Last increase was in January. Its not so much the price increase, but the fact that you have to start adding those one cent stamps. The "forever stamp" concept is interesting though. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060503/postal_rates.html Post Office Proposes 3-Cent Rate Increase Wednesday May 3, 9:42 am ET By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Writer Post Office Proposes Rate Increase Coupled With Issuance of 'Forever' Stamp WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Postal Service said Wednesday it wants to raise the price of a first-class stamp by 3 cents -- to 42 cents -- and suggested a "forever" stamp that people could use as hedge against future rate inflation. The changes would take effect in the spring of 2007 if approved by the independent Postal Rate Commission. "A forever stamp would help ease the transition to any future price adjustments," board Chairman James C. Miller III said. Postmaster General John E. Potter said the agency would not be making a rate change if it were not necessary. "The Postal Service is not immune to the cost pressures affecting every household and business in America," Potter said. For example, each penny increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline costs the post office $8 million, and payroll, health expenses and other costs also have been rising. And, unlike private delivery companies, the post office cannot simply add a fuel surcharge to its rates. The forever stamp would help soften the blow of a rate increase by allowing customers to stock up. As originally proposed it would sell for the first class rate and, once purchased, the special stamp would remain valid for whatever the first-class rate is when it is used, regardless of future increases. Once the post office proposes a rate change, including the new stamp, the matter goes to the Postal Rate Commission, which holds hearings and has 10 months to consider the matter before responding. The earliest a change would take effect would be May 2007. The cost of a first-class stamp went from 37 cents to 39 cents in January. Before that, the price had been unchanged since 2002. The proposed increase would boost the price of mailing a letter to 42 cents. The increase in January was required so the post office could place some $3 billion in an escrow account, a step required in law. The House and Senate have both passed bills to eliminate that requirement and efforts are under way to resolve differences between the two versions, but it also faces the threat of a presidential veto. Since that increase went into the escrow account, the Postal Service still must cover rising costs of fuel, salaries, equipment and other expenses. In addition to its own fuel expenses, the post office has about 70,000 employees who use their own vehicles and are reimbursed for fuel costs, and there are some 17,000 contractors whose rates are adjusted for rising fuel costs. Overall, the Postal Service expects to finish this fiscal year about $2 billion in the red. While a 3-cent increase in first-class stamps would be the most visible change, rates will change for other types of mail also. For example, it currently costs 63 cents to mail a two-ounce first-class item whether it's a letter, large flat envelope or package. But the post office makes more than 30 cents on the letter, 10 cents on the flat and loses money on the package. That means the agency will be looking at shape as well as weight in setting new rates, officials have said, particularly in the face of a decline in first-class mail as more people pay bills and send messages via the Internet. Congress mandated the escrow requirement in 2003 when it passed a law reducing the amount of money the agency has to pay into its retirement system, which auditors said was being overfunded. Instead, Congress ordered the money to be used to reduce debt and, when that was done, to be put into the escrow fund. The White House has opposed the release of the money from the fund because placing it there counts as income for the federal government and releasing it would have the effect of raising the deficit.
I like the forever stamp. The most annoying thing about the stamp price increases is having to buy makeup stamps to finish off the roll you've got. I'd be happy if they just jack up the price to $0.75 now and don't bother me with price increases again until 2015.
I agree that gas prices cause rates to go up, but when gas prices level off will they reduce prices? In the 80's and so when gas prices went up, rates went up, but when gas prices fell back down, the postal rates were never adjusted to the lower level again.
Well if you don't want to pay, put your address as the send address instead of the return and the address your sending it to as the return. The Post Office will return it to the return address for postage.
I always wondered if this would work, but what if you're mailing something across the country? I think the post office might get suspicious if there was a return address in California for a letter that is originally going through a post office in Texas. I'm pretty sure somebody has tried this before...
actually - it won't work if you do the reverse address trick across the country. heck even across houston. the trick is that they send back to the closest of the 2 addresses. i know, when i was younger, i tried this out.
Yes, in fact I got the idea from Frank Abagnale Jr. who you all may remember as being played by Leonardo DiCaprio in "Catch Me If You Can" that also starred Tom Hanks. I was reading an article written by somebody who was doing an update on Mr. Abagnale and what he was doing in the present day. The author said one day he was looking for some stamps to mail his mother a letter and Mr. Abagnale told him to put his mother's address as the return address and his address as the send address. The author said it worked.
Stealing is stealing, if that makes me part of the morality police, so be it. The fact is if someone does what you said, it IS stealing.
I wouldn't have as much of a problem paying more if the Post Office had a higher consistency in their delivery. I mean, I often don't get mail that's sent to me at all, and a lot of times it takes longer than it should. I have properly addressed mail returned to the sender. And I frequently get mail addressed to other people placed in my mail box (including, last summer, a letter addressed to someone in St. Paul, Minnesota with a return address in Wisconsin or somesuch).
you would think these kind of problems wouldn't happen so much with the advent of online banking which results in less snail mail.
Do people still use stamps...I use at least one a month as I can't pay my HOA online, but that's about it...It would seem to me that the way technology is, the sale and use of stamps has declined dramatically over the years and the increase is a way to maintain budget... I could be wrong but, to increase sales, wouldn't you lower prices to entice users...that being said, I actually think the forever stamp is a good promo...
I think I use a stamp a month, and that's only because I have to (stupid lawn people)... oh dear, I may have to take out a loan now.
