Tag Archives: USA

Saving the U.S. Postal Service

In recent days, The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has warned that it may be broke as soon as September of this year. So far, the federal government refuses to provide funds to keep this essential service running. That has fostered an online grassroots campaign to fund the USPS by purchasing postage stamps. Great idea!

The premise is that if every adult in the United States bought a 20-stamp pane or booklet, it would immediately raise $2.3 billion and would ensure the continued longevity of American mail delivery, which is one year older than the republic itself, having been organized by no less a luminary than Benjamin Franklin in 1775.

Transcontinental Railroad stamps commemorate the 150th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Point, Utah, in 1869. They are still available at some post offices and online. For complete details, Click Here or on the photograph above.

Buying postage stamps is as easy as picking them up from Walmart, grocery stores, or other retailers in the normal course of business. Just ask at checkout. The cashier will either have them or will direct you to customer service.

Of course, postage stamps can be bought at any post office, where you will usually find a nice selection of commemorative stamps from which to choose.

If you don’t want to go out in public during these days of pandemic, just order online from the U.S. Postal Service. Click Here or on the photo above to be taken to the USPS’ website to order a pane of these elegant Transcontinental Railroad commemoratives (18 forever stamps for $9.90) or to see what else is to your liking.

The inability to mail Aunt Beatrice a birthday card, send a postcard to friends, or to ship a care package to the grandkids is not something any of us want to live with.

Let’s save the USPS. It’s good for individuals and families. It’s good for communities and states. It’s good for the United States of America. Let’s make this happen.

#BuyStamps #SaveTheUSPS #MailTheLove

U.S. Postal Service Lowers the Cost of a Stamp for First Time in 97 Years

This past Sunday, 10 April 2016, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) made history by lowering the cost of a First Class domestic postage stamp from 49 cents to 47 cents. It’s the only time in 97 years that the cost of mailing a letter to your Aunt Ethel has gone down instead of up.

USPS Price Drop

On Sunday, 10 April 2016, the cost of mailing a domestic First Class one-ounce letter in the USA fell from 49 cents to 47 cents. It’s the first such reduction in nearly 100 years. • Courtesy USPS Office of Inspector General

The surprising change came about due to a ruling by the Postal Regulatory Commission, which gave the USPS permission to raise the price of postage nearly 5% in 2014 to recoup some of its losses during the Great Recession of 2008-2010. Time ran out and the USPS was forced to make the reduction. USPS management is not happy about it, though. The U.S. Postal Service  made its first profit in many years during the first quarter of 2016 that ended 31 March.

The last time that the USPS (the old Post Office Department–then a cabinet-level government agency) dropped postage prices was in 1919 when they rolled back the cost of a First Class stamp to pre-World War I levels.

On Sunday, the cost of mailing a domestic post card dropped from 35 cents to 34 cents. The cost of sending a one-ounce letter overseas fell a nickel from $1.20 to $1.15.

And those Forever stamps that you bought last week for 49 cents each? Use one to write your auntie a letter. That’s a great way to say hello and give her your “two-cents worth.”

For more information about the price drop, read this announcement from the USPS or Google it for the latest on the controversial move.

Finding Stamp Dealers

Thousands of stamp dealers operate across the globe, perhaps even in your neighborhood. They are a great source of both new and used stamps, new issues, albums, stock books, stamp tongs, other stamp-collecting supplies and advice.

To find a local stamp dealer or a philatelic firm that specializes in the topics, countries and types of stamps that you want to collect, use one of these stamp-dealer search engines maintained by national stamp-dealer associations.

Though headquartered in a particular country, association membership often extends to dealers of other nations. Click on their respective logos to access membership information:

American Philatelic Society

American Philatelic Society
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA
560+ dealers in USA, Canada and 19 other nations

 

American Stamp Dealers’ Association
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, USA
350+ dealers in USA and elsewhere, including China, Germany, Japan, Peru, Serbia and 14 other nations

APTA Logo

Australasian Philatelic Traders’ Association
Blackburn, Victoria, Australia
80+ dealers in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and four other nations

CSDA Logo

Canadian Stamp Dealers’ Association
London, Ontario, Canada
90+ dealers in Canada, France, UK and USA

NSDA LogoNational Stamp Dealers’ Association
Tempe, Arizona, USA
190+ dealers in USA, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel and UK

New Zealand Stamp Dealers Association
Manukau City, New Zealand
45+ dealers in New Zealand, Australia and three other nations

 

PTS LogoThe Philatelic Traders’ Society
Lingfield, Surrey, United Kingdom
300+ dealers in UK, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Malta, Poland, Portugal and numerous other nations

 

For 19 other national stamp dealers’ associations, visit the International Federation of Stamp Dealers’ Associations where you can find links to professional philatelic groups in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

IFSDAInternational Federation of Stamp Dealers’ Associations
Lausanne, Switzerland