It is illegal to reuse stamps - though that doesn't stop people doing it. Some stamps are also made with little cuts in them to make it harder to peel them off. If the stamp is really uncancelled, it is very difficult for the Post Office to prove that it has been reused.
If you received the wrong denomination, kind, or size of stamps or the wrong envelope, you can exchange them at full postage value. Stamps can be exchanged if they are: Intact, full panes of stamps. Coils of stamps in the original sealed wrappers.
Since unused postage never expires, you can resell stamps. It is 100% legal, and there are no laws prohibiting the resale of postage stamps. Have you ever purchased stamps at Costco, Walmart, or the neighborhood liquor store? Every business that sells stamps, and is not the Post Office, legally resells stamps.
Detailed Guide to Where You Can Buy Stamps
- 1 – Amazon – Order Stamps Online.
- 2 – United States Postal Service (USPS)
- 3 – Banks.
- 4 – Walmart Super Center Stores.
- 5 – Pharmacies – CVS, Walgreens and RiteAid.
- 6 – A Gas Station.
- 7 – Bookstores and Office Supply Stores.
- 8 – UPS Stores.
Manufacturing or knowingly selling fake postage stamps is a federal crime punishable by fines and/or up to five years in prison.
Bisected stamps are valuable to collectors today because of their rarity, but only when the cut portion is still affixed to the envelope and shows the postmark proving that they were accepted as postage. Otherwise, anybody can cut a stamp in half.
“Royal Mail can also detect whether stamps have been used before to protect its revenue. In cases where this has been detected, there will be an extra postage charge to the customer. These are left on the envelope when the stamp is peeled away, rendering the stamp useless.
Returning your stamps to the Post OfficeThe Post Office does not provide cash refunds for postage, even if they are in perfect condition. They will only offer an exchange for other postage, so if you're not in need of shipping services, you're stuck.
There isn't enough room on a letter to use only one cent stamps. A letter with only one cent stamps will be rejected by the processing machines as having no detectible postage, as one cent stamps do not have the special ink that defines letter postage.
You can still use $1 stamps or other values lower than the current basic postage rate to send your mail within Australia. Just make sure that you add other stamps to the item so that the correct postage is applied.
Often you can put them in a stock page, stock book or a mount and close the album or binder, and the stamps will flatten out over time. Just be careful not to crease the stamp when putting it in the sleeve or mount.
Only rarely do stamps prove to be a good investment, and few collectors engage in their hobby in hopes of making a profit. However, one of the beauties of collecting, unlike many other hobbies, is that stamp collections can return some money to the collector or to his or her heirs.
Most cancelled, or used, 20th-century U.S. stamps are worth less than the paper they're printed on. Used air mail stamps are also popular, as are cancelled duck stamps, commemoratives, and other types of postage. Most cancelled, or used, 20th-century U.S. stamps are worth less than the paper they're printed on.
David Brent: In fact, a postage stamp is legal tender. A bus driver would have to accept that as currency.
Why is forever crossed out on stamp? Answer: That is simply for digital images only, to prevent counterfeiting. The actual stamps don't have the word crossed out.
How to Determine Stamp Values
- Identify the stamp.
- Find out when was the stamp issued.
- Know the stamp's age and material used.
- Determine the centering of the design.
- Check the stamp's gum.
- Determine the condition of the perforations.
- See if the stamp has been cancelled or not.
- Find out the rarity of the stamp.
Top 4 Cheapest Places To Buy Stamps (& How to Get Free Stamps!)
- Walmart.
- Office Depot/OfficeMax. Other Places to Buy Stamps Near You & Online.
- Amazon.
- Major pharmacies.
- Banks/ATMs.
- Gas stations.
- UPS stores.
- Grocery stores & supermarkets.
Rural Mail CarriersIf you live in a rural areas, you can purchase postage stamps directly from your USPS rural mail carrier. Rural carriers provide many postal services along their routes, including Certified, Registered, Express and Priority Mail services, money orders and package shipping.
20 Ways to Get FREE Stamps for Your Collection
- From your mail – Before throwing away any pieces of mail you receive, check for stamps.
- From family members – Ask your family members to save the stamps they receive in the mail for you.
- From friends and coworkers – Ask your friends and/or coworkers to save stamps for you.
How many stamps do I need?
- For a standard letter: If you are mailing a standard letter, one Forever Stamp or one First Class Letter stamp at the top right corner of an envelope can be used.
- For a package: For packages that weigh less than 12 ounces (0.75 pounds), one (or more) postage stamps are accepted.
Generally speaking, you can mail 4-5 pages of regular paper, plus an envelope, for the regular first class (“one stamp”) rate. Heavier paper, rigid or oversized envelopes will cost more. You can get about 10 pages of standard page weight, plus an envelope, for the two ounce rate.
To order stamps or other USPS® products online, go to and make your selection from the selections listed under Postal Store.
A letter without a stamp probably won't end up at its destination, but there are a few instances where you can mail things without a stamp. The truth is, it doesn't work that way. Mail in the U.S. requires postage but there are some interesting exceptions.
The price for First-Class Mail Forever letter stamps last increased in January of 2019, bringing the cost up to the current $0.55 price, which will remain the same in 2020.
Print Postage from Your ComputerSee two of the most convenient shipping services to get postage for your mail and packages. With just a few clicks, you can set shipping preferences and print postage labels from your home or office.
Short answer: no, they never expire, even though postage rates are increasing in 2020! They are valid forever as long as they can be validated as legitimate postage. This means if you put an old stamp that looks stained and ratty on a letter with tape, it will likely be rejected.
Australia's standard stamp price will rise 10% in 2020. The price is already 25 times higher than when Australia went decimal. In an all too familiar development, the price of sending a standard letter will rise 10% from $1.00 to $1.10 from the start of 2020.
While the price of postage for a standard letter usually goes up, there have been a couple of instances where postage prices actually went down. Old, unused postage stamps don't expire and can continue to be used, although additional postage might be necessary.
A professional appraisal by a member of the American Stamp Dealers Association is recommended. ASDA members adhere to a strict Code of Conduct. They are responsible for reviewing your philatelic material and placing a fair value on the stamps, with regard to the quality and the current market price.
The 10 Most Valuable U.S. Stamps
- The Inverted Jenny. (Courtesy of Siegel Auction Gallery)
- 1847 Issue Block of 16 of Ben Franklin.
- Almanac Stamp of 1765 or 1766.
- 'Blue Boy' Alexandria Postmaster's Provisional.
- 1869 Pictorials—Inverted Center Errors.
- Two-Cent Blue Hawaiian Missionary.
- 1860 Stolen Pony Cover.
- Pan American Inverts.
An H-rate stamp is worth 33 cents, so you need two to pay the 55-cent one ounce rate for a standard envelope. However, make sure you aren't using the H-rate make-up stamp. They are only worth 1 cent, so you would need 55 of them.
