How much do post offices buy their stamps for?

[Headtime]

Do shops and post offices by stamps at less than their face value, in order to make a profit? If so does anyone know how much they pay for them?

[andy hughes]

They don't buy them to make a profit, but as a service, so the face value is paid by shops, and they are issued to post offices who return the cash for the sales they make.

[wildwood]

It is the same principle as pre-pay phone cards or tickets for a footie match.
The cost of producing the stamps is miniscule. The 'profit' is used to run the PO and the postie's wages.

[sylvday]

Those shops, such as newsagents and tobacconists, which sell stamps, buy them at a discount of 5% (on the face value) which is then retained as commission. Because Post Offices sell many more stamps than other types of shops, possibly their commission is less than 5%.

[Headtime]

ta, each!