USA Stamp Help...

[Lucky Lorri]

Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be sending a few requests off to America soon (I'm in the UK). Usually I send 2 x IRCs with my requests but since they are so over-priced, I was wondering if someone here can help me out.

I've been looking on a website (https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... oryDisplay) and was thinking of just purchasing some stamps direct from USA, can someone please have a look at that site and let me know which stamps I should be buying to put on an A5 sized envelope (from USA to UK). I'm unsure of which kind of stamp to purchase and I'm also unsure of how many to stick on an A5 envelope.

Any help is much appreciated, thanks for reading

[dfreely]

It depends on the weight. A typical A5 with a photo should be under one ounce, which would cost $0.98, or only one IRC. If you're using two IRCs, I assume you've already measured yours and figured it was over an ounce but under two? That would cost $1.82.

The most versatile stamp to use would be the Forever stamp, which is non-denominated and goes up in value whenever our postal prices goes up. It's currently worth 44 cents - you would need three to cover 1oz, or five to cover 2oz. The downside here is that you're wasting money when you use these exclusively since the total value of the stamps will go over the amount needed to send the mail by a lot - the three used to cover 1oz would be wasting 34 cents, and the five used to cover 2oz would be wasting 38 cents.
https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... c=10001880

The other stamp worth considering is the 98 cent stamp. One of these stamps is exactly enough for 1oz, and two will cover 2oz (wasting 14 cents). The downside is that these stamps stay the same value, and does not go up when our postal prices do.
https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... c=10001891

[Lucky Lorri]

It depends on the weight. A typical A5 with a photo should be under one ounce, which would cost $0.98, or only one IRC. If you're using two IRCs, I assume you've already measured yours and figured it was over an ounce but under two? That would cost $1.82.

The most versatile stamp to use would be the Forever stamp, which is non-denominated and goes up in value whenever our postal prices goes up. It's currently worth 44 cents - you would need three to cover 1oz, or five to cover 2oz. The downside here is that you're wasting money when you use these exclusively since the total value of the stamps will go over the amount needed to send the mail by a lot - the three used to cover 1oz would be wasting 34 cents, and the five used to cover 2oz would be wasting 38 cents.
https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... c=10001880

The other stamp worth considering is the 98 cent stamp. One of these stamps is exactly enough for 1oz, and two will cover 2oz (wasting 14 cents). The downside is that these stamps stay the same value, and does not go up when our postal prices do.
https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... c=10001891

Thanks so much for your reply, you've explained exactly what I needed to know.

When I first started this hobby in 2007 I read over how many IRCs the majority of people sent, and it seemed to be 2, so instead of weighing my own stuff I just automatically sent 2 x IRCs with my auto request. I now know that I'd really only need one, but I still think I'd be cheaper getting US stamps.

The cost of 1 x IRC now is £1.40 at my post office which works out at roughly $2.22.

Thanks again you've been a HUGE help

[BossC]

I would recommend that you buy the 0.98 stamps ( https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... c=10001891 ), or buy some 0.10 stamps when you buy the forever stamps dfreely mentioned (two forever stamps and 0.10 per request). That way you won't be overpaying for the SASE.

BossC

[kimmylee]

You can't order us stamps online from overseas but you can via phone, mail or fax (link too big to link to FAQ'S)
Several members here sell stamps, check out the Autograph Exchange Forum.

[Lucky Lorri]

I would recommend that you buy the 0.98 stamps ( https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores ... c=10001891 ), or buy some 0.10 stamps when you buy the forever stamps dfreely mentioned (two forever stamps and 0.10 per request). That way you won't be overpaying for the SASE.

BossC

Thanks very much! Great help

[Lucky Lorri]

You can't order us stamps online from overseas but you can via phone, mail or fax (link too big to link to FAQ'S)
Several members here sell stamps, check out the Autograph Exchange Forum.

Thank you, I'll go check out the Autograph Exchange Forum

Thanks again - you've all helped a lot