Gunderson: Yeah.
Marge Gunderson: So?
Norm Gunderson: Three-cent stamp.
Marge Gunderson: Your mallard?
Norm Gunderson: Yeah.
Marge Gunderson: Oh, that’s terrific.
Norm Gunderson: It’s just a three-cent stamp.
Marge Gunderson: It’s terrific.
Norm Gunderson: Hautman’s blue-winged teal got the 29-cent. People don’t much use the three-cent.
Marge Gunderson: Oh, for Pete’s sake. Of course they do. Whenever they raise the postage, people need the little stamps. *
When you stock up on something in advance of an expected price increase that’s called forward buying. For the forever stamps that makes a lot of sense provided that you will actually use the stamps. I forward buy bus tokens for this reason, but I have to do this before the price increase is formally announced. Once the announcement has been made, the transit agency starts to ration token purchases to the point that they’re no longer available until after the price change. Heck, I’m still using tokens that were purchased years ago at substantial discount from current fares.