This stamp is forever
By Patrick Kelley (Contact)
Originally published 01:33 p.m., May 8, 2008
Updated 01:33 p.m., May 8, 2008
Mother’s day is Sunday. It will be the last chance for Americans to send a card to Mom for 41 cents, except for those wise folks who stock up on Forever stamps this week.
On Monday, the rate for first-class postage will rise to 42 cents. So will the price of the Forever stamp. But a Forever stamp bought this week for 41 cents will be good for first-class postage as long as the U.S. Postal Service keeps delivering mail. The stamps will send a Mother’s Day card next year or a Christmas card in 2058 when, based on the increases in the past 50 years, the postal service will be charging 80 cents to deliver a first-class letter.
Of course, the people who get the greatest return on an investment in Forever stamps bought this week will be the ones who don’t start using them next week. After all, postage is going up by only a penny. Better to hang onto the stamps for five or six years — until postal rates have risen substantially. Saving a penny is nice, but saving a nickel is even better.
But the nice thing about the Forever stamp is that it can be used whenever.
Want to show your mother how much you love her? Stick a Forever stamp on her card this week and show her you are willing to give up a part of your investment in the future just to get a card to her now.
She’ll appreciate it, big spender.
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Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on May 8, 2008 at 11:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nobody, including me, likes a raise in price of anything, but mailing a letter or card for .42 cents is a tremendous bargain by any definition. Think about it. If you hired me to deliver a letter for you to, say, Denver, I would charge you ten bucks an hour plus expenses, including gas and mileage, and meals and lodging. The post office will do it for you for 42 measly cents. To send a 1/2 ounce letter via Pony Express in 1860 cost $5.00. In today's dollars, that's about $200.00. Sure, I'd rather a stamp cost 5 cents, but it's still a huge bargain at .42 cents. Now, is gasoline a bargain? Don't get me started.
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