Post office to raise 1st class stamps to 44 cents on May 11th

[Pardus]

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WASHINGTON - The post office will get an extra two cents' worth when you mail a letter starting in May.

The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that the price of a first-class stamp will rise to 44 cents on May 11.

That gives plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate hikes.
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?The Postal Service is not immune to rising costs which are affecting homes and businesses across America today,? said Postmaster General John Potter. ?Even with the increases, the Postal Service continues to offer some of the lowest postage prices in the world.?

Postage rates go up annually in May, with the new prices announced in February. The overall change is tied to the rate of inflation in the year before.

While the new 44-cent rate covers the first ounce of first-class mail, the price for each additional ounce will remain unchanged at 17 cents.

Postal officials estimate the increase will cost the average household $3 a year.

Buffeted by rising costs and declining mail volume, the Postal Service lost $2.8 billion last year and, unless the economy turns around, is headed toward much larger losses this year.

The agency could have cited extraordinary circumstances and asked the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for larger increases, but officials felt that would only result in a greater decline in mail volume.

The post office has been cutting costs, reducing work hours, and has asked Congress to ease requirements for advance funds for retiree benefits and to allow mail to be delivered five days a week instead of six.

Other changes taking effect May 11:

* The postcard stamp increases 1 cent to 27 cents.
* The first ounce of a large envelope increases 5 cents to 88 cents.
* The first ounce of a parcel increases 5 cents to $1.22.
* New international postcard and letter prices are, for one ounce, 75 cents to Canada; 79 cents to Mexico; and 98 cents elsewhere.

Most Postal Service shipping services prices were adjusted in January and will not change in May.

edit-corrected topic

 

[dquan97]

They should just drop saturday deliveries

 

[mxyzptlk]

wow, I thought it was going to go up BY 44 cents.. though now I see that your title actually says that it's going to go up by 44 hundredths of a cent or just less than half a penny..

yay op fixed it. 🙂

/pedantry

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: dquan97
They should just drop saturday deliveries

If they're going to drop any day for delivery, it should be Tuesday. The last thread on the subject pointed out that Tuesdays generally have lower volume than Saturdays.

 

[Slew Foot]

So when are they going to drop prices since the last time they raised them due to high gas prices?

 

[Rubycon]

.44 cents?

That's really cheap OR did they hire that Verizon math major as the new PMG?

:laugh:

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: dquan97
They should just drop saturday deliveries

Hell no. I love Saturday deliveries. Nothing's better than getting something you ordered online on the weekend because it came USPS. :thumbsup:

 

[Leros]

These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Leros
These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

borrowing always involves interest😛

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Leros
These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

borrowing always involves interest😛

Oh yeah, forgot about that part. Nevermind then.... *feels stupid*

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Leros
These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

Forever stamps are a great idea you nubkin.

 

[Scarpozzi]

What I don't understand is that gas prices have gone down. I'm tempted to do online bill pay and email from here on out on everything just to screw them.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: Leros
These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

Forever stamps are a great idea you nubkin.

Say that again and I'll smack you with my nub.

 

[TallBill]

Forever stamps are a great idea you nubkin.

 

[MichaelD]

Wasn't the whole purpose of "forever stamps" that they would be 100% paid-in-full tender for a 1-ounce letter? For oh...FOREVER? 😕

OH yeah...we meant "forever" as in you can USE THEM forever...but at a reduced rate. :roll:

USPS still doesn't get it. Stop raising rates every year, dammit. Make it $.75 now and leave it the f9ck alone for the next 10 years. Fair enough?

 

[Alienwho]

USPS is a walking zombie service and the only thing that keeps them alive is junk mail.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Forever stamps are a great idea you nubkin.

are you just whoring for nub smackings?

 

[looker001]

Originally posted by: Leros
These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

Yes, time value of money.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Wasn't the whole purpose of "forever stamps" that they would be 100% paid-in-full tender for a 1-ounce letter? For oh...FOREVER? 😕

OH yeah...we meant "forever" as in you can USE THEM forever...but at a reduced rate. :roll:

USPS still doesn't get it. Stop raising rates every year, dammit. Make it $.75 now and leave it the f9ck alone for the next 10 years. Fair enough?

You don't underfuckingstand what a Forever stamp is, do you?

That gives plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate hikes.

Forever stamp will always = current 1st class stamp, forever, regardless of what you paid for it.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Alienwho
USPS is a walking zombie service and the only thing that keeps them alive is junk mail.

Lol, without the USPS you'd be stuck paying $6 for everything you sent. They may need to continue to raise rates but its hard to deny that without them, any form of communication using a physical medium would become extremely expensive extremely quickly.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Leros
These forever stamps are stupid. Aren't they just borrowing money from the future?

Whats wrong with 1 cent stamps to make up for the difference?

I say this with the point of view of the gov't trying to make money, not trying to make our lives easier.

They're not borrowing money from the future any more than when they sell a book of 20 stamps to a guy who mails 2 letters a month. Yes, it is true that some time will pass between the purchase of the stamp and when the post office incurs most of the expenses related to that stamp. That is the nature of stamps, you're purchasing a promise to do something.

But if you're saying that the government is sacrificing future profits to make a free buck now, that's not the case. The only benefit of forever stamps for consumers is to ease the transition between postage rates. Hanging onto them to use in the future when rates are higher is pointless, because postage rates are tied by law to the rate of inflation. These stamps are used up by their purchasers just as quickly as other stamps.

 

[pontifex]

shouldn't you have stocked up before the last increase?

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: mugs
But if you're saying that the government is sacrificing future profits to make a free buck now, that's not the case. The only benefit of forever stamps for consumers is to ease the transition between postage rates. Hanging onto them to use in the future when rates are higher is pointless, because postage rates are tied by law to the rate of inflation. These stamps are used up by their purchasers just as quickly as other stamps.

In actuality, the consumers are investing at a guaranteed rate of the rate of inflation, and USPS is borrowing money (against future service) at the rate of inflation.

Since inflation is less than the standard borrowing rate 95+% of the time, they are in effect making money by encouraging people to stock up on stamps.

On the other hand, stamps that were bought before at no rate of return (since the stamp never increases in value) made the post office more (theoretical) money, so I'll chalk it up to a wash.

Add in the transaction costs USPS saves--the cost of printing the penny stamps, selling the penny stamps, shipping the penny stamps, employing more people for the increased workload--everyone comes out ahead.

 

[Mojoed]

Hey does the USPS sell rolls of 100 forever stamps yet? Last I checked they didn't, so I bought 10 books instead.

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Wasn't the whole purpose of "forever stamps" that they would be 100% paid-in-full tender for a 1-ounce letter? For oh...FOREVER? 😕

OH yeah...we meant "forever" as in you can USE THEM forever...but at a reduced rate. :roll:

USPS still doesn't get it. Stop raising rates every year, dammit. Make it $.75 now and leave it the f9ck alone for the next 10 years. Fair enough?

You don't underfuckingstand what a Forever stamp is, do you?

That gives plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate hikes.

Forever stamp will always = current 1st class stamp, forever, regardless of what you paid for it.

Personally... I don't understand the point of a Forever stamp and why it even needs to exist. I understand the concept, you lock it in at a price, and you use it forever, but in reality, it should've been like this all along. Instead of having the value on the stamp, it makes a lot more sense to write the type of stamp, i.e. First Class.

Besides, the people who'll stock up on these forever stamps are the same idiots who will drive cross-town for a 3 pennies per gallon saving on gas. Unless you mail hundreds or thousands of letters each year, there's absolutely no reason to stock up on them.