How do I purchase German stamps in the US?

June 23, 2016 8:15 PM

I'd like to send a self addressed stamped envelope to Germany so that someone can mail something back to me in the US.

Internet searches mostly bring up how to buy stamps in Germany or things for stamp collectors. I'm not in or reasonably close to a city with a German consulate.

Difficulty level: I can read and write German well enough to communicate for a transaction.

posted by mrcrow to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Best answer: You can buy them off of ebay, either from ebay in Germany or someone in the US who has unused German stamps for some reason. I buy US postage on ebay a lot and it's interesting to buy it from, for example, people in Canada for whom it's not really worth much. Just make sure it's unused. Happy hunting!
posted by jessamyn at 8:22 PM on June 23, 2016

The official way to do something like this is to send an international reply coupon. It does put some burden on the other party to go redeem the coupon for local postage, however.
posted by zsazsa at 8:22 PM on June 23, 2016

Oops, never mind. The USPS stopped selling them in 2013.
posted by zsazsa at 8:27 PM on June 23, 2016

Best answer: You can print postage online from DeutschePost.
posted by ssg at 8:28 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ooh you lovely people are quick! Off to try eBay and DeutschePost.
posted by mrcrow at 9:15 PM on June 23, 2016

I think it might be easiest just to send a money order and let your correspondent buy postage with it.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:28 PM on June 23, 2016

Best answer: You can you buy them online and print them yourself
posted by snownoid at 1:26 AM on June 24, 2016

In response to zsaza

I have tried to purchase "International Reply Coupons" in the UK before and was informed by the Post Office that nobody uses them anymore.
posted by ndaguiar at 8:12 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Buying online from Deutsche Post is the winner. There's an option to choose your own image too. Penguins on a stamp! You need to open an account with a minimum 10 euro deposit, for any future askers.

eBay looks like a place to hunt for the future before there's an immediate need.

Sending a money order would be asking too much--my correspondent is already doing me a great favor and any additional imposition would be rude.
posted by mrcrow at 10:59 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]