Ultimate Stamp Price Guide 2019

Posted on February 8, 2019December 13, 2019 by Postmaster

“Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there.”
― Josh Billings, 19th-century American humorist

Effective 1/27/19, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has made changes to the price of a stamp. While some decreases can be found, the big change came in the largest-ever stamp price increase in history. And some prices have seen no changes at all. Read on for a complete guide to the price of a stamp and other postage increases 2019!

USPS Postage Price Changes – At a Glance

Mailing Services Products – approximate increase of 2.5%
Priority Mail Express – approximate increase of 3.9%
Priority Mail increased approximate increase of 5.9%

Stamp Prices Are Low – An Overview

The USPS reportedly has some of the lowest postage rates in the world and offers competitive rates for shipping. The USPS, unlike other carriers, does not add extra fees for things like fuel, residential delivery, weekend delivery, or holiday season delivery. In addition, seeing zero tax dollars for operations, it subsists solely on sales of postage, products, and services to support its entirety. Before we get into the new prices, to whet your appetite, here are a few other USPS facts:

493.4 million mail pieces are processed each day
That is 20.6 million each hour
Per minute, 342,638 are processed
And 5,711 mail pieces are processed every second

So, when you send your grandmother a letter letting her know you’re doing just fine, and yes you did get that $5 she mailed last week (thanks, Oma!), that’s factored into these statistics. When you sell your DVD boxset of The Nanny on Ebay because you have a digital copy now, and you ship that on to Utah, that’s another tick on the ol’ USPS fact sheet. When your hand has uncramped enough to finally get around to physically mailing out those thank you notes from your graduation party six months ago, those too are included in the 493.4 million mail pieces process each day!

Price Increases for First Class Mail

Here’s a recap of what First Class Mail gets you, at just the price of a stamp:

Best priced service for mail up to 13 oz
Delivery in 1 to 3 business days
Insurance for loss or damage up to $5,000 for merchandise only
Can combine with extra services to confirm delivery
Up to 3.5 ounces free with commercial priced letters and cards

Changes to Price of a Stamp for Letters and Postcards

With the 2.5 percent price increase for Mailing Services products, the most notable of the new rates is a five-cent increase to the price of a First-Class Mail stamp, from 50 cents to 55 cents. The 10 percent hike is the largest price increase in the history of the USPS. The second largest price hike was in 1991, when the price of a stamp increased from 25 cents to 29 cents.

Even though the basic 1-ounce price of a stamp went up, another part actually went down. The “additional ounce” price for letters will see a decrease of six cents, from 21 cents to 15 cents. Additional ounces cover anything that weighs more than 1-ounce which is typically a larger document or invitation. This means the 150 wedding invitations (typically a 2-ounce stamped letter) you need to send out may only cost 70 cents a piece, rather than 71 cents. And who doesn’t want to save $1.50?

Complete Pricing Breakdown

Letters (1 oz.) $0.55
Letters – Additional Ounces: $0.15
Non-Machinable Surcharge: $0.15 (see below!)
Letters (metered 1 oz.): $0.50 (metered mail is when a postage meter stamps directly onto the letter)
Outbound (Outgoing) International Letters (1 oz.): $1.15
Domestic Postcards: $0.35

Please note the base price of $0.55 is for a standard-sized, rectangular envelope. If your envelope is square, oversized, or unusually shaped, costs for stamps begin at $0.70. This factors in your non-machinable surcharge (see below).

In the same vein, stamps for standard-sized, rectangular postcards start at $0.35. Any oversized postcards require letter stamps, which as we’ve now learned, start at $0.55.

Complete Sizing Guide

Letters qualify under the following dimensions:

Length – minimum 5”, maximum 11 ½”
Height – minimum 3 ½”, maximum 6 ⅛”
Thickness – minimum .007”, maximum ¼”

Cards qualify under the following dimensions:

Length – minimum 5”, maximum 6”
Height – minimum 3 ½”, maximum 4 ¼”
Thickness – minimum .007”, maximum 0.016”

What is a “Non-Machinable” Surcharge?

If you have unusually shaped mail pieces – like uneven, stiff, square, or vertical envelopes – and the machine is unable to sort them into the correct pile, or if your mail has extras – like buttons, clasps, or string – it must be hand-cancelled (processed by a human being). These mail items are considered “non-machinable,” and a fee of $0.15 may be applied, even if they weigh less than the standard letter 1 oz.

What About Forever Stamps?

If you’re wondering about First-Class Mail Forever stamps – introduced in 2007 and designated for 1 oz letters that don’t expire even if stamp prices increase – they will still be available for purchase, but at the increased rate of $0.55. Forever stamps purchased before the increase on 1/27/19 will, of course, be honored.

