The origin of Forever Stamps
The origin of Forever Stamps
15 years ago, United States Postal Service(USPS) publicized Forever Stamps, as a non-denominated stamp for first-class postage. Its debut began on March 26, 2007, and went on sale in April. The first piece of Forever Stamp is named “Liberty Bell”, which is tagged as “USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER”.
Since then, millions of Forever Stamps were sold and used for daily mailing inside America and went abroad by international mail, With its nature they are always valid for first-class postage, regardless of any postage change might happen afterwards.
Normally USPS will inform the public for postage change beforehand, so you can purchase some Forever Stamps after the notice showed, unless you are really a big fan of certain stamps in the market, cannot wait to buy these Forever Stamps for your stamp album.
From the very first day when Forever Stamps were born, different kinds of genre and themes have been created, just like the other types of stamps issued in other countries. The stamp collectors can have them for the purpose of collection, or just for saving some cents in future when they send emails with increased postage.
As a kind of non-denominated first-class stamps, Forever Stamps possess the current market value, this feature not only spare the inconvenience for customers who needs to buy additional stamp for the price difference due to postage change, but also helps USPS to save cost for printing underate stamp.
From the history of Forever Stamps development, the postage has been changed many times, mostly it increased, only twice of decrease happened in the past. So we can assume it is beneficial to have some Forever Stamps in hand in the long run. As the trend shows, the postage will keep increasing, so the difference between the current rate and your purchased rate is your bonus. If you are a rookie collector, the procurement of Forever Stamps can be a good start to test your sense of fortune making.
How USPS Forever Stamps work
One piece of Forever Stamp can cover the postage of an item or a letter with its standard envelope, with the total weight within 1 ounce. If your mail weighs more than 1 ounce, you need to stick more than one Forever Stamp to supplement. The best way to stick stamps properly, is to measure its weight by yourself, make sure the weight is fine. Sometimes, people may send some gifts or photos by mail, so measure your mail first before your drop it in the mail box, which will definitely avoid some troubles if later it showed that your stamps are not enough for the postage.
Forever Stamps can also work for international mail, it is good to acknowledge how much the postage is for your mail at the very beginning, so your overseas receiver can get it on time without any unpleasant delay.
It is wise to visit USPS website to find out the class of your intended mail first, and use their postage calculator to confirm how many pieces of Forever Stamps are needed for this couriered journey. The calculator can save you minutes and seconds, so you can mind something else in regards with your content in envelope.
How much is a Forever Stamp in 2022
On April 6th, 2022, USPS sent request of price change to Postal Regulatory Commission, later the request was approved by government, and took effect on July 10th. The new price was increased by 2 cents, risen from 58 Cents to 60 Cents now. Normally you can buy any Forever Stamps online by sheet format, one sheet is made of 20 pieces, and each piece costs 60 Cents, so one sheet is worth of $12.
Of course, there are several ways you may get some discounts on Forever Stamps’ procurement. Firstly, some online retailers usually have some events or promotions for holidays or promotion purpose from time to time, you can purchase some at that moment for future usage. A few dollars and cents are saved, and senders enjoy to have this little joy all the time. The discount might be found in a shop or supermarket, depends on by what product their owners and operators plan to attract the customers to come by.A petty favour to us, as a candy to a kid, who can say no to that!
Forever Stamps Value
In history, the postage of Forever Stamp had decreased twice, but neither of them last long. The first time happened in 2016, when USPS lowered the postage of first-class from $0.49 to $0.47, and the second time lasted for less than a year, which soon went up again to the original level. Therefore, we can say the risk of value loss from this stamp kind of investment is very limited.
Besides its fixed economic value of each Forever Stamp, it has its own cultural value, which brings more meanings to the public and the society. For instance, the Limited-edition “Vintage Circus Posters Forever Stamps”, which dedicated to the old days when circus brought men, women and children joy and laugh in town, as one of major amusements to the human society, the circus business performed really a great job to entertain people’s daily life.
For the same purpose, those memories might gave USPS some inspiration, which catalyzed the birth of this small and square paper art. The officials and promoters of this Forever Stamp wish the customers would apply this stamp on their box, mail, album, and enjoy that moment just like in the past when the audience saw the new circus poster on the street, people knew something new is coming up to the town.
Where to buy Forever Stamps
USPS Forever Stamps are available in local post office, online stores, grocery stores, pharmacies and retailers, you can also order Forever Stamps by phone, or ask for order form from your mail courier. Some banks and credit unions also offer Forever Stamps by their ATMs. It is always convenient to browse FOREVERSTAMPSTORE.COM for more details of USA Forever Stamps.
