What Do You Actually Get When You Buy A Single Stamp For $1?

Since the recent change, if you buy a single stamp from Canada Post for domestic rate, they charge you $1.

Do you get a single P stamp, or do you get a $1 stamp? I was told by my local postal clerk that you get a $1 stamp.

Incorrect. First class (P)(85) is now $1 for one stamp.

Really? She told me you could only buy P stamps in booklets now, you can't buy singles.

There is a $1.00 prairie dog coil stamp. Perhaps that is what you will get. Maybe buying a souvenir sheet with two "P" stamps or a block of four 22c butterfly stamps might be worth it?

When you buy a single $0.85 cent stamp you pay a $0.15 cent extra handling charge, so as to then total to one dollar $1, plus taxes.

When you buy (purchase) a souvenir sheet with whatever stamps on it, 2 P stamps (domestic rate 85c) or one P, one US rate and one international rate, then you pay the programmed in price of the total of the stamps themselves. All the Post Office employee has to do, to save them time, is to scan the bar code.

A neat trick to get slightly cheaper postage, when you do not need the larger amount of stamps found in a booklet, is to use a stamp from a souvenir sheet, where you haven't had to pay for the 15c handling extra charge. Be careful to watch for the pricing and return the souvenir sheet if they charge you an extra 15c or more. Please see the below receipt where I purchased a Royal Ontario Museum souvenir sheet of 2 P stamps.


When you buy a booklet or many booklets you pay the total of the stamps inside face value only, avoiding the 15c single stamp purchase handling charge. Easy for employees to just scan the bar codes again, saving time and possible mathematical mistakes.


Canada Post or any other business only has to tell you that the stamp is now selling for $1, rather than having to sell you on the idea of the 15c handling charge, which would raise some arguments possibly, thus to be avoided.

Arguing is unnecessary in business. Haggling, on the other hand can be useful to arrive at the real market value of a service or item. Unfortunately most Canadians I have encountered do not use haggling or bargaining, But just go to a stamp show meeting or stamp club. Then, sometimes, you can see the bargaining and selling skills come out.

Canada Post receipt for a booklet and a souvenir sheet (SS) where the charge was 85c per stamp.

The postal rate for a single stamp is $0.85. They have rounded it to $1.00 because of the varying rates of GST/HST per province. Also with the elimination of the penny, and in an industry, where service is sold in pennies, the rounding factor is huge. So instead of rounding down, that would occur in some cases, they have decided to grab it all, and round the sale up to $1.00. Thereby making the bookeeping easier for the sale of single stamps across the country. For instance, in Ontario, the HST is 13%. So a single stamp would sell for $0.97, so with no penny to give change, they charge a $1.00.

This is incorrect.
Please see the Canada Post rates for postal use on their own web-site.


From Canada Post (see the side info bar on right side).
http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/a...ndPostOffice
Postal Rates

Canada
0-30g Permanent (P) stamps $0.85 in booklets and coils | 30-50g $1.20 | 50-100g $1.80

All Permanent stamps have a value of $0.85.
For a $0.63 stamp, add a $0.22 stamp to make-up the postage.

USA
0-30g Stamp(s) $1.20 | 30-50g $1.80 |
50-100g $2.95

International
0-30g Stamp(s) $2.50 | 30-50g $3.60 |
50-100g $5.90

Note: Discounts available when using postage meter or postal indicia.

Does CP do this intentionally to mess with our minds.

Or is it as simple as $1.00 for a single stamp and if you buy more than one then they only charge 85c per stamp. Plus taxes.

In both cases you receive a P stamp (85c). A letter <30 grams requires a 85c stamp not a $1.00 stamp.

Thank God they didn't throw in a bonus feature if you buy 10 stamps. We would be completely mixed up then. Might be simpler to text or send an email or phone.

I don't think the "serious collector" is correct. When you pay $1.00 you get a Burrowing Owl single, not a "P" which is 85¢. I could not get my post mistress to give me 2 Beavers (plus the printer's inscription) even for $2.00. She would not break up her coil of 100.

