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Post by penguy on Jan 6, 2019 21:57:09 GMT
I was in the post office the other day I had put 2 first class forever stamps on a letter going to France and needed additional postage, didn't have international stamps. The person at the counter informed me that if I ever wanted to send a letter to Canada it does not accept forever stamps as part of the postage and for Canadian mail I had to use an international stamp. Is this true of other countries?
The first class postage here in the states I believe is going up 5 cents the end of the month so I guess I will have to buy a bunch of forever stamps before month's end. Do any other countries have forever stamps?
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Post by radellaf on Jan 6, 2019 22:23:39 GMT
I don't think Canada gets to determine that? I've certainly used two 50c forever plus a 21c additional ounce to all international destinations. Or a butterfly plus a forever. Now I'll probably switch to two 55c plus a 5c grapes stamp. I just bought 80 forever stamps, despite having a bunch, and threw in 40 grapes just to have the option.
Personally, I think it's pretty ridiculous to pay international postage for Canada, or have to pay ridiculous rates for a phone call I didn't even know was to Canada, since they use US-like area codes that don't require any of the normal international dialing codes. California is 2600mi, Toronto is 700mi, so it just seems weird. OTOH, $1.15 (£0.90), is really cheap international postage. I do have a bunch of global forever, but they get boring after a while.
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Post by Mia on Jan 6, 2019 22:35:19 GMT
The equivalent to the Forever in the UK are the stamps marked 1st or 2nd (non-value indicator (NVI)). I was told, erroneously by one sub-postmaster, that I couldn't use them on mail (with postage made up to the correct rate) to send abroad because they (abroad) wouldn't know the value of the postage. I had contacted Royal Mail about this and they said that I could still use 1st + additional...
I love the variety of the Forever / 1st stamps.
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Post by Gary S on Jan 6, 2019 22:52:38 GMT
Canada doesn't collect postage from US stamps or vice versa. All the money exchanges occur electronically, if they even bother to settle differences, as the Universal Postal Union sets rules for member countries to abide by. The USPS did at one time restrict non denominational US stamps to use on domestic mail but that is something totally different than forever stamps. My question would have been to have the postal clerk show you the dollar amount listed on the current International version of stamp. It too says "Forever" rather than stating a US dollar amount. That would have shut him up if nothing else did.
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Post by sgtstretch on Jan 9, 2019 2:10:32 GMT
You can use whatever stamps you want, as long as the face value of the stamps at least equals the required postage value. So any letters that need a global stamp need at least $1.15, and if you wanted to use 23 5¢ stamps, you can.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2019 14:12:29 GMT
I had contacted Royal Mail about this and they said that I could still use 1st + additional... I'll often use a 1st or 2nd class and add extra to get it to the correct value and never had problems with letters & postcards reaching their destination. Perhaps that sub-postmaster just couldn't be bothered to dust off his little grey cells and add up the stamp value! The staff in the Amble post office ad our main one in town are right misery guts who whinge about using stamps instead of those ugly labels (tho' my boss does prefer labels too as he gets 10p for every one he uses)
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Post by stompie on Jan 10, 2019 17:11:03 GMT
I had contacted Royal Mail about this and they said that I could still use 1st + additional... I'll often use a 1st or 2nd class and add extra to get it to the correct value and never had problems with letters & postcards reaching their destination. Perhaps that sub-postmaster just couldn't be bothered to dust off his little grey cells and add up the stamp value! The staff in the Amble post office ad our main one in town are right misery guts who whinge about using stamps instead of those ugly labels (tho' my boss does prefer labels too as he gets 10p for every one he uses) I didn't realise that postage could get so technical! And a "Forever" stamp? Never heard of it before and am still not sure I understand what it is. I go to 3 different Post Offices and so far, all have been very friendly. I was worried about my home made envelopes but no one has said a word about them!
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Post by mailartist on Jan 10, 2019 19:05:24 GMT
Back when US postage was denomination based (say, 34 cents to mail a one ounce, first-class letter within the US), if postage increased (say, to 35 cents to mail the same letter), the post office would have to issue "make-up stamps" (in this case, 1 cent) so that an individual would have to use a 34 cent stamp, and a 1 cent stamp, to bring postage to the new, 35-cent rate. This became cumbersome, both for the post office (having to print various make-up stamps), and people, who often forgot the additional postage, and thus the post office had to return a lot of mail to the sender, postage due. Hence, the idea of a "Forever" stamp.
