Comments on: Stamps

By: James Wimberley

James Wimberley — Fri, 05 May 2006 15:27:41 +0000

France also has ordinary letter stamps without a denomination.

By: Dan Shapero

Dan Shapero — Fri, 05 May 2006 01:50:31 +0000

Your interest free loan argument only holds if people will stash away more forever stamps at any time than they already currently do with normal stamps. So you have to compare the number of incremental forever stamps purchased and held (per your interest free loan argument) relative to the lost payment from not charnging all forever stamp holders from a price increase. Regardless, the real savings will be in not having to deal with the logistics of managing 1,2,and 3 cent stamps – which I would guess is a big, costly pain.

By: Geoffrey Kimbrough

Geoffrey Kimbrough — Fri, 05 May 2006 00:44:24 +0000

It just has to cost more for USPS to print those two-cent stamps and to junk all their existing printing plates than whatever they ‘profit’ on people who discard a few stamps. (If you have a brand-new $37 roll I’ll bet you’ll go buy the add-ons, I did.) Meanwhile, I’ve never seen a US stamp that said “First Class.” only ones with specific denominations. (except when they printed “‘B’ postage” when they didn’t know for sure what increase they’d be getting a few years ago.) And there is the problem of stamps for overweight/oversize postage. Somebody would need to crunch some serious numbers, but it certainly *sounds* like a good plan.

By: Tom Hilton

Tom Hilton — Thu, 04 May 2006 16:25:56 +0000

“What’s not being mentioned is that a stamp is an interest- free loan from you to the Postal Service, rather like a traveler’s check.”
Or, more precisely, a gift certificate. But yeah, it sounds like a great deal for the USPS and a good deal for the consumer.

By: faweisser

faweisser — Thu, 04 May 2006 15:17:05 +0000

Hmm, how about just declaring a first class stamp *now* as a “forever stamp.” When I buy it, it is good for one first class letter of standard weight forever. Why have two different kinds of first class stamps? Begin with the newest series and go. Perhaps limit the number a consumer can buy at one time to 100 stamps. I have to wonder how much producing 2 & 3 cent stamps costs, and how the elimination of that cost would affect the USPS budget.
Right now, I simply throw away my old stamps rather than hassle with going to the Post Office to buy the 2/3 cent extras. I just buy a new book of stamps when I’m at the grocery store. This means I toss three to five stamps every few months.

By: Jim Carr

Jim Carr — Thu, 04 May 2006 13:13:46 +0000

Already the case in the UK – we’ve had stamps marked “1st” and “2nd” for years. I’m guessing it’s probably the same in a bundle of other countries, although I haven’t the time now to check.

By: David Weigel

David Weigel — Thu, 04 May 2006 12:31:35 +0000

Weird. I thought that those denomination-free stamps labeled “First Class” already worked that way. I wonder if, in practice, they do. Do the postal workers canceling envelopes know that “First Class” with the flag is $0.37, and with the flower is $0.34? (Ah, here’s a link: http://alphabetilately.com/G2.html)