Forever stamps were introduced in 2007 by the USPS (United States Postal Service). These are first-class stamps, and you can use them forever. Forever stamps don’t have the word crossed out. This is to prevent counterfeiting.
If you are living in the US, you may have already used them or may have heard about them. If you don’t know what a Forever stamp is, you don’t have to worry about it. This article is for you. In this article, you will get to know what is a forever stamp worth? How many forever stamps do I need? And so on.
Let’s dive into the article.
Table of Contents
Forever stamp value
Forever stamps are first-class stamps that you can use forever. These stamps never expire, and they are non-denominational. This means that they don’t have monetary value written on them. You can buy forever stamps at the current price, and they remain valid for years.
If you have a booklet of forever stamps, you can use your old stamps even if the prices increase in the future. For instance, the current worth of the forever stamp is around 55 cents; you can use your old stamp even if the price of the stamp is 70 to 80 cents. You don’t have to pay any additional charges in the future for postage., just use your old stamp.
What Was It Like Before Forever Stamps?
As we all know, the price of postage has always increased. In previous years, when we had old stamps, and the price changed, we had to pay a new price. For example, the price of a single stamp was 39 cents for the one-ounce first-class postage in 2006, and the price changed to 41 cents in 2007. If one wants to use a 2006 stamp, he/she has to pay an additional $0.02 to cover the price difference.
Moreover, the other bad thing was that you had to visit the closest post office more than once to send a letter. This is a terrible thing for many users; this forced USPS to introduce new Forever stamps.
Forever stamp weight
Forever stamps are ideal for mailing one-ounce letters throughout the United States. If you think the weight of your letter is more than one ounce, be sure to weigh it before fixing a forever stamp. Weighing a letter before fixing a stamp is important, as heavier letters will not be sent if they have one stamp. They will be returned back to the sender because of the lack of postage.
Available forms of Forever Stamps
The shipping classes offered by United States Postal Service in the Forever category are as follows:
| Shipping Class | Text On Stamp | 2021 Value |
|---|---|---|
| First-Class | Forever | $0.55 |
| First-Class Mail letter – each additional ounce | Additional Ounce | $0.20 |
| First-Class International | Global | $1.20 |
| Two-Ounce First-Class | Two ounce | $0.70 |
| Three-Class First-Class | Three ounce | $0.85 |
| Rate | Rate | $0.36 |
Saving Money With Forever Stamps
As we all know, we can use our old forever stamps even if the postage prices change in the future. These stamps provide substantial logistical and financial value. According to some people, buying Forever stamps is also a form of investment.
You will save your money if the price of postage increases in the future because the value of Forever stamps doesn’t change. Below you will see a history of the US postage rates, and this table will help you to guess how much you can save each year after buying Postage stamps.
| Year | Postage Rate (One-Ounce First-Class) |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 29 cents |
| 1995 | 32 cents |
| 1999 | 33 cents |
| 2001 | 34 cents |
| 2002 | 37 cents |
| 2006 | 39 cents |
| 2007 | 41 cents |
| 2008 | 42 cents |
| 2009 | 44 cents |
| 2012 | 45 cents |
| 2013 | 46 cents |
| 2014 | 49 cents |
| 2016 | 47 cents |
| 2017 | 49 cents |
| 2018 | 50 cents |
| 2019 | 55 cents |
| 2020 | 50 cents |
| 2021 | 55 cents |
Based on the above data, if you bought a book of 20 stamps in 2006 for $7.8, it will be worth $11 today. It doesn’t seem like a big difference, but it will add up with larger amounts. Overall, you can save a bit of money by buying Forever stamps in bulk.
Making Money With Forever Stamps
As we have mentioned earlier, the price of Forever stamps increases over time. Many people often ask, Can we earn money by reselling my stamps? Yes, you can earn money by reselling your stamps. As we all know, the price of stamps always increases after some time, so reselling them when the price increases will let you earn some money.
But how this will happen? Let’s see.
Postage Rate vs. Inflation Rate
As you may know, prices follow a fairly stable rate of inflation. The prices of postage bounced by an average of 87.71% between 1991 and 2019. Moreover, the price of the postage rates increased by 89.6% between 1991 and 2019.
After this calculation, we came to the point that investing in forever stamps will let you generate less than a 1% profit each year. For instance, if you buy 100 stamp books today at $900, you can resell them next year at $909.
Unfortunate Reality of Postal Business
Let’s take a deep look at United States Postal Service annual revenue reports to prove my point. These reports are starting from the year in which the Forever Stamps were introduced.
| Year | Net Profit |
|---|---|
| 2007 | $5.1 billion loss |
| 2008 | $2.8 billion loss |
| 2009 | $3.8 billion loss |
| 2010 | $8.5 billion loss |
| 2011 | $5.1 billion loss |
| 2012 | $15.9 billion loss |
| 2013 | $5 billion loss |
| 2014 | $5.5 billion loss |
| 2015 | $5.1 billion loss |
| 2016 | $5.6 billion loss |
| 2017 | $2.7 billion loss |
| 2018 | $3.9 billion loss |
| 2019 | $8.8 billion loss |
| 2020 | $9.2 billion loss |
| 2021 | $9.7 billion loss (projected) |
From the above report, you can clearly see the company itself hasn’t had a profit in 14 years.
How many Forever stamps for A International letter?
You can send your letter outside the US with or without Forever stamps. If you have forever stamps, then you need to add 3 Forever stamps for a one-ounce letter. Moreover, you can also send a one-ounce letter or postcard to any country with one Global Forever stamp. The price of the Global stamp is currently $1.20.
Where Can You Buy Forever Stamps?
The best place which I recommend most for Forever stamps is the Post Office. Just go to the nearest Post Office and buy forever or other stamps. If the nearest Post Office is far away from your home, you don’t have to worry about it.
You can also buy Forever stamps from grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, shipping stores, office suppliers stores, supermarkets, and other retailers. You can buy other postage accessories as well from these stores.
Moreover, if you don’t want to go to the nearest Post Office or other stores, you can buy stamps online as well. You can buy stam[ps online from the USPS website, Amazon, and many other stores.
Our Verdict
To conclude here, the Forever stamp is a type of stamp that you can use any time. This means that you can use your old stamps in the future without paying any additional charges, even if the prices change in the future.
Moreover, buying Forever stamps in bulk is a great idea if you mail letters most of the time. By doing so, you will save some of your money. Lastly, If you purchase this stamp with the intention of reselling it, you will hardly get a profit.
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