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

Thank you Robin for the comprehensive answer.

Again the initial question was, what stamp do you get when you pay $1? Canada Post's website only tells you that a single stamp will cost you $1. It does not tell you what you get for $1.

So now I have heard conflicting anecdotes, some saying that when they buy single stamps they get the $1 prarie dog coil, and others saying they get a P stamp.

My postal clerk said she was extremely confused at first as well. Is it possible that some clerks are giving customers P stamps and others are giving $1 stamps?

There is nothing in any of Canada Post's published documentation that indicates that when you buy a single stamp you're supposed to get the $1 prarie dog coil. It only says you'll get a single stamp.

Until that is clarified by Canada Post, I believe the confusion will continue.

hehe... the status quot of Post Offices everywhere.

I can't speak for what different postal clerks are doing. I would hope that all are following whatever guidelines that Canada Post has passed along to them (I don't work for Canada Post and have not seen any internal documentation about this matter).

From a consumer point of view, if I paid $1 I would expect a $1 stamp.

From Canada Post's point of view, they (meaning the postal clerks) do not (or rather, I should say, should not) remove any single Permanent(tm) stamp from its full unit (i.e. from a booklet pane or roll).

[The only exception to this are the single stamps supplied in the Quarterly Pack and Annual Collections.]

Since Canada Post's (and any other company) inventory system is most likely tied to the UPC barcodes and labels on their various products, I cannot see why a clerk would remove a single Permanent stamp from a roll/booklet and sell it for $1 when it only has a retail value of 85c?

Back in December when Canada Post announced that rates were going up and that there would be different tiered pricing, my first thought was: I hope they come out with a "special" stamp to show the correct payment of $1 for a single letter ... and they did. One reason would certainly be for ease of use by the postal clerk but another reason would be for accounting purposes.

If a clerk is accepting $1 and only giving out a Permanent(tm) (85c) stamp then they should get some additional training.

By the way, from visiting numerous post offices (both Corporate and retail outlets in different stores) on various days (i.e. weekdays and weekends), there are all kinds of differently trained 'employees' out there. It is very easy to get different levels of service.

Every transaction that takes place in Canada involves GST/HST unless you have a Native Status card. So even though the Post Office sells a single stamp to you for $1.00, it already has this component factored into it. Every business has to remit and collect this tax in Canada. Otherwise, the $1.00 stamp in Ontario should be $1.13. With rounding $1.15.

And yet, some people wonder why Canada Post is facing difficult financial times.
I am not one of them