What are Forever Stamps?
A forever stamp is a stamp that, once purchased, never becomes obsolete- even if the postal rates increase from the price you purchase the stamp for. Forever stamps are used on First Class mail and have no preprinted price on them. The purchase price for a book of forever stamps is the going rate of first class stamps at the time the book of forever stamps is purchased.
Forever stamps make it more convenient for Postal Service customers to respond to stamp rate increases. Before the advent of forever stamps, customers were forced to buy a one or two cent stamp every time rates increased. They would combine this small one or two cent stamp with what was left of their lower rate book of stamps, to make the total postage on an envelope equal the newly increased rate. Now, rate increases aren’t even noticed until consumers buy a new book of forever stamps.
The forever stamp also gives some relief to postal workers. Rather than face a surge of customers each time the price of stamps increases, they now face normal daily traffic. Additionally, there is no need to destroy the stamps that had been printed with a lower rate -since there is no price printed on the forever stamp, there is no design change necessary when the price of stamps increases.
The creation of forever stamps have answered the concerns of many. They have made mailing easier and more convenient than ever. With the internet taking an ever-increasing share of communications, forever stamps were introduced just in time.
