You can lick it, put it on an envelope, and mail your utility bill if you want, after paying 1,200 to get it. postage stamp featured Benjamin Franklin, who created postal routes, implemented mail wagon service, and worked to maintain an inexpensive rate of postage some 75 years before the first pre-paid stamp. Example: Its a 50 cent stamp to the government. In 1847 the United States introduced its own postage stamps with adhesive backing.
Meanwhile, the Postal Service wins because it will never have to track down "expired" postage. It is obviously legal, otherwise every auction site listing for modern US postage, offered and sold above face, would be illegal. You can buy a stockpile of stamps when rates are set to go up and save yourself those extra cents. Well, it turns out that the increased revenue from offering new, costlier stamps would be more than offset by the expense of having to collect and destroy outdated stamps each time the postage rate changes. Postal Service requests rate increases as inflation rises, meaning prices at the post office go up most years.Ī good deal of the USPS' revenue comes from stamps - so why does it want you using older forever stamps when rates go up? Wouldn't it make more sense for the agency to make and sell new stamps with higher values? Postage prices are roughly tied to inflation.
#Us postage stamp cost free#
Get Started-100% Free Why do we have forever stamps? Sign up for Credit Sesame and see everything your credit score can do for you, find the best interest rates, and save more money at every step of the way. It's better to save your forever stamps for regular mail and buy a mix of stamps in smaller and larger denominations to help you hit the higher rates on oversized and international letters and cards. So if you've got a letter weighing in at close to 2 ounces and you add a second forever stamp worth 58 cents, you’ll be paying $1.16, not the required 78 cents. The United State Postal Service (USPS) periodically changes the pricing for its various products and services to keep up with consumer and market trends. Postage for an additional ounce costs 20 cents. You might use two or more forever stamps on letters that are weightier or are going to international destinations, but that may not be the best strategy. Your forever stamp will be worth the domestic first-class-mail letter price the day you use it. The stamps are always sold at the same price as regular first-class postage.īut if you’re sending an oversized letter or mailing something internationally, you can use a forever stamp, but you’ll need to attach additional postage.
And that may not be the only price hike in the near. Within the U.S., you need only a single forever stamp to send a regular-sized letter. Postal Service is expected to increase prices in July, raising the cost of a Forever stamp from 58 cents to 60 cents.