# Postage stamps on eBay **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504 "2020-04-10T14:40:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/1 "2020-04-10T14:40:56Z")
I need to buy a roll of 100 forever stamps. If I go to the U.S. Post Office, they’ll charge me the face of $55. I want to avoid human contact. Amazon has prices $65-$70 a roll. Fine, a small profit and shipping charges. When I look at eBay, a plethora of vendors sell rolls of forever stamps for $45, +/-, including shipping charges. What’s their business model? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/2 "2020-04-10T14:50:33Z")
Possibly money laundering. E.g. purchased with stolen credit card numbers. I’m pretty sure USPS sells stamps by mail with no markup or shipping charge. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/3 "2020-04-10T14:56:19Z")
Googling, Forever Stamps were introduced in 2007 at a cost of $0.41 each. Some of the vendors may have bought then and held onto them until now? Although that’s a ridiculous way to make money. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/4 "2020-04-10T15:03:33Z")
We’ve discussed this before… IIRC, the consensus was that it was a way to build up a strong vendor rating on eBay, before switching to selling something actually profitable. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/5 "2020-04-10T15:11:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We’ve discussed this before… IIRC, the consensus was that it was a way to build up a strong vendor rating on eBay, before switching to selling something actually profitable. Yeah, we discussed this [very recently](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=885576). The OP may want to check out that thread. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/6 "2020-04-10T16:03:20Z")
You can order [stamps by mail](https://store.usps.com/store/results/stamps/_/N-9y93lv) from USPS. A more business-oriented service is available at [Stamps.com](http://Stamps.com) where you print your own stamps on demand, but it’s $18 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/7 "2020-04-11T05:58:57Z")
Certain businesses sometimes offer stamps at less than list price. For example, I have seen them at CostCo at a slight discount, usually around Xmas time or Mother’s Day. Presumably, it’s a loss leader or goodwill item for the business to offer to their customers. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/8 "2020-04-11T14:16:46Z")
I posted this before but the son of a colleague started a business selling to prisoners and forever stamps were the currency accepted. The buyer may not have ready access to cash from his cell but stamps were freely available (assuming you had someone on the outside keeping you stocked) and regularly used as currency. He accepted stamps at a discount and sold them on ebay at a slightly lower discount. (this person had direct experience with the prison economy and made use of the knowledge upon his release) ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/9 "2020-04-13T12:16:54Z")
In some post offices there are kiosks where you can print your own stamps without dealing with a human being. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/10 "2020-04-13T17:52:26Z")
It’s still violating stay-the-fuck-home orders, and exposing you to surfaces touched and breathed on by random people. Skip the kiosks for now. Stay the fuck at home. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/11 "2020-04-13T19:47:33Z")
Unless having those postage stamps is precisely what enables you to stay home, obviously. Everywhere in the world with stay-at-home orders, you’re still allowed to go out if necessary. Moreover, believe it or not, stay-at-home will actually end eventually, at which point this thread will still exist. How about we answer the questions that are asked? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/postage-stamps-on-ebay/851504/12 "2020-04-13T19:47:35Z")
Unless having those postage stamps is precisely what enables you to stay home, obviously. Everywhere in the world with stay-at-home orders, you’re still allowed to go out if necessary. Moreover, believe it or not, stay-at-home will actually end eventually, at which point this thread will still exist. How about we answer the questions that are asked?