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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Regulators Approve Hike In Cost Of First-Class Stamps

Mailing a letter is about to get a little more expensive.

Postal regulators on Tuesday approved a price hike of 3 cents for a first-class stamp, bringing the charge to 49 cents a letter.

The independent Postal Regulatory Commission said the change was justified by severe mail volume decreases since 2008. The new price is effective Jan. 26 and will last no more than two years, allowing the Postal Service to recoup $2.8 billion in losses.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are parts missing in all of this if anyone can figure out what they are.Increases in stamp ptices just don't appear to be the silver bullet.I only mail 2 or 3 letters a month to pay bills so a few cents per stamp has no impact on me personally.If UPS and FedEx continue being as unreliable as they were during this Christmas season the USPS will see an increase in package shipping.

Anonymous said...

This just can't work. My carrier just had their route increased from 500 stops per day to 800 stops. On Monday before Christmas, their mail truck broke down. Other carriers (i.e., UPS) are dumping packages for the USPS carriers to deliver. Just how long can USPS management expect to go on?

Many people I know are moving to online payments. This eliminates a first class stop at a residence. If the carrier now has to make a mail drop and only has STD class mail, how can they deliver it for 22 cents when the USPS says it needs 49 cents to deliver a First Class product?

USPS is tearing down the end of their food chain by continuing to increase the burden on the carriers, taking on additional parcels when the delivery vehicle hasn't gotten larger but continues to age?

Anonymous said...

10:44 - all businesses are working this way now. The message from management is 'more work from less resources'. Can't end well.