New Postage Rates Coming May 12

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I pay all bills online, and only use maybe 4 stamps a year, so I'm not sweating it.

10 Post office raises rates.
20 Individuals use more email, less snail mail
30 Postal revenues decrease
40 GOTO 10

[Kevy Baby]

Don't forget in the equation that Direct Mail Marketing (some call it junk mail), heavily subsidizes the cost of First Class mail. I have heard estimates in the $3 - $4 range for First Class Letters if it weren't for Standard Class mail.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Don't forget in the equation that Direct Mail Marketing (some call it junk mail), heavily subsidizes the cost of First Class mail. I have heard estimates in the $3 - $4 range for First Class Letters if it weren't for Standard Class mail.

*sniff* *sniff* Humm that smells like propaganda put forth by the Direct Mail Marketing folks: "Hey all that crap junk you get in your mail box that's ends up in our landfills.... Yeah that stuff. It's actually GOOD for you. Yup that's right. It all SAVES you money! Un Huh, we're actually doing you a favor sending you 100 pounds of paper per year."

[figment1986]

again... didnt they just do this like 6 months ago??

breaking news.... more people go to online banking to pay bills and direct deposit checks...

[alphabassettgrrl]

I'm actually considering the forever stamps just because I seriously despise always having to check postage rates and see how many $.01 stamps I have to put on the rotten thing. I do use some stamps, a couple a month, and it always seems they raise the rates before I get all the old ones used up. My bills are paid electronically, so it's just random things that get stamps. I don't mind using stamps, I just wish they'd keep the price more stable. I'd even go up to $.50 so long as they can *keep* it there a couple of years.

[Moonliner]

Forever stamps cost the same as any other first class stamp. Why would you purchase anything but forever stamps?

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Why would you purchase anything but forever stamps?

Sending mail overseas, odd sized mail, or heavy mail

[Alex]

Design, I imagine. Seems like whenever I'm stuck in a slow line at the post office it is because someone wants 13 entire sheets of some design that is only available through an arduous 30 minutes search.

[blueerica]

Originally Posted by Alex

Design, I imagine. Seems like whenever I'm stuck in a slow line at the post office it is because someone wants 13 entire sheets of some design that is only available through an arduous 30 minutes search.

It's actually the only reason I buy stamps, period. If I'm going to take the time to mail something out the long way, particularly to a bunch of people, I want cool stamps versus boring stamps, hands down. The rest of the time, if something reeeeaaallly needs to be sent the slow way, I just hop over to the post office and have them do the sticker thingie. It's so infrequent, I do it just to remind myself where the post office is.

I've also picked up a couple of commemorative stamp sets for framing.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

AGAIN?

Originally Posted by figment1986

again... didnt they just do this like 6 months ago??

The last rate increase went into effect on May 17, 2007. See Alex's comments about the USPS being able to increase rates annually commensurate with inflation.

Originally Posted by Alex

Get used to it. The postal law passed in 2006 has the USPS update postal prices annually and in line with inflation. This is the first of those increases and you can probably expect them almost every year from here on out.