USPS stamp prices officially rose Sunday, and there may be more to come
Source: WMAQ-TV Chicago, IL
Published 5 hours ago • Updated 5 hours
The cost of mailing a letter in the United States just went up again, rising by a nickel beginning on Sunday.
Previously, the cost of a first-class stamp through the U.S. Postal Service had been set at 73 cents, but as of Sunday July 13, that cost has now risen to 78 cents, according to the USPS website. Metered letters now cost 74 cents to send, also an increase of five cents. Domestic postcard stamps have gone up to 61 cents, and international postcards and letters now cost $1.70 to send.
The USPS filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission in April of its decision to increase the cost of a first-class “Forever Stamp,” and the move officially went into effect Sunday. The price increase is the 10th in the last nine years, with the cost of a stamp going up by nearly 66% over that time, according to USPS data.
According to a document obtained by The Hill, this may not be the only time stamp prices go up in the near future. The USPS, in a plan submitted in Sept. 2024, said that it would seek to increase the cost of first-class mail a total of four more times by July 2027, though it did not specify how much those increases would amount to.
Read more: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/usps-stamp-prices-officially-rose-sunday-and-there-may-be-more-to-come/3788276/
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However, it is not quite the bargain it once was. Here’s a table justifying an increase:
https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2024-03/risc-wp-24-004.pdf
At first blush, it appears that the USPS charges among the lowest rates in the world, but, that’s partly because of their selection criteria, eliminating all but 31 of 195 Universal Postal Union member countries for which they had data.
In case you’re wondering, some research turned up a more inclusive list; and; by a strange coincidence, eliminated countries seemed to charge less than the USPS.
