Mailing A Letter Will Cost You 1¢ More

(AP)  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 stamping 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.

Under the new law, postal prices will be adjusted annually each May, the Postal Service said. Officials said they plan to give 90 days notice of future changes, twice what is required by law.

While the charge for the first ounce of a first-class letter rises to 42 cents, the price of each added ounce will remain 17 cents, so a two-ounce letter will go up a penny to 59 cents.

The cost to mail a post card will also go up a penny, to 27 cents

Other increases set for May 12:

• Large envelope, 2 ounces, $1, up 3 cents.
  
• Money Orders up to $500, $1.05, unchanged.
  
• Certified mail, $2.70, up 5 cents.
  
• First-class international letter to Canada or Mexico, 72 cents, up 3 cents.
  
• First-class international letter to other countries, 94 cents, up 4 cents.

[grammawhamma]

Michelle: Where I live I get my mail delivered in the mailbox by my home. I don''t pick it up at the post office.

I have to pay (by the pound) for garbage pick up every month. I keep getting catalogues (I never ordered) in the mail at least 7 a week...they are heavy. I get tons of mail for credit cards I don''t want and have to shred them (a pain in the a$$) before I throw them away. That is why I would rather pay a few cents more for stamps and have junk mail eliminated.

Like someone else suggested...it makes more sense to increase the price of postage for those who send junk mail. They get a bulk rate discount and don''t pay as much as you do to mail a letter etc.

[michellem99-2009]

Thank ye.. Ye can recyle yer junk mail.. They have a bin for that at PO..

[bobnjersey]

[I do wish there was a way to block junk mail from being delivered...can they start a "no junk mail list" just like a do not call list?]
[Posted by GrammaWhamma at 02:48 AM : Feb 12, 2008]

without junk mail ... the cost of postage would certainly be higher.

[kevzgrl]

To marcosis78: NO, it is not just you - they should just go ahead and tell us now that every six months we can count on the price going up. Either that, or go ahead and raise it 15-20 cents now, and then they can wait a couple of years, until our memory fades a bit before they do the next price hike...

[marcosis78]

Is it me, or are stamps starting to go up a cent every five to six months?

[michellem99-2009]

Gramma, it is the gov give us just so much to live on..that bloody oil..

[grammawhamma]

I live in rural Wisconsin. In winter the roads are usually snow covered, drifted over and slippery. I don''t know what my mail carrier gets paid to drive all day in these conditions...but I would not want her job. I can''t believe you guys are complaining about a small increase in stamps. Would you rather have to hand deliver all your mail (cross country) by yourself to save 43 cents?

I do wish there was a way to block junk mail from being delivered...can they start a "no junk mail list" just like a do not call list?

[michellem99-2009]

scarelet, I will not ever take yer or any one''s pity. I pity ye more..

[michellem99-2009]

3 CENTS WHEN WAS THAT..I am 53.. I can remember a letter being 5 cents..I printed a thank ye letter for a gift I got..That was after 64.

[michellem99-2009]

Let me educate..Broadband makes it so I can access sites where ye can change the texe from small to larger.. Ye can watch visuals..dial up ye can''t watch a visual like Cbs news..the type is so small that I can''t see it.. The old computer was dial up and it was awful..Got my computer in 06 and went broadband as the voice phone need to be free to call out on. If ye have dial up ye can''t be on line and talk on the phone..Vince is a heart patent with diabetes and COPD.