Post Office Plans to Release the "Forever" Stamp

With the cost of stamps going up every year or so, the U.S. Post office has proposed a new Forever stamp which would work for all first class mail, no matter how high the price of stamps rise.

Currently the first class postal rate is 39 cents. It has been proposed that this price should be raised up to 42 cents by next year. The ever changing cost of stamps got postal officials thinking about releasing the Forever Stamp so that customers could mail their letters at a locked in price.

The new forever stamp would also help with the sometimes frantic search of 1, 2 or 3 cent stamps that people seem to need after each post office mailing increase occurs.

The previous time that the cost of mailing a letter increased was in January when stamps leaped from 37 cents up to 39 cents. If the price jumps again in 2008, it will be the second consecutive year. Definitely annoying for those who frequently mail off bills, letters, cards and other items generally sent first class.

If the newest idea regarding the Forever Stamp is approved, customers can stock up on them at a locked in present time, first class rate and mail as much as they want, as often as they want, forever.

If the Postal Rate Commission agrees with the idea of the new stamp, it could be available as early as May of this year. It could possibly cause problems within the post office so all aspects of its release will be looked into before a final decision is made.

Here's the catch: the Forever stamps will work forever but if you are out of them, you will have to purchase them at the going first class mail rate. So if stamps are currently 42 cents, the forever stamp will also be 42 cents. If you use them all up and the rate increases to 44 cents, well then you will then need to stock up on Forever stamps again but now for 44 cents a piece. The hope is that consumers will buy up a bunch the first year or two and have enough to use for years to come, essentially they will gain value as the cost of mailing goes up.

The cost of first class stamps has increased 13 times since 1974 when it was a mere 8 cents to mail a letter. It went up to 10 cents which was a jump at the time. Post office workers predict that in the future rates will rise yearly just as other shipping companies tend to increase prices annually.

The idea is still fairly new and will take a little while to decide on. Critics wonder if forever stamps may sell out quickly. Will they be able to print enough for the high demand? And then what happens if customers do stock up and don't need to purchase new stamps for many years, how will that impact the post offices revenue? The idea sounds great but only time will tell if it's worth it to market Forever stamps.

Sources:

Kathy Chu. "Postal Service Seeks Price Increase 'Forever Stamp'" USA Today.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-03-stamp-usat_x.htm

Christopher Lee. "Post Office Hopes Idea of Forever Stamp Sticks" Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050301039.html