I Guess I'll Be Stocking Up On Forever Stamps This Year!

WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service today announced proposed price changes, including an increase in the price of a First-Class Mail single-piece letter from 46 cents to 49 cents. The proposed changes, which would go into effect in January 2014, are intended to generate $2 billion in incremental annual revenue for the Postal Service.

I mail 10 letters a month or should I say bills. So that means if I bought all the stamps I need now I would save a whopping $3.60. However I really would loose more than what I would save since I would then have to take $55.20 and put it in to a static inventory.

Even though these are small numbers I would be ahead not pre buying stamps but investing the money and then buying stamps at the price increase.

That is a good point 'mkfarm'.

In 1950 when the 1st class post was 3 cents. Had they introduced forever stamps and you had bought a few panes and used them in 2013, you would think that the 3 cent payment in 1950 would be great to use now for 46 cent postage.

However, at a modest average 6% interest on a 3 cents investment would realize $1.18 in 2013!

But 3 cents in 1950 is equal to 29 cents today, so the difference is not nearly as much as it seems at first glance.

I doubt if I mail 10 items in a year. So this has got me thinking...


-IBFS

Why would you buy FOREVER stamps when discount less than face value postage is readily available???

For various reasons many folks think that their grandfather's stamp collection will allow them to retire with a large windfall. It often falls to experienced hobbyists to break the news to them that this simply is not the case. This is not unlike the antique auto hobby, we often have to tell people that the rusted 4-door sitting in their barn is worth a fraction of what they thought.

Of course this subject has been covered often (every week or so?) with experienced hobbyists raising points such as stamp/cover condition and rarity.

So I pulled a few of my old 1955 vintage 'Stamps' periodical out and did a bit of price/value analysis. Obviously we all know that if you went to the post office and purchased full mint sheets of stamps you would struggle to get back their full face value today. But what if you selectively purchased a bit rarer stamps? In 1955 the average cost for a baby Zep (Scott #C18) was $6.25; they are currently selling for an average of $25.00, this represents an increase of 400%. But if you had invested in Dennison Hinges instead (.25 per pack in 1955 and currently selling for an average of $12) you would have realized an increase of 4800%.

Are Dennison hinges still a good investment at current prices? Supply and demand is working in their favor; the finite supply continues to be consumed by the demand. Hinges keep being used but the supply of any given rarer stamp issue tends to remain static (few better quality stamps as being ruined/destroyed/lost).

Of course someone could figure out how to actually make a hinge the works properly but all indications is that this will not happen. So when folks ask me about investing I direct them to stamp hinges, not stamps.

Everybody is thinking profit on the price change. I am just a little short on money to make real money.

http://qz.com/128329/a-step-by-step...tage-stamps/