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Man buys $8,000 worth of Forever Stamps
Dropping $8,000 at the post office would get you 19,512 Forever Stamps and a couple of pennies in change. A postal employee notes that Forever Stamps, which can be used when the price of stamps goes up, aren't designed to be an investment. (Pennlive.com)
May 16, 2007 | Permalink
Comments
If you have 8000 to blow on stamps why are you worried about a price increase 5yrs from now? I pay most of my bills online and I don't send letters to anyone. I e-mail friends and family. I'm not a card person so nobody ever gets a card from me that lives out of state.
I could purchase a sheet of these stamps and most likely would have all 20 of them in twenty years.
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 16, 2007 10:07:53 AM
Excellent point TAG
Posted by: Wonderin' | May 16, 2007 10:10:32 AM
He bought them to resell later.
I'm so clever!!!!
Posted by: Mr. Smartypants | May 16, 2007 10:16:20 AM
Who is he going to sell them to? Is he going to stand outside the post office and sell them to the old people coming to mail the grandkid a card? Old people are the only ones that still use stamps and cheeks.
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 16, 2007 10:21:53 AM
i still mail letters he can sell them to me. Screw the bank, i demand my float time.
Posted by: beanspants1 | May 16, 2007 10:27:20 AM
Oh, I dunno TAG....
I don't write checks anymore, but I do still use my cheeks. ;-)
Posted by: ReginaFilangee | May 16, 2007 10:30:22 AM
LMAO!!!
Ya know ReginaFilangee I looked right at the word, knew I typed it wrong and still hit submit. Its tard Wed. for me :-)
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 16, 2007 10:32:21 AM
Must be planning on a lengthy correspondence!
We still write checks because it's easier for us to keep track of our bills that way. I also mailed a bunch of bills and letters last Saturday to use up my remaining 39-cent stamps. :-)
Wanna bet that "Forever" stamps will become enormously popular when the post office announces its next rate increase?
Posted by: Phranqlin | May 16, 2007 10:38:10 AM
That's a misguided purchase. The Post Office always warn in advance when they're going to up the mailing rate, so buy the stamps before it just goes up.
Posted by: Farmer Bob | May 16, 2007 10:44:49 AM
It is a pretty bad investment. Put the money in a 5% CD and you will do better.
Posted by: SwarthyTroll | May 16, 2007 11:10:25 AM
If the cost of stamps goes up .10 in the next ten years, it will have earned him $1920. In that same time he could have made $4000 in interest @ 5% in a savings account with that $8K.
If they go up ten cents in the next year it will have been a good move (providing he can find someone to buy 19,000 stamps), but I don't see that happening.
Posted by: EV | May 16, 2007 11:19:43 AM
I was adjusting the postal meter at work and came across the last two postage announcement sheets that somebody threw into a drawer.
37 cents effective June, 2002
39 cents effective January, 2006
41 cents effective May, 2007
See a pattern here? I expect the rate to go to 43 cents in February, 2008. And then to 45 cents in July, 2008.
I think that the postal service is embarassed to admit, even though they represent themselves as a privatized entity, that they are really like most government agencies - bleeding money and demanding higher fees to prop up a fading business.
Posted by: KDP | May 16, 2007 11:23:40 AM
A couple of articles that reflect the intelligence of this decision:
http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=5832
http://statastic.com/2007/05/14/arbritage-and-the-forever-stamp/
This person clearly doesn't understand the impact of inflation. Either that, or they believe the rate of postal fee increases will be jumping.
A fool and his money will soon be parted.
I think the postal service is doing us all a service by doing this. I still have 39c stamps. A pain in the butt once there is a postal increase - I then have to get the right amount of postage to make these work again. With these forever stamps, I can buy them without having to worry about this ever again. The first article I list says as much in the end - post office is providing better and better services.
Posted by: Yo | May 16, 2007 11:48:28 AM
KDP,
I believe the U.S. Postal Service has been in the black for a few years now. That's not to say it operates on the same playing field as other businesses because it is essentially free from taxation. But it is a remarkably efficient organization.
For a measly 41 cents, I can send a hand-written letter (or a check, or an invitation) to anyone in the United States, and if they moved the post office will forward it for free. If the post office were ever truly privatized do you think the price would be that reasonable?
Posted by: Oxhead | May 16, 2007 1:43:42 PM
I think the US Postal service is great. The postal service of a nation is a reflection of the general nature of the nation. Have you guys ever tried mailing stuff to other countries? People from certain parts of the world tell me never to use their postal service and the only safe way to send parcels is by DHL or FedEx, otherwise they'll never see it. Hurrah for the USPS.
Posted by: Farmer Bob | May 16, 2007 2:03:54 PM
Maybe this person is planning a REALLY BIG wedding or doesn't understand the concept of bulk mail permits.
Posted by: Kghoti | May 16, 2007 2:51:51 PM
Maybe it's just a clever marketing campaign by our friends at the USPS sales and marketing dept???
This will get national coverage..that my friends is a million dollars + worth of practically free advertising..
The USPS does after have a very adept group of Madison Avenue boys and girls working for them....
Hey they got you to look, and after all that's what marketing is all about.....L
Posted by: Lorenzo | May 16, 2007 3:15:31 PM
I can see where Lorenzo is going except for one small problem.....
About a month ago we saw an article where a Cumberland County Pennsylvania jury acquitted a guy for taping girls changing because he claimed to be trying to film ghosts.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/117624931946390.xml&coll=1
The stamp purchase was made in Camp Hill, PA...anyone care to guess where it's located??? Yep, good ole Cumberland County. This guy obviously isn't a savy investor. Maybe it's something in the water.
Posted by: karst | May 16, 2007 3:39:26 PM
Oxhead the USPS is its own private company. They US Government has zero control over their operations nor does the Government pay for their operations.
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 16, 2007 4:01:14 PM
TAG: I wouldn't say that the government has no control over USPS operations--It has at least as much control as bulk mailers ( your bank, your insurance company etc--everyone who is legally required to notify you by mail)
There's quite a lot of negotiation that goes on between the USPS and its major clients. The discussion between the Treasury (who sends out all those lovely government checks) and USPS is particulary convoluted.
And the Rate Change encompassed more than just hiking up the price class stamp--it charges extra for flats (all those stupid things that come in 8.5 x 11 envelopes) and mail over a standard thickness. Why? Because it is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY cheaper to mechanically scan and sort number 10 envelopes.
Posted by: Nell | May 16, 2007 4:37:31 PM
Nell the government cannot tell them what to do or how to conduct their business. They may have some influence on certain things as you stated but they cannot control them or threaten to shut them down or tell them they cannot raise their prices.
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | May 16, 2007 7:05:55 PM
Asshole guy: I believe the US government has not completely cut off the umbilical cord in some way. I seem to recall that postal workers are still federal employees. Mail crime is federal crime, and I'm sure that attacks on postal workers are federal offenses as well.
Posted by: Farmer Bob | May 16, 2007 7:50:08 PM
Slightly off topic, but the USPS is an "independent establishment within the executive branch" of the federal government. It's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They have their own law enforcement agency. They can negotiate treaties. In fact, one of the reasons they've had to raise rates recently is because Congress has mandated the USPS keeps some ungodly amount of money in escrow; they can't just be $2 in the black at the end of the fiscal year. They may be independent, but USPS is definitely part of the federal government.
Posted by: Alan | May 17, 2007 7:26:49 AM
