Can I put 2 Forever stamps on one envelope?

February 26, 2009 4:19 PM

Can I put two Forever stamps on one envelope?

(This is in the USA.)

I am mailing a size #10 (business sized) envelope that is about 1.5 ounces according to my kitchen scale. The envelope is thickish (think about 10 pieces of paper folded together), but light. It's a knit glove wrapped in a plastic grocery bag inside an envelops that my cousin dropped in my car. I'm mailing it back to her. I'm in NYC, she's near Boston.

According to usps.com, it costs 59 cents to mail this envelope. I have a whole bunch of Forever stamps. The Forever stamp is good to mail a first class letter until the end of time, at whatever price a letter goes for at the time of mailing (currently 42 cents). I am more than happy to slap 2 Forever stamps on there (losing 25 cents in the process based on the current price of a first class letter) to get the envelope mailed and not have to walk to and wait in line in the post office.

My question: would two Forever stamps on one envelope = 84 cents of postage? Or are the Forever stamps only good on letters under one ounce? My googling isn't getting me anywhere. I know that it'll probably get there with even one stamp, so I'm tempted to just throw it in the corner mailbox with 2.

(Mods, couldn't decide if this should go under "government" or "grab bag" or maybe even "work & money" - we're talking cents here! Feel free to recategorize.)

posted by AlisonM to grab bag (4 answers total)

I've put two Forever stamps on a letter before, and had it arrive quite safely at its destination (and it was quite heavy.) (And I know it arrived because I got the rejection slip less than a week later! Yay!)
posted by Scattercat at 4:20 PM on February 26, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yes. The Forever stamps are valued as the current 1-ounce value, which is 42 cents right now. Two Forever stamps will be valued as 84 cents.
posted by rhapsodie at 4:21 PM on February 26, 2009

If it's not machine-processable then you may in a totally different category, more or less.

So, thinking about the dimensions

- a letter is 1/4 inch thick or less
- a "large envelope" according to USPS is 1/4 to 3/4 inches thick and will cost $1 to mail first class
- if your envelope is thicker than 3/4 inch then it's a package and will cost $1.34

re: Forever stamps, USPS says "The value of the Forever Stamp is the domestic First-Class Mail letter price in effect on the day of use."
posted by jessamyn at 4:23 PM on February 26, 2009 [2 favorites]

Awesome. My cousin will have her long lost glove back early next week. It's less than 1/4 inch thick, so 2 stamps it is, and I won't have to deal with the utter hell that is my local post office on Saturday morning. Thanks!
posted by AlisonM at 4:30 PM on February 26, 2009