Stamp Price Increase in 2014 — Going Up at Unprecedented Rate

On Christmas Eve, the Postal Regulatory Committee (PRC) officially approved an unprecedented increase to the price of a stamp — a full 3-cent increase — to take hold at the end of January 2014. This will bring the total price of a first class stamp to 49 cents from the current rate of 46 cents. The official change takes place on January 26th.

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Three cents may not seem like a lot but this is a 6 percent increase to the price of a stamp which is unprecedented.

The USPS is not ordinarily permitted to increase its prices beyond the rate of inflation. The ordinary price restrictions would have only raised prices by 1.7 percent — only enough to add one cent to the price of a stamp. Although a 3-cent increase sounds like nothing, the rate increase that the PRC approved comes to about 6 percent price hike which is unprecedented in USPS history… and an increase like that can have a real impact on businesses that depend on mailing letters.

The PRC made clear that this is a temporary increase to the price of a stamp and that it may only last 2 years although they did not outline a plan or guidelines for how the USPS will reverse the new rate. Instead they place the onus on the USPS to “report quarterly on revenues generated by the rate increases” and to come up with their own schedule to “phase out the rates once they have produced the revenue justified by their request.” Since the 1-cent portion of the price hike was in line with inflation, only 2 cents worth of the price increase will have to be rolled back.

The USPS has been suffering for a variety of reasons — from technology to inefficiencies in how it operates — however the regulatory committee that approved the USPS’s stamp price increase blamed the Great Recession for what they’ve been calling an “exigent” price hike. The agency believes that the financial harm caused to the USPS during the recession is an extenuating circumstance that justifies an extreme price increase.

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

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 outĀ becauseĀ 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.