US Postage Stamp Cost

Question for those in the know:
Is it legal for a business to sell US postage stamps above face value? In particular a hotel gift shop. They charged us 70¢ for a forever 49¢ fireworks on black background postage stamp (just the stamp, nothing else) last week in Las Vegas, NV. When I questioned it the employee told me that's how much they were.

I did some research, and it is apparently legal. Unfair, yes, but legal. At least, according to snopes.com :/

It is obviously legal, otherwise every auction site listing for modern US postage, offered and sold above face, would be illegal.

Example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-MINT-477...121702524736

It's a 50 cent stamp to the government. You can lick it, put it on an envelope, and mail your utility bill if you want, after paying $1,200 to get it. The sale on the auction site is not illegal. The same is true for current issues.

In there defense someone had to go to the post office buy the stamps at 49c each. For the work involved 20c profit isn't unreasonable.

It's perfectly legal. Remember back in the days of stamp vending machines, you could buy a couple of 5c, 6c, 8c or 10c stamps for a Quarter, etc., the profit being kept by the store owner or vending machine operator. This was typical whether you were in a convenience store, a hotel or were on vacation at some souvenir shop.

The USPS has enough locations (even in some convenience stores these days) that you shouldn't have that hard a time finding stamps at face value from an official source; of course, if you are on vacation or at a resort and want to mail a letter or postcard right away, there's nothing to stop someone from selling you stamps at a higher price.

Doesn't everyone carry stamps in their wallet?

I believe it's more commonly defined as "Free Enterprise". Yes, it's perfectly legal to sell stamps at above face value.

The thought to do that has never occurred to me.

The self-adhesives stand up nicely in a wallet. (It may be the only thing I like about self-adhesives...)

If the .21 loss on a postage stamp was your biggest loss in "Vegas" then I would say you got out real lucky!

Good point bob

Even if the standard USPS letter rate were 70 cents, I'd still consider it a bargain. If I used any kind of motorized transport, I couldn't get anything more than a few miles for that much. It would also still be less than the equivalent letter rate in many other countries.

Thank you all for your comments. It wasn't about the 21¢, it was whether it was legal to do so in a non philatelic environment like a hotel gift shop. This is the first time I've ever been charged above face @ a gift shop. Thx again! :)

I think it would be illegal if the post office charged above face value, but what do I know?

The USPS has set-up consignment contracts with local groceries, drug stores, (& other) community stores. These stores sell at face value but purchase at a discount rate from the USPS. The consignment contract does not allow the vendor to sell above face value. I guess if a hotel concierge runs out to purchase postage as a convenience & then sells them for greater than face (no consignment) you pay the price. This is how CPU's work for the most part.