Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced price increases on Sunday, including the biggest increase ever for forever stamps.
The price of a first-class Forever Stamp went up a nickel Sunday, from 50 cents to 55 cents. This is a 10 percent increase, the largest single price jump in the history of the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Service has been running a multibillion-dollar deficit for years, according to NPR.
This past October, USPS announced proposed rate increases stating it has some of the lowest letter mail postage rates in the industrialized world and does not add surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or regular Saturday or holiday season delivery.
A month later USPS announced they lost $3.9 billion in 2018 with first-class mail volume decreasing by about 2.1 billion pieces. ”The secular mail volume trends continue largely due to electronic diversion and transaction alternatives. We compete for business in every product line, every day from the first mile to last mile,” said Postmaster General and CEO Megan J. Brennan.
The cost to ship priority mail packages have also increased with a small box rising from $7.20 to $7.90 and a medium box increased from $13.65 to $14.35. While first-class mail delivery is struggling, USPS saw an increase of almost half a billion additional packages in 2018 compared to 2017.
However, some postal prices are staying the same or lowering. The cost of a postcard will stay the same, at 35 cents, and the cost per additional letter ounce is decreasing from 21 cents to 15 cents.
USPS introduced Forever Stamps in 2007 to avoid those annoying 1 and 2 cent stamp additions after every price increase. Forever Stamps can always be used to mail a 1-ounce letter, no matter how much prices might increase in the future.
It’d still be a bargain at twice the price.
This will hurt eBay prices and sales, but only a bit.
Public pensions are very expensive to fund. Take one for the team.
Glad that I rarely use S mail any more.
I’d rather support the pensions of hard working postal workers than the fuquetards in Congress who seem to be in public service to line their own pockets. Maybe they should pre-fund their pension/healthcare plans and subject their evaluation to the same double entry accounting as the USPS.
This makes me feel ancient. I remember when stamps were three cents, airmail was 6 cents.