WASHINGTON — Mailing a letter will soon cost a penny more. The cost of a first-class stamp will rise to 42 cents starting May 12, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday. The price of the Forever stamp will go up at the same time, meaning those stamps can still be purchased for 41 cents but will remain good for first-class postage after the rate increase takes effect. The post office has sold 5 billion Forever stamps since they were introduced last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change, the agency said. The charge for other services, such as advertising mail, periodicals, packages special services will also change. Changes in the price for Priority Mail and Express Mail will be announced later, the agency said. Postage rates last went up in May 2007, with a first-class stamp jumping 2 cents to the current 41-cent rate. In the past raising postage rates was a long, complex process involving hearings before the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, a process that could take nearly a year. However, under the new law regulating the post office that took effect in late 2006, the agency is allowed to increase rates with 45 days’ notice as long as changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months. The Postal Regulatory Commission calculated that rate at 2.9 percent through January, limiting the first-class rate to an increase of just over a penny.
In other words, expect the cost of a stamp to go up at least a penny a year from now on. That is considering that inflation is almost always at 3% or higher. (No, I haven't checked figures on that, but I think that's where they usually fall.)
What I hate is when they raise the rates and I still have some old ones, and I have to go and by some .01 stamps to make up the difference!!! And I never seem to equal it out either. I always end up with too many 1 cent'ers!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Forever stamps just ensure the federal jobs and the benefits.....teachers have to strike and ole' Pony Express rides on.....what are we going to do with all the GM workers???---new mailmenpeople......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Nope, in fact, I see the end of "forever stamps" coming rather quickly. Because they won't want to sell them anymore, they'll want to sell individual stamps. Unless they're trying to follow the Democrats idea of tax and spend. Get a whole bunch of money at one time and it's going to last you, until you can tax more (raise the price of a stamp again).
I must tell you that I don't mind spending .42 to be guaranteed the delivery of an important letter or bill or document or Christmas card in three days, across the country. In the scope of things, .42 to me is pretty cheap.
ALBANY Stamp cost to go up a penny Small annual rate hike a possibility BY JILL BRYCE Gazette Reporter
The cost to send a first-class letter will increase by a penny Monday to 42 cents, and postal patrons trying to save some money are gobbling up the Forever stamps. Forever stamps came out last year and are good forever, as the name implies. While the first-class postal rate is what most affects residential customers, prices for other services, such as sending postcards, certified mail and packages, will also increase Monday. The U.S. Postal Service says part of the reason for this increase is that some consumers asked for it. People would rather have modest regular increases and know about it so they can budget for it, said Maureen Marion, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service for the Capital Region. She said that mailers asked: “Can you tell us, to some degree, when to expect an increase?” The postal rates will be adjusted annually each May, and the Postal Service will provide 90 days’ notice before the price changes. The idea is to try to hold prices as steady as possible and make changes when necessary with a modest increase of about one penny, said Marion. Marion explained that in December 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was signed by the president, which did several things to restructure the authority of the Postal Service, most importantly allowing it to set pricing directly proportional to the rate of inflation. “This allows us to respond to changes in the marketplace,” Marion said on Friday. “Our expectation is when there is a need to change rates, we will do this as an annual event.” The hope is that it will be about a penny increase each year, but this is not fixed and depends on the infl ation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The U.S. Postal Service is part of the infrastructure of many businesses and they must budget for the expenses to mail letters and packages. An annual adjustment of rates seems to be the shipping industry standard, said Marion. Like the rest of the country, the Postal Service, which has the largest vehicle fleet of any organization in the country, is being impacted by energy costs and must budget accordingly, she said. Since the latest rate increase was announced, there’s been a run on the Forever stamps, which can be used for full postage after the rate increase. During the past week, the Postal Service has sold 64 million Forever stamps a day. A Forever stamp sells at today’s current postage rate, but it’s good for first-class postage on a 1-ounce letter whenever it’s used, regardless of the postage rate at that time. Other old stamps are still valid, Marion said, even decades later. They just aren’t sufficient, by themselves, to mail a letter. The Postal Service is also changing rates for its other services and shipping on Monday. The cost to mail a postcard will go from 26 cents to 27 cents. A firstclass mail international letter, now 90 cents, will cost 94 cents.
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