# Forever Stamps Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453 "2013-02-26T19:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/1 "2013-02-26T19:04:32Z")
How does the Postal Service selling “forever stamps” generate additional revenue or reduce their operating costs? It seems like it would decrease their revenue since it negates postal rate increases to a certain extent. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for consumers, but it’s not like there is any real competition to first class mail delivery in the US. Given how much money they are losing each year I can’t see a good reason to give something away that they could otherwise charge for. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/2 "2013-02-26T19:12:05Z")
At the very least, it reduces the need to print so many 1 cent or 2 cent makeup stamps every time there is a rate increase. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/3 "2013-02-26T19:16:44Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > At the very least, it reduces the need to print so many 1 cent or 2 cent makeup stamps every time there is a rate increase. But they have to print them anyway, and they are able to sell them so they don’t lose money printing them (I would hope). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/4 "2013-02-26T19:17:35Z")
Also, from [this article](http://orangehuskyproductions.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/forever-stamps-and-the-futures-market/) by law postage rate increases must be less than the rate of inflation. Therefore over the long term, the Post Office will benefit from people buying stamps now rather than later. While it’s possible for a stamp buyer to make a profit in the short term by buying immediately before an announced price increase, I doubt enough people bother to make any big impact. ---
**Author:** ![LinusK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@LinusK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LinusK)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/5 "2013-02-26T19:21:30Z")
People buy more stamps when they don’t expire. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/6 "2013-02-26T19:30:45Z")
1. I get the idea it’s more a customer service thing than anything else. People HATE having their stamps made obsolete and having to buy a bunch of 1 or 2 cent stamps every couple of years. 2. Some people are dumb enough to “invest” in Forever stamps. When they first came out there was a story of a guy buying 10K worth of them. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/7 "2013-02-26T19:44:31Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Given how much money they are losing each year I can’t see a good reason to give something away that they could otherwise charge for. What am I missing? A dollar now is worth more than a dollar later. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/8 "2013-02-26T19:48:08Z")
If you buy the stamps now, the postal service can invest that money now, or blow it all on hookers and parcel tape, or whatever, rather than having to wait. Plus there’s quite a good chance that some of the stamps will be hoarded, collected, lost or thrown out, which means the postal service won’t even have to provide mail delivery for the money (though I believe stamps sold but not used are noted on the accounts as a liability). In the UK last year postage rates went up by almost 40% overnight, from 36p to 50p for second-class mail, which made buying NVI stamps (Non Value Indicator, our equivalent of forever stamps) a pretty good investment. Heck, you could buy a load, sell them on eBay at a discount after the price went up and still make a decent profit after fees. ---
**Author:** ![Michigander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Michigander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michigander)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/9 "2013-02-26T21:36:59Z")
Retired Postal guy here, many years at the stamp and parcel windows. The Forever stamps eliminate many problems and much confusion at rate increase time. Small denomination stamps in the hundreds of thousands (millions, nationwide) must be printed, distributed, and made available to the public. Usually this required extra help, if not overtime, at least taking someone away from other duties. In the mail stream postage should be verified, items using odd stamps can be held up. At such times people would dig out a collection of unused stamps to add various amounts to make the new rate. I regret we did not have these Forevers when I was working. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/10 "2013-02-26T21:38:24Z")
> [@Michigander](#): > > Retired Postal guy here, many years at the stamp and parcel windows. The Forever stamps eliminate many problems and much confusion at rate increase time. Small denomination stamps in the hundreds of thousands (millions, nationwide) must be printed, distributed, and made available to the public. Usually this required extra help, if not overtime, at least taking someone away from other duties. In the mail stream postage should be verified, items using odd stamps can be held up. At such times people would dig out a collection of unused stamps to add various amounts to make the new rate. I regret we did not have these Forevers when I was working. I get it now. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/11 "2013-02-26T21:39:22Z")
Orwell had it right again! “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.” ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/12 "2013-02-26T21:48:03Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > How does the Postal Service selling “forever stamps” generate additional revenue or reduce their operating costs? It seems like it would decrease their revenue since it negates postal rate increases to a certain extent. > > Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for consumers, but it’s not like there is any real competition to first class mail delivery in the US. > > Given how much money they are losing each year I can’t see a good reason to give something away that they could otherwise charge for. What am I missing? It’s a political matter that the Post Office is the only agency required to pre-fund its pension obligations, some of them extending out almost to the end of the 21st century. On an operating basis, the Post Office actually makes money in spite of serving rural areas UPS, FedEx and others would never touch. > [@](#): > > In the four fiscal years since 2007, despite the worst recession in 80 years, despite Internet diversion, revenues from postal operations exceeded costs by $611 million. > **[Post office makes a profit Congress won’t let it keep – PEN WordPress Blog](https://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/2011/08/11/post-office-makes-a-profit-congress-wont-let-it-keep/)** ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forever-stamps-question/651453/13 "2013-02-27T02:03:13Z")
It also saves on printing and storage. When there is going to be a rate increase new stamps had to be printed up and help for release just before the rate increase. And after the rate increase the old stamps would stop selling. With the forever stamps no changes have to be made in printing, except maybe a bump in sales just before the rate increase. And after the rate increase they now sell the same stamp. No need to make a new stamp, print it and store it. The only operation change is just charge more for the samestamp.