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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
 Posted - 02/10/2009 : 18:43:34
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Take a look at the bolded paragraph below...is it now statutory for postal rates to increase each year??
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By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press
The post office will get an extra 2-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.
"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 28 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.
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highroller4321
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2009 : 18:47:25
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Hmmm I wonder if I am still going to be able to get away will mailing letters with my 41 cent stamps :)
Annual rate increases....next thing you know it will be every 6 months. |
Copper Penny Investing
www.portlandmint.com |
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2009 : 06:30:53
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I bought, uh, several, uh, yeah, several books when the forever stamp first came out. I'm good....
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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Bluegill
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1964 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2009 : 17:03:25
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Having an organization only charge 44¢ to pick up an envelope from your home, and then hand deliver that same envelope to another address clear on the other side of the continent in just a few days, IMHO is a screaming deal that can’t be beat. 
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2009 : 17:07:45
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I have no problem with the rate increase...
1) As someone mentioned, get the forever stamp at 42 cents each right now, and even at 44 cents that's not a bad deal
2) I sell alot on EBay and use the Priority Mail system 95% of the time. So far so good, and I get raving reviews about how fast the delivery gets there on my feedback (yeah part of it is because I ship 90% of the time the next business day, but the post office gets the product there quickly - sometimes only 2 days to Arizona or California from Wisconsin). |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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Delawhere Jack
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1680 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2009 : 18:28:00
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44¢ is a deal. My only gripe is how often I get my neighbors mail mixed in with mine. I wonder how much of MY mail someone else is getting and throwing away?
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"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." Thomas Jefferson
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Postage rates rising again in May
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