Essentially, a "Forever" stamp entitles you to mail a one-ounce, first-class letter at any point. For example, I could go to the post office today, and buy a Forever stamp for 50 cents (its current rate). But, when postage increases (as to 55 cents, later this month), then the Forever stamp is still good. Even if postage increases to $1.00 (for the same letter), I can still use the stamp I paid 50 cents for. "Once a Forever, always a Forever" -- regardless of what happens in terms of postage increases (or, occasionally, decreases).
There are Forever stamps for domestic letters, and for International mail. I remain fuzzy on whether things like "additional ounce" or "postcard" stamps are "Forever" as well. (Neither of these types show a numerical amount, but they don't specifically say "Forever" -- so who knows . . . )
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Post by hoyabella on Jan 10, 2019 19:45:12 GMT
"Forever" stamps were introduced last year in Italy. There are letters and words indicating whether it is priority or ordinary mail, the geographical zones of destination and the weight class. The stamps can also be used for their value and thus, for example, a domestic stamp can be used to send mail abroad with the addition of other stamps until the required value is reached.
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Post by stompie on Jan 10, 2019 19:51:53 GMT
Thank you for the explanation, it makes sense to me now.
I still have some Aerograms and they are for international use and are based on the Forever Stamps. I need to dig them out and start using them!
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Post by distractedmom on Jan 14, 2019 22:26:53 GMT
I was in the post office the other day I had put 2 first class forever stamps on a letter going to France and needed additional postage, didn't have international stamps. The person at the counter informed me that if I ever wanted to send a letter to Canada it does not accept forever stamps as part of the postage and for Canadian mail I had to use an international stamp. Is this true of other countries? The first class postage here in the states I believe is going up 5 cents the end of the month so I guess I will have to buy a bunch of forever stamps before month's end. Do any other countries have forever stamps? That's strange. I'm sure I've sent letters to Canada using both the "International Forever" stamp and the "two first class forever stamps plus an 'additional ounce' stamp." Does USPS sell stamps anymore that aren't "Forever?"
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Post by Gary S on Jan 15, 2019 1:32:16 GMT
Does USPS sell stamps anymore that aren't "Forever?" They still have some lower denomination postage stamps in amounts 10¢ and under but I'm not aware of anything over that until you get up into multiple dollar amounts for Priority Mail. That's if they even still carry those but I saw some a year or two back at the Checotah PO. The debit transaction is really putting a crimp in sales of those style stamps as most folks just swipe the card and the PO puts on metered postage.
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Post by allanorn on Jan 15, 2019 2:21:30 GMT
Does USPS sell stamps anymore that aren't "Forever?" They do, but not like they used to. They currently can sell 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10-cent stamps, but I don't see any of the 4-cent ones being offered online. They also have $1, $2, $5 and $10 stamps plus fixed-rate stamps for Priority and Express Mail. I really liked the $1 and $2 Wave stamps and would use them for international postage. I'm not terribly keen on the $1/$2/$5 Statue of Freedom ones as they look a little too cartoonish.
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Post by distractedmom on Jan 15, 2019 3:24:55 GMT
Does USPS sell stamps anymore that aren't "Forever?" They do, but not like they used to. They currently can sell 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10-cent stamps, but I don't see any of the 4-cent ones being offered online. They also have $1, $2, $5 and $10 stamps plus fixed-rate stamps for Priority and Express Mail. I really liked the $1 and $2 Wave stamps and would use them for international postage. I'm not terribly keen on the $1/$2/$5 Statue of Freedom ones as they look a little too cartoonish. I might need to be more deliberate in my stamp purchases. I just usually walk in and say, “what’s new?”
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Post by allanorn on Jan 15, 2019 5:10:33 GMT
I might need to be more deliberate in my stamp purchases. I just usually walk in and say, “what’s new?” For most people I'd say that's good enough. I've been fortunate to win a lot or two of mint never-hinged stamps on eBay where they're just trying to get rid of the lower denominated stuff at a discount. Not sure I'd do that again except if it was for a decent amount of mid-range postage (like stamps in the 10- to 40-cent range). But that's an option for you if you want to go that route.
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