If you’re heading to the post office today, you might notice that the price of sending a letter has gone up. A first class stamp now costs $0.41. Other options have increased, too. It seems like just yesterday the cost of a first class stamp increased from $0.37 to $0.39. According to the United States Postal Service, the rates have been simplified. Their price sheet could be helpful. If I have to mail something other than a standard letter, I generally go to the post office and have them weigh the package when it is convenient. That way I don’t end up overpaying.
I haven’t decided whether I believe the “Forever stamp” is a good move for the Postal Service. Companies will massively stock up while the price is the lowest it will ever be, so USPS can expect an influx of cash. Maybe this capital will help them upgrade their systems and logistics to realistically compete with companies like FedEx and UPS.
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I see it as a ploy to generate short term revenue. Even though the forever stamp is supposedly good on “First-Class letters”, even on the initial release the definition of what qualifies has narrowed (thickness, machineablilty). Five years from now they can easily change what qualifies…
A 5% increase in any expense, whether it be something as big as your real estate taxes or as small as your postage stamps, is a big deal.
Looks like less handwritten invitations and more eVites!
I don’t see any reason why a rational individual would stock up on forever stamps in the near future. However, when the USPS announces the next price hike for the forever stamp, there might be a stampede of speculators the day before the price hike goes into effect.
I agreed with Charles Wheelan’s article (see Yahoo! finance) on privatizing the postal system. Ironically, he also wrote previously about the government further subsidizing healthcare.
Sure, those of us living in small towns would have to pay more for mail service. Some locations may not even be economically viable. But I’m willing to take the hit if it means a little less government waste, and lower taxes.
We might even have to re-write the constitution–I believe there is an establishment clause of the postal service in there somewhere. But times have changed, and we need to question whether the founding fathers would have even established a Federally-supported postal service given today’s easy access to electronic communications.
I don’t think that any one is going to stock up on stamps as an investment. There is no way that the stamp price will rise faster than even a 4% CD would.