Reminder: US Postage Increase Aug 29th
 

Just wanted to remind all the peeps in United States that 1st Class Postage increases to 58 cents on Aug 29th. I'm going to get 2-3 rolls next week to be ready for my Christmas Card List and mailing everyday cards as well. I'll be all set for a while!

May be a stupid question but I'm too courious! it is okay to pay less if you have "old" stamps?
If here (Switzerland) the postage increases, we have to pay more. The stamps don't matter.
For example: if a letter is 1.- and will be 1.10 we have to pay -.10 plus after day X.

Is this different in the USA?

I believe that if you buy "forever" stamps in the USA, which just state whether they are for the US or for international and don't have any face value printed on them, then they are valid - well, forever. I know that's how it is here: we have N for national and W for world. If I buy those, I can go on using them. But if I have €1 stamps and postage goes up to €1.10, then I have to buy 10c stamps to make up the difference, just like you. I always stock up as much as possible with W stamps!

Thank you for posting this! I will stock up for Christmas cards, too.

Sabrina is correct. This explains it better than I can and also answers my own Q about using them for international. :)

https://about.usps.com/news/fact-she...tamp-facts.htm

I better go check on my holiday reserves. Thanks!

So glad the ones I just bought are forever stamps. Thanks for the update!

Thank you so much @Cook22 :)
I allways wondered, what "forever stamps" may be LOL
That's something that doesen't exist here.

Where are you getting your information?? I checked at the Post Office yesterday and was told that the increase HAD NOT been approved as of yet!

I called my post office and spoke to the post master. She said that first class, 1 ounce postage will be increased to 58 cents on August 29th. So, then I did a Google search and found several news stories that were reporting that the increase has been approved.

Postage
 

Wow, I just did some calculations on how many cards I send in a year, then 10 years. You might not realize that the little increases actually amount to a nice little chunk of change. So I looked at all of the great stamps on USPS and filled out my order. Then I decided to Google the lowest price on Forever stamps. After all, there must be a less expensive way to shop for stamps. I choose Ebay where I saved $5.00 off every 100 stamps. That means I get to buy more craft supplies😉. Doesn't it? The choice of designs is limited, but I am set for the next 10 years. My savings were $40.00 less than the post office price and shipping was free. For me, I enjoy pinching pennies, it is a no brainer. Now I am headed off to shop for some paper crafting supplies.🤑

Where did you get the stamps on ebay? Are they reliable and is shipment prompt? A friend tried getting stamps off ebay and got burned as when she got them they were not "forever" stamps. She had to purchase additional postage to mail her envelopes.

mparrott: Use "forever stamps" as your search term on eBay. You'll still have to be careful because others will come up; but if you read the descriptions, you should be okay. Like I said, READ; there are forever postcard stamps out there that look so good price-wise. But those are good only for postcards.

I bought some yesterday for

Thank you for posting this - I had somehow missed the whole thing! Had no idea. Will go get some forever stamps soon!
Thank you!!

I bought 2 rolls last month and I'm thinking of getting a couple more rolls. Whenever I create card sets as gifts, I include plain envelopes and I've started adding postage stamps. I gave a set of cards to my older daughter and she was so happy to get stamps along with the blank cards.

I got some more myself yesterday. I go to the PO online bc I get the most pattern choices. I like the sun solar flares for example-that is iridescent btw.

I ordered the lighthouses and one of the what they called semipostals. They have 4 of them-they raise money for causes. Last time I got the PTSD one and this time for endangered animals for my everyday use. The others I keep bc I love the idea of putting a stamp that matches the theme of the card so I have slowly have been building up. I know-that sounds crazy. lol Unfortunately they stopped the really beautiful landscapes and floral in a vase series. :( I am not wild about the new florals...although the wild orchids are pretty.

I saw on ebay people are making a lot of money on discontinued patterns!! Even just a year old. Who knew?

yes I got the Solar stamps and the Coffee ones ;)

Non-machinable stamps, the yellow butterfly (75 cents), have also gone up. Now a purple butterfly and 88 cents and no longer interchangeable with the 2 oz (bouquet) stamps. The girl at the post office didn't know if the yellow need extra postage.

I have one old non-machineable yellow butterfly stamp so I guess I need "additional" postage to go with that?

Cheermom, The Yellow California Dogface Butterfly has the words" non- machineable surcharge" on the stamp and this indicates its usage value. Like a Forever stamp, this stamp will always be valid for the rate printed on it. It just costs more to buy it now.

Cheermom, forgot to add this info is from the USPS website under the Yellow Dogface Butterfly stamp.