May 2008, the charge for the first ounce of a first-class letter rises to 42 cents, the price of each added ounce will remain 17 cents, so a two-ounce letter will go up a penny to 59 cents. For those wise enough to stock up on the "Forever Stamps" there will be no effect and even those that you buy now till the rate increase will rise in value when the new rate kicks in.

The cost to mail a post card will also go up a penny, to 27 cents

Other increases set for May 12:

_ Large envelope, 2 ounces, $1, up 3 cents.

_ Money Orders up to $500, $1.05, unchanged.

_ Certified mail, $2.70, up 5 cents.

_ First-class international letter to Canada or Mexico, 72 cents, up 3 cents.

_ First-class international letter to other countries, 94 cents, up 4 cents.


The title of the thread comes from #1 item in Letterman "Top 10" List:
What will the Post Office Do With Postage Increase?

What is the largest package or grouping of forever stamps that one can buy?

I remember a long time ago in the era of "lick-em" stamps that you could get a roll of 100. But that was when the price was low enough that you didn't need an armoured truck to carry them back home.

I'm thinking they would make a nice inheritance gift for my children......

As in investment, I expect Forever Postage Stamps to outperform United States E- and I-Series Savings Bonds.

Ken300D

__________________
--------------------------
1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

Well they are pricing themselves out of business, everyone emails these days. Only bills or junk mail come in paper form.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Why do we subsidize the mail, couldn't those other carriers do the job? I pay for next day from say, FedEx and I get next day. What do I get from U Smail?

B

Word I've always heard on that is that the US mail is obligated to take letters and packages up every damn rural route -- just plain every damn address in the country.

UPS is much more selective.

When all is said and done, getting an envelope containing originally composed correspondence across the country for $.42 in less than a week is pretty amazing.

Knock on wood, I've never had a piece of mail lost, to my knowledge.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Whatever the source of the word is, referring to it makes it real.

I'll bet if the US Mail had to compete with all comers and everybody had to deliver mail everywhere that US Mail would be unable to compete without subsidies.

Yep.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

How much do you have to spend?
http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10152&storeId=10001&categoryId=18406&productId=29559&langId=-1

FYI, you can't you non-denominational stamps for international mail. Stamps must have a printed value on them.

__________________
-James

'85 280GE...sold
'96 Impala SS ~ 6-speed 396
'14 Cadillac Vagon. . . . . . . . . . "Life without knowledge is death in disguise." - Hans-Peter Geerdes

USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are UPS/FedEX killers outside the "lower 48."

I think the worse killer is their decision to require everything over 13oz to be turned in at the counter only for terrorism concerns. Drop a 14oz parcel in a drop box and it gets returned to you. I asked the lady at the counter what they do different. "Nothing. I put them in the same stack as what gets dropped through the slot. They haven't trained any of us to do anything different."

Looks like yet another security policy that only gives an appearance of security, rather than actually improving security.

I bet UPS/FedEx will be getting a lot more business. The added expense is less hassle than standing in line 20 minutes.

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Greg Schwall

1983 300SD - 465,000 miles

Oh sorry. Here, let me drop everything and try to track down every bit of knowledge I've heard someone closer to the story opine on in years past.

Do you really think UPS or FedEx wants to take a letter up to Fool's Creek Holler outside of Bethcawannaland, Kentucky for the princely sum of $.42?

The information I presented stands on its own pretty well. Common sense.

Most of the business that UPS has taken from the USPS was the cream.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

The cream is 1st class mail.

Oh, I guess that's why UPS hasn't gone into that biz yet. Too much money to be had there.

You've got privatization stuck on the brain. It's got its merits, but so does the USPS.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Come to think of it, I don't imagine UPS can do first class mail cuz the USPS has a monopoly on mail boxes at people's houses and apartments, if I'm not mistaken.

Jeez, what the hell was Ben Franklin thinking when he got the postal service up and running and didn't privatize it right from the git-go?

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

America's history is full of examples where privatization of certain functions was not viewed as conducive to the best interest of the citizens. As a result, we do not live in a purely capitalistic society, it's always been a hybrid.