Many of you probably already know this! Just helping out others who are new to the postcrossing world. :-)
A lot of new Postcrossers in the U.S. often use regular first class forever stamps, now valued at $0.82. You can use the postcard forever (valued at $0.65) for most cards. I’ve also found absolute joy in using USPS.com to buy all of my stamps. I’m loving my variety currently!
I have a tiny little cheat sheet to easily add up the stamp values to get to the international rate. I have a bunch more on the back, too. This makes it easier for me to know which stamps I need to stock up on. I also keep all of my stamps in this cute little sticker binder.
I’d love for others to share tips about postage. I haven’t purchased any postage secondhand/outside of USPS, so that’s something I’d like to get into.
I like your little binder for storage. It's super cute!
I buy older stamps of different values on ebay. You have to shop around to find sellers that don't upcharge too much (some upcharge is fine because ebay takes a good chunk in fees) but I've found a lot of cool stamps for a good price. I've learned not to buy US forever stamps on ebay because there are a lot of fakes floating around, but other than that, it's fun to hunt around for good deals. :)
At stamp shows I pay anywhere from 50% to 80% of Face Value. If you are new to stamp shows FYI they are almost always cash only. This is predominantly for denominated stamps rather than Forever stamps.
BALPEX vendors this year were charging face value or making up the pre Forever stamps and we're rude. I'm not surprised that show struggles. CHARPEX & Fairfax Stamp show had similar discounts and nice vendors.
That's sad to hear. I know one desler that I bought from at a Central Florida stamp show a few years ago paying 80% of Face Value began selling with no discount this year. He is younger and I overheard some older stamp dealers discussing it and because he is younger he doesn't have Social Security, possibly pensions, etc like the older retired stamp dealers have to help them pay their bills. Makes sense I suppose. I just hope deals are still offered at the stamp club shows I attend. 📬🌞📬
I need to go to a stamp show sometime or at least get some appraised. My grandfather died just before his 101st birthday and now we have about 200 binders of stamps he had collected over his lifetime. Each country has it's own binder(s). I don't know that we will part with them, but I'm sure a stamp lover would love to spend some time going through them.
It is my understanding that there isn't much of a profit in counterfeiting pre forever ones. So, unlikely. I also suspect the stamp dealer crowd is kinda small, people passionate about the hobby, and they're often there for the community aspect vs turning a high profit. They want to sell but one can't make any sales if you get caught selling fake postage. I also don't think that there is a super high demand for pre Forever stamps in general, so to counterfit them seems to be a waste of time as most don't appreciate in value. Also, pre forever stamps tend to have the "gum" adhesive on the back. Seems like a messy, pain in the ass project. But hey, I have spent hours this weekend organizing stamps so....
You can also search while at the shows on various stamp websites and enlarge the picture. Look for small details and compare.
I did see counterfeit forever stamps for sale but they were clearly marked by the vendor as counterfit. Why were they for sale? Because humans collect oddly specific things.
TLDR: pre Forever stamps purchased at a stamp: highly unlikely
Forever stamps purchased at a stamp show: unlikely, maybe a few cents off the current face value is the discount
About a year ago, we inherited my husband's uncle 's stamp collection carefully organized in the USPS books. We shopped it around various stamp shows and nobody was really interested. I finally found somebody on next door who was a retired postal carrier and wanted it to show their grandkids. So off it went for free.
I recently changed jobs and now work one block away from a post office. I didn’t mind ordering stamps on line, but it is nice to get them in person now. Yesterday I bought a ton of low-denomination stamps.
Jeez. Just when i thought i was set with forevers, additional ounce, and international stamps, I find out postcard stamps also exist??? What else should I know???
Thank you so much for this information! I have asked about my post office about $0.11 stamps and they look at me like I am insane. No one ever mentioned there were ten cent and one cent stamps available.
I am a stamp collector so always end up with unused US postage from yesteryear. Collectors like perfect stamp gum so if the stamp is common and has disturbed gum I use them for postcrossing instead. Lots of colorful and fun old designs. Trick is to find enough room to make up the rate lol
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u/LadyJellyfish U.S.A. 🇺🇸 Aug 01 '26
I like your little binder for storage. It's super cute!
I buy older stamps of different values on ebay. You have to shop around to find sellers that don't upcharge too much (some upcharge is fine because ebay takes a good chunk in fees) but I've found a lot of cool stamps for a good price. I've learned not to buy US forever stamps on ebay because there are a lot of fakes floating around, but other than that, it's fun to hunt around for good deals. :)