Since the era of the Internet has kicked in, long gone has the age where letters were the only way to communicate with a far-long acquaintance, close people, or anyone. With notes in no use anymore, we have also forgotten about stamps, and they are rarely talked cared about. They have shrunk down to just collectibles, souvenirs, or during official communication. But even now use the conventional letter methodology. So it’s wrong to say that letter and stamps have to go out of existence.
But what are stamps? Why are they important to be stuck to a letter before you drop it off to a post office nearby?
Let’s answer some of these questions, know about different types of stamps and their significance and also the central idea of the post, where to some of these “stamps”?
Postal stamps in brief…
You won’t believe it, but postal stamps were invented to prevent corruption. A postal stamp is a tiny piece of paper that sits on one corner of your letter or postcard if you look at it. But they are of exceptionally high significance. A postal stamp is equivalent to the amount of money you will be charged for the parcel or post you seek to send. This whole idea came up when there was no system of charging the post and parcels. Amidst this havoc, there were reports of corruption by the official charging the citizens random charges. Then the method of postal stamps was introduced for unbiased and corruption-free charging of posts.
The valid price of the stamp depends on the size and type of the post you want to send. For instance, a more significant parcel will require bigger and costly stamps. But some stamps were introduced to commemorate an event or to honor an individual. Such stamps are very highly valuable and collectible. Let’s talk more about stamps.
Types of Postal stamps
- Definitive Stamps
The stamps which stay in the US postal stamps catalog forever are called definitive stamps. These the most readily available ones and are used for regular purposes. These are smaller in size and have been a part of the US postal services since 1847. The USPS keeps printing stamps so that they could fulfill each American’s needs. It never runs out of these types of stamps, however harsh the demand gets.
- Commemorative Stamps
When the government wants to issue a stamp in memory of a special event or an important organization, it releases larger stamps than usual. These stamps are called commemorative stamps. Being limited, but not as compared to Special stamps, this type of stamps became a part of the USPS lineup from 1893 with the Columbian Exposition issue. Every president of the USA also has a commemorative stamp with their picture and name.
- Special Stamps
These are not usually for posting but for collecting. Individual stamps serve their purpose as a souvenir, but they used to mark the urgent delivery posts in past times. The most limited edition and collectible stamps in the USA are some of the expensive unique stamps. If you have some of these particular stamps in your stock, you can earn serious money. Individual stamps also include some rare sets of Stamps like “the inverted jenny.” They are more likely to become a part of a showcase and treat the eyes of philanthropists. In auctions, unique stamps of USPS have helped earn thousands of dollars for noble causes.
Where to buy postal stamps?
In the United States, stamps are available at multiple places rather than unique authorized places. If you are a tourist, you can ask the locals the same. Different stamps have their distinct purpose that you know the different types of stamps, let’s talk about where to get you a “stamp” to mail you letter or post.
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Post Offices
The most obvious is the first on the list. You can purchase a definitive stamp in a nearby post office. Many times, a city has more than one post office to visit one nearby. But that may not be the case of Commemorative or unique stamps because of their limited printing number. For such stamps, you can visit USPS city headquarters but don’t get your hopes too high. They might or might not have one and could arrange you under the particular requirements. Whereas unusual and rare stamps are concerned, you might find at some auctions.
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Official website of USPS
USPS.com is the best destination to get free home delivery of postal stamps quickly. The official website is not the only option. There are many more different online stores where you can order stamps staying in your living room or bedroom itself. But the official website of USPS being the most legit source of stamps assures faster delivery. When you order your stamps, the USPS delivers the same from a nearby post office, while other online stores might take 2-3 days for the same.
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Walmart
Walmart is the best visit to buy from a range of available stamps. You can find many different stamps under the same roof and save yourself from a return trip next time. Walmart also has the stationery items required for the post. These big stores have shelves for everything and anything, and therefore it will be an easy find for your stamp. Also, these stores are very commons and easy to locate.
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Pharmacy
The most strange place to find stamps might be a pharmacy store, but they have recently added stamps on their shelves. These stores make stamps available even at most urgent times. Even in old times, people used to buy stamps from a pharmacy store because they are open 24/7 while most of the stores nearby close the shutter but evening. These places are open 24/7, and that’s why they area good hunt in the middle of the night for the urgency of both medical drugs and stamps, strange, isn’t it?
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Grocery Stores
Although Walmarts have stolen their business, local groceries store still prevail to supply. Small towns, which don’t have a Walmart, these local stores are the best hunch to buy a stamp, but mostly the most common ones used. It will be finding a needle in a haystack if you roll out to a nearby grocery store for a commemorative or special stamp.
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Banks
Due to their true nature, USPS partnered with many banks to publicly available the most common stamps and sometimes even a rare one. Even small towns and villages have a bank, which makes it easy to buy a stamp in these areas. You don’t have to search for a reliable source of stamps if you visit a bank. So it’s a win-win situation for both the USPS and the buyer.
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Online Stores
Amazon is a top-rated online store, and this has a special section for your stamps need. Plus, Amazon can assure faster delivery than many online stores if you have the Prime subscription. Many other shopping websites like Amazon are a reasonable search for commemorative and unique stamps, while unique stamps might pull you to an online auction for a buy.
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Office supply stores
If you want paper, envelope and also a stamp for your next store, then an office supply store will be the best visit to complete the list. Though postal stamps are a recent addition to their front counters, these will quickly get you a standard stamp.
Difference Between Roll, Book, and Coil of Stamps
You don’t have to buy a single postal stamp every time you want to post a letter. You can buy a collection of stamps as a roll, book, or coil. Here’s what we mean from these terms:
Roll of Stamps: A collective pack of stamps containing ten stamps is known as the roll of stamps. You can keep it at home to stay ready whenever you need to post something.
Book of Stamps: A book of stamps may seem like a massive book with information about stamps. But instead, it is a collection of 20 stamps.
Roll of Stamps: A stamp roll not for regular users. If you work in an office that posts documents frequently, you’ll need a stamps roll that contains 10,000 stamps.
Depending on your postage needs, you can buy an adequate size of a collection of stamps.
Cost of Postage Stamps
These small square pieces of paper won’t cost you a fortune. But not every time. Most stamps are very cheap to buy. However, commemorative and unique stamps may bear a higher price than usual. With the advancement of technology, the stamps are also getting expensive but not enough to dent your wallet. The average cost of a stamp for domestic mailing is between $0.30 to $0.90. If you want to send some gifts using the USPS shipping, the maximum price of a stamp is $22.
But this isn’t the case of a unique stem. These might cost you a thousand dollars or more at an auction. Some collectors edition stamps have been earning millions of dollars in the sales.
Stamps aren’t just the only thing we know about, comment, and we will present you with information in a blog.