When you purchase one or more stamps that are not in booklets or panes or souvenir sheets, you pay a handling charge of 15c per stamp I think, which is included into the price of the stamp to you, I think, so on the Canada Post literature it shows that you pay $1.00 per stamp.

I think I should travel to the actual Post Office sometime soon and try this out, as I haven't done this so far yet.

Maybe I will be shocked or pleasantly surprised. We will see. I will post a receipt of the sales or stamps I buy.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/per...alprices.jsf
Stamps in booklets/coils/panes $0.85
Meter or Postal Indicia $0.75
Single Stamp(s) $1.00

Most of what has been passed along in this thread is not accurate.

This site has had similar discussions in the past. I am surprised how 'confusing' this is to many people, especially collectors. The Canada Post website and their rate sheets make it very clear as to what the Canada Post policy is for mailing letters.

If you walk into a post office with a single letter to mail (or a few single letters), you will be charged $1 and a $1 stamp will be applied by the clerk (new $1 stamps in coil format were especially made just for this purpose). In this example a $1 stamp is applied to the envelope, not a Permanent(tm) stamp with a face value of 85c that you have paid $1 for.

Here is the new $1 stamp showing the start of the roll. The stamps have been purposely spaced apart to make it easier to remove a single stamp. The gaps have even been slightly rouletted to allow for the excess backing paper to be removed easily.



GST/HST is extra on any postal service, including this transaction.

This $1 stamp is applied by the clerk and your letter is kept by the clerk. You do not receive a $1 stamp to take home with you. I suppose you could ask for a $1 stamp, take it home, apply it to a letter and then return later to mail it, but if you take in a single letter for mailing it is kept by the clerk.

If you take in a single letter that already has postage affixed by yourself, you only need 85c worth of postage affixed to the envelope (whether it be a Permanent(tm) or any combination of other mixed-rate stamps). No need to go the counter, just drop it off in any post office box (but you can hand it to the employee at the counter, if you wish - I usually do and I ask for a hand cancel).

If you take in a single letter that has a 63c stamp already affixed, you can buy a single 22c stamp to make up the difference to 85c.

I suppose you could go into a post office and ask for three 25c stamps and one 10c stamp, walk away from the counter, apply the 85c postage to your letter, and then return the letter for mailing. You would save 15c on the mailing but (for many) you would have spent more in your time. What would be the purpose? To trick Canada Post into mailing your letter for only 85c?

If you buy Permanent(tm) stamps in booklet, souvenir sheet or rolls, you are paying 85c per stamp (but you must buy the entire unit ... i.e. a full booklet of 10 or 30 stamps, full rolls of 100, 300 or 500).

[If you are a Venture One customer, you can now buy Permanent rolls of 300 or 500 and receive a 5% discount.]

Business customers with postage meters pay 75c per letter.

So, if you are a postal history collector there are now 3 basic rates to search for: a $1 mailing with the new $1 stamp; 85c mailing with stamp(s); 75c meter.

From my experience visiting post offices: I take in a single letter and ask for a stamp. In every instance the clerk has said it is $1 to mail that letter and suggested I could buy a booklet of 10 stamps at 85c per stamp. Every clerk has given me the opportunity to save the 15c if I bought the stamps in 'bulk'. I have asked the clerks if people are buying the booklets to save the 15c per mailing. Virtually every clerk has said "no"; it seems people have no problem paying $1 to mail their single letter.

I liken this pricing by Canada Post to supermarkets and other retailers. If you are willing to buy in quantity you can save a bit of money.

There goes the whole "A penny saved is a penny earned."

It appears to me the Canada Post has figured out a way to increase revenue just by making it more expensive to to send a single unit, and blame it on the lack of pennies.
Does the Post keep the extra revenue, or is it credited to the Gov't?

guykickinit...Never mind that...mail me up a box of cents..We have none here any more...Cause I collect coins to...haha

That kinda sucks, I just realized that I have a whole bunch of Canadian coin... Pennies! I suppose they are worthless now! Wait! That means... they are collectible! Just what I need, another collection addiction!
This is just Centsless!
Wert - How can any afford to mail anything? sheesh!

guykickinit....haha...true