Changes to Priority Mail Prices

First, here’s a quick recap of what the USPS Priority Mail service includes:

Delivery in 1 to 3 business days
Delivery available seven days a week in most locations
Prices starting at $7.35
Can combine with extra services to confirm delivery

Domestic Priority Mail Retail Flat Rate (Boxes and Envelopes)

In an attempt to simplify things, the USPS introduced the first flat rate envelope in 1991 and the first flat rate box in 2004. As their name indicates, there is a flat rate – a one-time fee – and no further weighing or calculating is needed. If they fit in the box, the price is locked and predictable. These ship in 1-3 business days.

Box Type	Dimensions	Price
Small Flat Rate Box	8 11⁄16″ x 5 7⁄16″ x 1 3⁄4″	$7.90
Medium Flat Rate Box (top loading)	11 1⁄4″ x 8 3⁄4″ x 6	$14.36
Medium Flat Rate Box (side loading)	14″ x 12″ x 3 1⁄2″	$14.36
Large Flat Rate Box	12 1⁄4″ x 12 1⁄4″ x 6″	$19.95
APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box*	12 1⁄4″ x 12 1⁄4″ x 6″	$18.45
Regular Flat Rate Envelope	12 1⁄2″ x 9 1⁄2″	$7.35
Legal Flat Rate Envelope	9 1⁄2″ x 15″	$7.65
Padded Flat Rate Envelope	12 1⁄2″ x 9 1⁄2″	$8.00

*The USPS offers a discount of $1.50 per Priority Mail Flat Rate Box to those who want to send loved ones serving in the military a special delivery. Just look for the abbreviation APO – which stands for Air or Army Post Office – or FPO – which stands for Fleet Post Office (Navy).

A Note On First-Class Package Service and Zone-Based Pricing

First-Class Package Service, the light, fast service primarily used by businesses for fulfillment purposes will move to zone-based pricing. These zones are predetermined and factor the distance from where shipping begins to the package’s destination. According to USPS, this is to better align with the cost of service and is intended to improve value based on distance.

Concluding Thoughts on Stamp Price Increase

According to the New York Times, within the last ten years, the number of first-class mail pieces sent through the United States Postal Service has fallen by more than 50 percent. If you don’t include invitations and holiday cards, the average American household receives only 10 pieces of personal mail each year. Although the statistics presented earlier certainly seem staggering (5,711 mail pieces are processed every second?!), the fact of the matter is Americans just aren’t communicating the way they used to. And yet, a postal worker visits every mailbox several days a week, regardless of the volume.

One needs only to briefly visit the USPS website before discovering that, though the information is certainly helpful, it isn’t the most navigable or consumer-friendly. Perhaps if data was arranged in a one-stop, confusion-free way, folks would be able to move past the terms “non-machineable” and “automation,” and quickly reference whether or not their letter or package fits in a particular category, and how much that category costs. Yeah, someone should probably make that quick-reference…

So, here it is! Our Ultimate Guide to the 2019 Price of a Stamp.

Stamp Price Increase — Save on Postage by Buying Stamps This Week

Posted on January 17, 2014January 21, 2014 by Postmaster

While I’m not one to dole out financial advice (and neither is this blog), there’s one investment you should probably make in the next 7 days unless you’d like to address all your bills, thank you notes and wedding invitations to Ripoffsville this year. The price of a stamp is about to skyrocket on Sunday, January 26th and your best way around it is to invest in some Forever stamps before the postage increase.

What do I mean by “skyrocket”? Ultimately, the price of a stamp is only going up by 3-cents… from 46 cents to 49 cents. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? Well, percentage-wise, this is a 7% stamp price increase! By buying Forever stamps, you’d save 6 percent! …You still don’t seem persuaded. I get it… It’s barely even as good as a Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon.

Let’s look at it this way: historically, the price of a stamp has barely even kept pace with inflation — so, in a way, first class letter postage has actually gotten cheaper and cheaper each year. For instance, a 32 cent stamp in 1995, adjusted for inflation, would have been worth worth 49 cents in 2013. By comparison, this makes our actual 2013 rate, 46 cents, look like a bargain. And this historical pattern of inexpensive postage has persisted for quite a long time. In fact, something called the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 was supposed to force the USPS to raise stamp prices no faster than the rate of inflation. Forever stamps should never be a good deal, because legally speaking, stamp price increases should never exceed inflation.

