USPS stamp prices officially rose Sunday, and there may be more to come

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: WMAQ-TV Chicago, IL

Published 5 hours ago • Updated 5 hours



The cost of mailing a letter in the United States just went up again, rising by a nickel beginning on Sunday.

Previously, the cost of a first-class stamp through the U.S. Postal Service had been set at 73 cents, but as of Sunday July 13, that cost has now risen to 78 cents, according to the USPS website. Metered letters now cost 74 cents to send, also an increase of five cents. Domestic postcard stamps have gone up to 61 cents, and international postcards and letters now cost $1.70 to send.

The USPS filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission in April of its decision to increase the cost of a first-class “Forever Stamp,” and the move officially went into effect Sunday. The price increase is the 10th in the last nine years, with the cost of a stamp going up by nearly 66% over that time, according to USPS data.

According to a document obtained by The Hill, this may not be the only time stamp prices go up in the near future. The USPS, in a plan submitted in Sept. 2024, said that it would seek to increase the cost of first-class mail a total of four more times by July 2027, though it did not specify how much those increases would amount to.

Read more: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/usps-stamp-prices-officially-rose-sunday-and-there-may-be-more-to-come/3788276/

[elleng]

1. THAT's why they started FOREVER stamps.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. I purchased two books of stamps from Costco two weeks ago

[PSPS]

3. It's still a bargain. "Cheap at twice the price" as they say.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. I don't begrudge the USPS the price of postage

However, it is not quite the bargain it once was. Here’s a table justifying an increase:

https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2024-03/risc-wp-24-004.pdf


At first blush, it appears that the USPS charges among the lowest rates in the world, but, that’s partly because of their selection criteria, eliminating all but 31 of 195 Universal Postal Union member countries for which they had data.

Of the 195 countries in the UPU dataset, 131 of them exceeded the threshold of 4,000,000 hectares (15,444 square miles).³² In addition, 57 of the 195 countries exceeded the threshold of $10 USD in postal operating revenue per capita.³³ After applying the two thresholds, 42 countries remained in our tentative sample. Of the remaining 42 countries, we excluded ten that lacked data necessary to adjust rates for purchasing power parity and an eleventh country because of inconsistencies in the rate data.³⁴ Overall, 164 countries out of the 195 countries in the original dataset of UPU domestic rates were excluded, yielding a sample of 31 countries (See Table 1).

In case you’re wondering, some research turned up a more inclusive list; and; by a strange coincidence, eliminated countries seemed to charge less than the USPS.

[Wonder Why]

6. And we should ask ourselves, which of those "higher cost" countries come anywhere close to ours

when it comes to the distance one can send a letter at that price for the kind of distance you can send a letter within the United States at that price.

Psst! Think Maine to Hawaii - 5,000+ miles, 8,000+ KM

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. As I said, I don't begrudge them their rates

On the other hand, I would appreciate them being a little more forthright about the situation.

I preferred the “good old days” when, as a government organization, they were partially subsidized by federal tax dollars, rather than expected to be “self funding.”

https://apwu.org/news/us-mail-not-sale/lets-get-truth-myths-and-facts-about-postal-privatization

[James48]

4. Still just a fraction

Of what a for-profit carrier would charge.