January 27, 2018 – Additional ounce stamp

        

         I write letters by hand, they can get a little long, and it just irks me I go over 1 ounce and think I need to slap another full price stamp [at the moment it is 50 cents] on it to get it mailed. I have a weigh scale and today’s letter was 1.5 ounces. When I have time, I figure out how much I need and cobble together what I have from my little stamp box of small denomination stamps instead of throwing caution to the wind and nickels out the window with just slapping on another 50 cents stamp.

After sticking on twenty-one cents’ worth of stamps, [five of the 4-cent stamps and a one-cent stamp], I discovered I was low on these little denominational stamps. I’m down to two [1996 twenty cent stamps, Blue Jay stamps originally for post cards], and nine [2008 one cent Tiffany Lamps stamps]. I am rather shocked that I’ve had these stamps kicking around for many years in my stamp box.

Over the years, I have used my share of sarcasm at the United States Post Office when they increase the stamps for first class #10 envelopes with the often-asked question,

“Got a single stamp yet for the next ounce?” 

“No, you’ll have to use __ and __ to make up that amount of postage.”

That always irked me too.  The USPS was depending on human nature; just slap on two stamps and be done with it – yet, you are basically overpaying them to move your single piece of mail by 29 cents which is no bargain.

Also, the USPS always said they weren’t solvent.  Well, what about the sheets and sheets of stamps that collectors have in their stamp albums and vaults that services have been paid for. Money has gone into the till – and services – so far – haven’t been used and will never be used.  How could they possibly be in the red?  How many millions of dollars of stamps are sitting idle in collectors’ possession?  Does anyone even know?

When the USPS announced raising postal rates, I would buy myself and my Mom several sheets of one-cents stamps and send a few sheets to my Mom. For a time, it seemed the USPS was raising rates as often as you changed your socks.  I had no trouble buying sheets of one-cent stamps down here; however, my Mom in Massachusetts had a devil of a time. It was somewhat funny to me in a way, buying sheets of one-cent stamps to mail to my Mom so she could mail letters to me that had the right amount of postage on them.

Today, I asked the question with a better approach – more serene and polite, like a nice little old lady.

“This letter is 1.5 ounces and I added 21 cents of additional postage, is that correct?” I asked softly as I slid the letter smothered in small denominational stamps onto their scale, and added, “I hope the weight of the stamps didn’t put it over the mark.”

“It is fine, has enough postage for up to 2 ounces,” she announced after she calculated the total of the half a dozen stamps plastered along the top of the envelope.

“So, has the US Post Office come up with an additional ounce stamp yet?” I asked sweetly expecting to hear the work around method I have been using all these years.

“Yes,” she said and went to get a couple of sheets.

That surprised me. When I asked how much they were per sheet, she had to scan it in before she could tell me. That surprised me even more. I guess there is not much call for them, or no one actually puts just the sufficient amount of postage on envelopes anymore, or everyone is a big spender and tosses on an extra first class stamp worth 50 cents to cover just 21 cents of cost. 

I felt rich today and bought two sheets worth - $8.40 for 40 stamps.  That should hold me for a year or two.  Then I noticed they were “forever stamps.”

When I researched the additional ounce, forever stamp, I was even more surprised as they have been around since 2015. 

Did I have that many assorted denomination stamps piled up over the years unused or am I now just getting into writing longer letters?  My, my, how time flies: I learned something new that everyone has known, except me, since 2015. 

There must be some sort of Guinness World Record for not being up-to-date.