Counter to all this, the USPS filed a request for an “exigent” price increase (by complaining about the Great Recession) and it was approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission. So, now the price of a stamp is actually bumping up to a full 49 cents — an increase of 6.5% — clearly higher than the rate of inflation. Inflation over the course of 2014 (which we can assume will be at least 1%) will remove the purchasing power of your postage budget as the year wears on. These economics will finally make this stamp price hike a bad one for consumers.

TL;DR: Buy some Forever stamps this weekend and thank me at the end of the year when you’re sending Christmas cards at a 6% discount. If not for the sake of beating the system, saving one more trip to post office hell will easily pay for many more stamps.

2014 Stamp Price — How Much is it Going Up? When’s the Change?

Posted on January 14, 2014January 13, 2014 by Postmaster

If you’re following USPS news and the price of a stamp closely, you’d know that the first class rate for postage stamps is rising this year. But even the Postal Service is making it hard to answer the two most fundamental questions: By how much is the price of a stamp increasing? And when is this all happening?

The simplest answer is: 49 cents and January 26th, 2014. That’s not all — so read on.

The Stamp Price Increase

The new price for a first class stamp will be 49 cents. That’s a never-before-seen 6% increase to the old price which was only 46 cents. It might not seem like that much of a hike but for a rate that businesses depend on, it’s huge. If the USPS were following the convention typically enforced by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the price would only go up by 1 cent. The real change is 3 cents. So, relative to expectations, the new price is a 300% rate surprise!

Forever stamps will increase in value when the price of a stamp changes this year.

Don’t forget that the USPS has already helped us deal with its constant price changes by selling Forever stamps. If you own Forever stamps (or buy them before the price changes!), their value will automatically rise with the price increase. However, if you go to the post office even just the day after the price increase to buy Forever stamps, you’ll pay the new price of a stamp: 49 cents.

When the Price Changes

The price of a stamp increases to 49 cents on Jan. 26th, 2014 according to the USPS, but what does that really mean? Jan. 26 is a Sunday — very few corner mailboxes are serviced on Sundays and nearly every single post office is closed. The postal service doesn’t even deliver mail on Sundays.

The USPS’s wording suggests that the new 49-cent price takes effect on January 26th, so we can assume that the actual change takes place at midnight or close-of-business on Saturday, Jan. 25th. In other words, if you drop something in the mail on or after Jan. 26th, you should plan to apply postage valued at the new price: 49 cents. Or, if you buy stamps at a kiosk or at a post office that’s open on Sunday, you’ll get charged the new price of a stamp.

However, we know from past price increases that the USPS permits a very unofficial “grace period” where it will continue to deliver mail stamped for the old postage price. If you’re lucky, this will last all day Sunday, Jan. 26th. On Monday, Jan. 27th, be sure that all of your mail has 49 cents of postage attached or it might be returned or discarded.

Stamp Price Increase — How to Prepare for the New Price of a Stamp

Posted on March 26, 2013March 26, 2013 by Postmaster

On January 27th, 2013, the US postal service will officially enact a brand new stamp price: 46 cents for a standard 1-ounce letter. A slew of other new postage increases are also a part of the change and they’re detailed here.

The same exact thing happened this week one year ago — a one-cent increase to the price of a stamp — so it’s pretty certain that every year around mid-January, you’ll have to scramble to take advantage of the imminent change. Make sure you’re not losing out because of the price change!

What You Need to Do Before the Price of a Stamps Goes Up

Stock up on forever stamps: Now’s your last chance to grab forever stamps for the lower price of 45 cents. Forever stamps are always valid for mailing a letter regardless of future postage increases — they’re always good for mailing a standard 1-ounce letter. However, because of the price adjustment, buying a single forever stamp will cost one cent more. A roll of 100 stamps next week will cost a dollar more. If the price of a stamp increases at the same rate, in a decade, that same roll could cost about $10 more. Buying stamps now, especially if you do a lot of mailing, will save some cash and hassle in the long run.

Use up your old stamps: If you still have official 45-cent stamps that aren’t labelled “forever” (most novelty, collectable or themed stamps aren’t forever stamps) you need to use them quickly! Send out your bills early or drop other letters you’ve been procrastinating on in the mail. Even though the price of a stamp officially changes on Sunday, since many corner mailboxes aren’t serviced on Sundays, there’s a short implicit “grace period.” If you can get your mail in the box on Monday, January 28th, it will probably reach its destination — just make sure you’ve listed a return address just in case. So, you’ve got time. If you have any leftover stamps on Monday, you’re still in luck. The USPS offers one-cent stamps which you can also add to the corner of a letter to bring your postage total up to the new 46-cent requirement.