On the subject of stamps

Hello, today I went to the post office to send my first postcard. I learned the stamp I posed on my postcard was Canadian, meaning the attendant wished to make me pay a small fee but then we realized the added sticker or tag was too big as it would cover my written text. In the end, I’m wondering if someone can explain to me more on the subject of stamps. In my country I only presently see that I can buy a CA, a US or a mysterious International stamp, I’m not sure how everything will function because I would like to send a postcard to say UA; can I find stamps for each country?

The stamps are all Canadian stamps, but some are used to send inside the country, some to send to the US and some to send internationally. If you want to send outside of Canada and the US, you will need an international stamp. You can also combine the stamps to get the required postage from Canada Post to send internationally.

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I can send a PM in French to explain if you want.

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Thank you @CoralieR, I’m realizing my question does appear a little silly now. @lncrou7’s response was helpful, but I’m curious why it function this way and if there is such a thing as using say a GER stamp or another country specific stamp from Canada.

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Canada and USA are close neighbours and they must have some agreement between them. For others countries it’s international.

If you want to send some nice stamps, you can send two permanent stamps to the USA and three to others countries.

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Okay I’m not familiar with this term, how do I know which stamps are ‘P’ and does this mean 2 of these are required for US and 3 are required for any other country?

Permanent stamps have a little P on them.

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I see, I’m reading What are PERMANENT stamps? | Canada Post so I feel more informed now.

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I wouldn’t use 2 P stamps to the US though on a regular basis - you’d be overpaying by 54 cents. You can find brokers online that sell stamps of smaller denominations as does Canada Post & use one P (92 cents) and one 40 cent stamp or a couple that make up to $1.30 which is the US rate.

And so you know because we’re in Canada & close to the US & because the US has lots of members, Postcrossing’s algorithm gives us US addresses frequently, almost 1/4 of your addresses.

I’m not fond of the current international stamp, sadly there’s only one ($2.71) so I use 3 P stamps (3 X 92 cents) and over pay by 5 cents so I can have a better selection of stamps for my international postcards (those going everywhere, except the US).

You’ll get the hang of it soon! Enjoy!

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Where can we find those brokers online ? Until now, I have bought stamps only on Canada Post and they don’t sell a lot of nice stamps. I feel like I’m missing an important information :sweat_smile:

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I’ve sent you a pm

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You could try using the Canada Post site or trying searching ebay.

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You can always order a sheet of Beneficial Insects stamps through Canada Post, they sell them by the postage cost (5 cents, 10 cents, etc) and combine them with one Permanent stamp (P) for USA destinations. For abroad I always use three P stamps.

If you order enough through Canada Post, shipping is free. I think it’s about $50.

Speaking of Canada Post, does anyone know why they stopped designing new postcards? I get more and more disappointed as the stock of postcards they offer online is more reduced by the week. Local postal offices have a very limited variety.

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We have to use the international Postage rate when sending mail to Canada from the US.

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