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Can I slap "Forever" stamps on a letter to Canada?


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Say what!?? I was told that I couldn't use Forever stamps to send mail outside the country because it didn't have the US$ amount on them, so the other country wouldn't know if there was enough postage. Granted, I asked about this back when the Forever stamp was new, so things may have changed.

 

I'm going to have to check on this, as I mail things to three other countries and I would *love* to not have to constantly buy special stamps for that stuff!

 

I think they had to change that policy when USPS phased out regular first class stamps in favor of forever stamps to cut costs (expensive for them to print and sell filler stamps every year.)

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I mailed a letter to Germany last week. The post office told me that while technically you can use Forever stamps to send mail out of the country, they are getting complaints of undelivered mail or undeliverable mail because the stamps don't have the amount of postage on them.

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i've had it work to toronto, edmonton, niagara on the lake, victoria.... and i've not had it not work. but like many things, it may depend on the human at the other end.....

 

ymmv,

ann

 

So if it "doesn't work" the letter just comes back to you?

 

How do countries deal with shared postage? I always thought the money stayed with the sending country and the delivering country did it for "free" (and kept all the postage fee for letters going the other way). If that is so, why would Canada care? And, since the money came to the US post office, if the US post office does share the fee, it would be them sending money to Canada. Why would Canada care? Surely, if there is some fee-sharing going on (which sounds cumbersome to me), unless the US said: gosh, there is no amount on that stamp, so sorry Canada, we won't pay you, why would Canada care? Why would the US refuse to give the share if the US recognizes the stamp?

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From: http://about.usps.com/mailpro/2011/mar-apr/page4.htm

 

Q: Can Forever stamps be used for international mail?

A: Customers can use Forever stamps for international mail, but since all international prices are higher than domestic prices, customers will need to attach additional postage. The value of the Forever stamp is the domestic First-Class Mail 1-ounce letter price in effect on the day of use.

 

I have mailed internationally and to Canada with Forever stamps. The woman at the window could tell me the actual value of the Forever stamp when I bought it. That is the value you use for mailing internationally, not the current value. So if you use an older Forever stamp, it will only have the value of the stamp at the time of purchase. They can tell by the design. She would either add more stamps or just print a label for the different in postage. This holds true for mailing to Canada.

Edited by LMA
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From: http://about.usps.com/mailpro/2011/mar-apr/page4.htm

So if you use an older Forever stamp, it will only have the value of the stamp at the time of purchase. They can tell by the design. She would either add more stamps or just print a label for the different in postage. This holds true for mailing to Canada.

 

 

Humm, I do have older stamps. 2 would have covered it, but to massage the hearts of the mail gods, I stuck on 3. Got my fingies crossed.

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This

I have mailed internationally and to Canada with Forever stamps. The woman at the window could tell me the actual value of the Forever stamp when I bought it. That is the value you use for mailing internationally, not the current value. So if you use an older Forever stamp, it will only have the value of the stamp at the time of purchase.

contradicts this

From: http://about.usps.com/mailpro/2011/mar-apr/page4.htm

 

Q: Can Forever stamps be used for international mail?

A: Customers can use Forever stamps for international mail, but since all international prices are higher than domestic prices, customers will need to attach additional postage. The value of the Forever stamp is the domestic First-Class Mail 1-ounce letter price in effect on the day of use.

I understand needing to add postage to get up to Canada's (or any country's) rate, but the stamp is worth what a current Forever stamp is worth on the day of use (for either one, new or old).

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I understand needing to add postage to get up to Canada's (or any country's) rate, but the stamp is worth what a current Forever stamp is worth on the day of use (for either one, new or old).

Right. Isn't that what makes them "forever" and not face-value stamps?

 

And has anyone figured out why Canada (or any other destination country) cares how much USPS collects for the post? That is the question that bugs me.

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