Where to Buy Stamps
You don't have to go to the post office anymore to get your stamps.
Find postage stamps online and near you
The advancement of technology may have unearthed faster and convenient methods of sending correspondence such as fax, email and social media platforms but the age-old format of sending letters and parcels via the good ol’ USPS is still relevant. Personalized birthday cards, gift cards and invitations to events are some of the items that can only be sent via post in a very cost effective manner. Others include original copies of payment receipts and signed legal documents such as deeds. Postal and mailing services have also improved. The USPS has become more efficient and better at tracking with it’s new computerized and automated sorting systems. Modern features such as Informed Delivery allow you to monitor and track the shipping progress of items sent to you, and First Class packages now all have tracking. Sending items via post is, however, not free. You will have to pay a small fee to facilitate the shipping of your items and you get to do that when you acquire postage stamps for the items that you intend to send by post.
Below is a map of places where you can buy stamps near you:
The locations that sell postage stamps.
The official USPS site has become increasingly useful. When you head to their locations page, and enter your zip code, it will display all the places that sells stamps near you.
As you can see from the screenshot below, you'll see grocery stores and pharmacies also selling stamps. To indicate that they are not a full service post office, meaning you can't send items or apply for a passport from there, there is a label specifiying "Stamp Booklets Only".
Postage stamps are manufactured to be sold by the United State Postal Services (USPS). Initially, the only place you could find postage stamps near you was to head to your nearest post office, but in an effort to make it easy for people to access postage stamps for their mailing needs, the USPS decentralized its services. You can now access postal services online, at financial institutions, and at local retail stores. So if you’ve been wondering, “where can I buy stamps near me?” you’d be wise to check with the supermarkets or drug stores in your neighborhood. However, these are not the only locations outside of the post office where you can buy postage stamps near you.
Who sells postage stamps?
Here are some locations outside of the post office where you can find stamps.
01. Online Vendors
You can buy stamps online straight from the official source, the United States Postal Service Online Store. You can also order stamps from sites like Amazon.com
If you are looking for postage stamps with beautiful and unique graphics, you can get custom stamps from Minted or Zazzle. You can even personalize them with your own photos! Great for wedding, graduations, and other invites for important events.
Stamps.com or Endicia offers a service that allows you to print stamps from home. These services are very convienent, however, they require a monthly fee.
An alternative to Stamps.com that does not have a monthly fee is ShippingEasy. You can see their instructions on how to print stamps here.
You can also buy stamps online using services like Easypost. They don't have monthly fees, but you may need to prepay a few dollars into your account before being able to purchase postage. We show you how to do it in the tutorial here.
02.Automated Postage Centers (APC)
These are self-service kiosks that offer postal and mailing services to customers. Many post office's now have an APC kiosk. You may have one in your local post office. Since these kiosks are self-service, you get to avoid the unnecessary lines that often plague the post office. These kiosks are often placed outside of normal post office lines where they put PO boxes, making them accessible after post office hours. If you need a stamp when the post office is not open, an APC may be a good option.
To find an APC, refer to the USPS official website and filter by "Self-Service Kiosks".
03.Retail Stores
Most retail stores have been authorized to sell postage stamps by the USPS and, therefore, they could be the answer if you are wondering “where can I get postage stamps near me?” The small retailers in your neighborhood may not always stock stamps, but large retail chains such as Walmart and grocery chains, like Albertson's should have them.
Stamps are usually sold at checkout. You can ask the cashier for a book of stamps. If they do not have them, the cashier can direct you to the department that does.
You can use the online store locators to of these common nationwide retailers to find the exact location of a store near you. Here are a few:
04.Pharmacies and drug stores
Apart from selling prescriptions, pharmacies and drug stores are known to sell stamps as well. These drug stores are usually open for the entire day and this makes them ideal places to buy postage stamps near me. It should be noted that not all pharmacies and drug stores stock stamps. Your local pharmacy may not have stamps and you are better off checking with large drug stores such as RiteAid, Walgreens, and CVS. These large pharmacies have stores spread across the country and you can easily find a store near you. You can as well use their online store locator to find a store near you.
05.Shipping Centers and Private Mailbox Services
Shipping centers such as UPS and FedEx stock postage stamps which they sell to willing buyers. These organizations have stores spread across the country and they, therefore, serve as among the best places to find postage stamps. S Finding the location of such stores near you has been simplified and you can simply log into the shipping center’s website and use the store locator to find a store near you.
Conclusion
When buying postage stamps, one is no longer limited to just getting them from the post office. There are many options as the above list shows. Even so, the above list is not exhaustive. There may be other places to find stamps, such as certain gas stations and banks, though they are a bit less common. If you need a stamp, the first place to look to see if somewhere near you sells books or rolls of stamps is to check the official USPS locator.