Postal Letter

Are USPS Forever stamps a good investment?

Public Comments

1. Only if you plan on using a large amount after the rate goes up. However, you have to understand that their overall rate of increase can't be higher than inflation. Therefore, it's not a good long-term investment.
2. It all depends upon what you mean by "investment." I gather by your reference that you mean "are USPS stamps a good buy?" They are indeed a good buy, especially since I understand that there will be a large increase this coming February. Most stamps have the price imprinted on the stamp. If you affix a stamp with the value on the face of the stamp, and the price has gone up since you purchased the stamp, you will have to add more money (if you mail it anyway with the insufficient postage, it will be thrown away). But a Forever stamp is always legal -- if you buy it at 10 cents, it will always be good to mail a letter without any additional payment. Even if the price of a single stamp rises to $1.00.
3. No, there is really no investment value in Forever Stamps. Look at it this way. If you bought 100 Forever stamps in May 2009 at 44¢ each, you would have invested $44. Today, those stamps would be worth, $44. a 0% return. To refute some of the statements made in another answer, Postage was "proposed" to be increased by 2¢ in January 2011, not February. That proposal has since been denied, and there will not be any increase in January. Another incorrect statement is that mail without sufficient postage is thrown away. That NEVER happens with First Class Mail. Something without enough postage is sent to the destination as Postage Due. If the addressee refuses to pay the additional postage, the item is returned to the sender for payment of the additional postage, if there is a return address. If the item is undeliverable at either point, it is sent to a mail recovery center where it will be scanned for any financial documents by machinery designed to pick up the magnetic ink present on checks. If no check is determined to be inside, the item will eventually be opened to try to find any information inside to indicate any delivery point so that the item can be delivered. In the case of a check, an image is made of the check and the image is sent to the address on the check and the check is shredded. Completely undeliverable letters are also eventually shredded and all are recycled. Packages that can not be delivered have their contents auctioned off periodically. USPS makes every effort possible to deliver an item somewhere. When all possible avenues for delivery have been exhausted will something actually be declared dead.