First Class Postage Increase Being Requested

[bicker]

The post office wants to increase the price of a stamp by 2 cents to 46 cents starting in January.

. . .

Kearney said the agency is facing a $7 billion loss in 2011. The rate increase will bring in an extra $2.5 billion, meaning it still faces a $4.7 billion loss.

. . .

While the cost of a first-class stamp would go up to 46 cents, people who bought "Forever" stamps at lower prices will still be able to use them for first-class mail without paying the difference.

So the increase would cut the deficit by only about one third.

 

[cybrkitn]

I thought I read last year that the price of a stamp was going to be increased every May . I'm surprised that they are doing it in January.

 

[foolishmortal]

i think its so funny how postal service thinks this will help. They raise prices more people use internet and online banking, etc... then they claim ok because of loses we need to raise prices again which in turn will cause more people to be forced into the easier online bill pay mode etc...


I am not exaggerating when I say in the last 5 years I have used less than half a book of stamps. Maybe i should go buy some forever stamps today and be covered for 10+ more years.

But seriously, the only reason I even get mail is for coupons & magazines, everything else is electronic.

All raising prices will do is force those that have stayed true to postal service up to now, to look into electronic processes as well.

 

[FireDancer]

Every time they increase postage we see a spike in our online banking enrollment. I haven't paid a recurring bill through the mail in years now and won't as long as I can help it.

How many other companies deal with a decrease in demand for their product by raising it's price?

 

[bicker]

i think its so funny how postal service thinks this will help. They raise prices more people use internet and online banking, etc... then they claim ok because of loses we need to raise prices again which in turn will cause more people to be forced into the easier online bill pay mode etc...

The alternative would be just to do away with the mail, or reduce it to five days a week, followed by four days a week, followed by three day a week service.

I am not exaggerating

Me neither.

All raising prices will do is force those that have stayed true to postal service up to now, to look into electronic processes as well.

Asserting that one is "staying true" to a service, while paying less than it costs to provide that service, is a little silly, don't you think? I suspect that the only folks who are really "staying true" to the postal service are the folks who collect stamps.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

i think its so funny how postal service thinks this will help. They raise prices more people use internet and online banking, etc... then they claim ok because of loses we need to raise prices again which in turn will cause more people to be forced into the easier online bill pay mode etc...


I am not exaggerating when I say in the last 5 years I have used less than half a book of stamps. Maybe i should go buy some forever stamps today and be covered for 10+ more years.

But seriously, the only reason I even get mail is for coupons & magazines, everything else is electronic.

All raising prices will do is force those that have stayed true to postal service up to now, to look into electronic processes as well.

Agreed. My dad has taken to having me pay his bills online for him partly due to the postage. If he doesn't have to send something through the mail, he won't. It's getting to the point where I don't like having send stuff through the mail anymore either after selling stuff online.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I wish that they would just stop service on Saturdays and be done with it. I don't use enough stamps to constantly add the few cents here and there. Guess I am part of the problem...sorry!

 

[foolishmortal]

The alternative would be just to do away with the mail, or reduce it to five days a week, followed by four days a week, followed by three day a week service.

Me neither.

Asserting that one is "staying true" to a service, while paying less than it costs to provide that service, is a little silly, don't you think? I suspect that the only folks who are really "staying true" to the postal service are the folks who collect stamps.

again im 99.9% electronic so go to 1 day for all I care! But the raising of the prices is really the USPS' own problem I think. they raised prices more and more people went to electronic, and raising even more will cause even more to go directly electronic, nature of the beast nowadays. To dismiss that the USPS put itself in this whole with their rising in proces as well as some of the bad contracts they got into with the workers union, its kind of a double edge sword that they caused themsleves to sonme point

 

[RitaZ.]

I wish that they would just stop service on Saturdays and be done with it. I don't use enough stamps to constantly add the few cents here and there. Guess I am part of the problem...sorry!

Me too.

They've been talking about reducing their work week for a while, but it doesn't happen. There are days where I get nothing in the mail. On the days that I do, it's mostly junk.

 

[bicker]

But the raising of the prices is really the USPS' own problem I think. they raised prices more and more people went to electronic, and raising even more will cause even more to go directly electronic, nature of the beast nowadays.

I think that's pretty easy to say, but I see no reason to believe it. The fact is that they should charge at least as much as it costs to provide the service. Not a penny less. And if that means even fewer people use the service, and that that gets them into a spiral, that's fine. Let it spiral down to a natural balance point. But leaving prices low, where they're losing money on every letter sent, is inexcusable.

