With the prices of everything increasing, consumers can expect the cost of stamps to also go up in the coming months from Harlem to Hawaii.
The United States Postal Services (USPS) has announced that it filed a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to raise prices on First-Class Mail Forever stamps, postcards, and international letters and postcards.
According to the USPS, the price hikes are in response to both a poor pricing structure that’s been in place as well as inflation. To compensate for mail-related services not being priced correctly, coupled with consistently rising costs across the country, consumers could see higher costs at their local post offices by July 9.
What will change?
Under these proposed changes, five primary categories will see changes in price. These include:
- Letters (metered 1 oz.) – from $0.60 to $0.63
- Letters (1 oz.) – from $0.63 to $0.66
- International Letters – from $1.45 to $1.50
- Domestic Postcards – from $0.48 to $0.51
- International Postcards – from $1.45 to $1.50
If the prices are approved by the PRC, they would translate to a 5.4% increase in postal rates.
While certain prices would stay the same under these proposed changes – like flat additional-ounce prices and single-piece letters – the USPS doesn’t want to stop there with the price increases. Though nothing is set in stone yet, the agency is seeking to up the prices for money order fees, Certified Mail, insurance for mailing items, and post office box rental fees.
So far, these price increases have been approved by the governors of the USPS. If the RPC also approves them, the new rates would go into effect by July 9.
Prices continue to rise
The news of more USPS price hikes comes after two rate increases in 2022. First, the USPS announced price increases in July of 2022. The agency spiked prices of First-Class mail, Metered mail, First-Class mail flat/large envelopes, and International mail.
At the time, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told consumers to prepare themselves for higher prices at the post office.
Then, one month later in August of 2022, the USPS announced plans for higher rates for the 2022 holiday season. When these price hikes were announced, it was strictly for packages sent between October 2 and January 22, 2023, and prices were dependent on weight, the speed of delivery, and where it was being sent.
Photo credit: Harlem Post Office Collage.
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