To dismiss that the USPS put itself in this whole with their rising in proces as well as some of the bad contracts they got into with the workers union, its kind of a double edge sword that they caused themsleves to sonme point

I'm sure the union workers disagree with your appraisal of the value of their work.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Our post office keeps running out of forever stamps so I end up with the other kinds.

I wish they'd stop mail on Saturday for sure and they could stop it on Tuesday or Wednesday too. That'll help them out.

 

[C.Ann]

Not really that big of a deal for me.. I have quite a few of the "Forever" stamps and will continue to write numerous long letters every month - even with future increases.. I love writing and receiving letters; sending and receiving cards via the mail; etc..

Now if I was still doing eBay - that would be a different story.. The article I read stated other "services" will take a hit as well, so I suspect it will have an impact on eBay sales - which aren't that great anymore to begin with.. As a former buyer, I haven't paid the s&h fees that sellers have been charging for the past 2 years or so.. Unless I'm in the market for a very, very rare item that I could only find on eBay, the "deal" is no longer a "deal" when the s&h is so high..

I have a close friend who just retired from the post office a few months ago and felt she got out at just the right time.. Lots of changes going on for the employees - most of which are making them extremely unhappy..

 

[cybrkitn]

I wish that they would just stop service on Saturdays and be done with it. I don't use enough stamps to constantly add the few cents here and there. Guess I am part of the problem...sorry!

That's coming very soon. The post office's web site already has some information regarding that.

There are a few bills that DH and I have that cannot be paid online b/c it's not available (school tuition is one, but I just send that in with DS8 on his way in). Other than that, we pay most of our bills online, too.

The only things I send out via snail mail would be invites/thank you's, letters or forms and postcards. That's it. But those are few and far between.

 

[acejka]

Ha. That is news to me... I always thought they were 54 cents each! Woops. I buy the forever stamps at costco and just never paid that much attention.

 

[DebbieB]

Most of my bills are electronic. Even if they reduced the price of stamps, I would not change. How many people write letters and mail them now that e-mail is available? Probably very few. I think they are in a no-win situation.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Yes, either raise all fees to make the USPS at least a break even proposition (and if that means cutting services too, then so be it) or simply close the entire operation down.

The "post office" needs to get into the 21st century once and for all. Pony express is long gone...

 

[bicker]

I don't think the USPS really should be allowed to go 21st Century. That would put it in competition with private enterprise, where there is already clearly sufficient competition. There is a public interest in having a service available that will have written papers and small item taken from place to place, reliably, and without incurring the expense typically associated with folks like FedEx, so that would mean federal subsidy to maintain that service at that price. Perhaps the USPS should not have been divorced from the government as much as it is.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I don't think the USPS really should be allowed to go 21st Century. That would put it in competition with private enterprise, where there is already clearly sufficient competition. There is a public interest in having a service available that will have written papers and small item taken from place to place, reliably, and without incurring the expense typically associated with folks like FedEx, so that would mean federal subsidy to maintain that service at that price. Perhaps the USPS should not have been divorced from the government as much as it is.

Precisely. I thought when it happened that this type of thing would end up happening. It was a dumb move. And now the USPS has to keep raising prices and cut services. It will probably end up out of business at the rate it's going.

 

[bicker]

I'm not sure it can end up out of business. It's got a federal charter that pretty explicitly precludes that. Rather, I think what'll end up happening is eventually it'll default, and "go into receivership" or something like that, and there will be loads of recriminations thrown back and forth, everyone trying to use the situation to their own personal political advantage - when the reality is that it is inevitable, and was pretty-much inevitable since the service was set up the way it is set up now. This will just be yet-another example of politicians exploiting the mob-mentality nature of the general public.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

It will never go out of business. We all get mail regardless if we want to or not. They will stop delivery on Saturdays (hopefully) and things will be in better shape. I prefer to use the mail for the items I ship because it is affordable and convenient and I think that I am not the only one. But, I will be sure to send more Thank you letters and cards through snail mail rather than via e-mail. That would probably be a very nice thing for any cast member at Disney to receive along with filling out a comment card. I pay all my bills via electronic transfer but some recipients don't have that set up so those checks get mailed regardless so I use maybe a sheet of stamps a year...guess I need to up the ante.

I am surprised how many people take the USPS for granted. I remember how much I loved getting my magazines and letters as a kid. E-Mails just aren't the same as a nice card...