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- February 11, 2008
How much to mail that Valentine?
The price of a stamp is going up again. Come spring, stamps will cost 42 cents, a penny more than their current price, the U.S. Postal Service announced today.
It’s coincidental that I hear this news today. That’s because I was sticking stamps to my Valentines this morning and thinking that 41 cents seemed like a lot of change to send these little cards a few hundred miles away. The fee increase likely won’t bother many of you because you save paper and postage by paying your bills online. But I still love good ‘ole snail mail. I write letters to my family and friends, send goofy post cards and greeting cards for various holidays.
The price of a stamp last went up in May 2007, when the feds raised the price two pennies to its current 41 cents, according to the Associated Press. Maybe the fee increases would be easier to absorb if it felt like service at the postal service was improving. BTW, the latest increase goes into effect May 12.
How much will the price of stamps have to rise to in order for you to think twice before you mail something? 50 cents? 75 cents? A dollar?
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5 Responses to “How much to mail that Valentine?”
On top of the increased price for stamps, in rural American especially the post office hours and services are continually being cut back. Around here they close completely around lunch time for 90 minutes, from like 11:30 to 1; open at 9 and close at 4 or 4:30 — so it’s hard to even get to the post office when it’s actually oepn, unless you’re a retired person or a college student. Then they’ve taken the stamp vending machine out t’boot. It’s almost not worth having an office in town. (Hey, why don’t I get any goofy postcards?)
By Ted on Feb 11, 2008
In our Durham neighborhood, the post office just expanded their hours to 7pm during the week. They have 2-5 cashiers and also an automated box that will do almost everything for you. It really is very easy. During the holiday season they increased staff and did a very patient job of getting all the packages sorted out.
41 cents is really nothing. It’s 41 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the US. Anywhere… even to AK or HI. But I certainly can’t drive a couple hundred miles, or a couple ten miles for that matter, for 41 cents, or 42 cents, or even a buck.
By Valerie on Feb 12, 2008
Valerie, I like the expanded hours. Glad to hear that your post office seems to be doing the opposite of Ted’s. And you’re right, 41 cents isn’t much when it comes to sending a letter to Alaska or Hawaii or even South Carolina for that matter. I’ve declared before that I have a love/hate relationship with the post office. For me, there seems to be no consistency of service. And I guess if the price must continue to go up that, if anything, I would like to see some consistently good service rather than good service for you, Valerie, in Durham and mediocre service for Ted in central Illinois. But you’re right, you can’t get much for 42 cents these days.
By Ginny on Feb 13, 2008
My beau works at UPS and says he’s constantly amazed, now seeing the mailing and shipping process, at how in the world the USPS keeps their rates so cheap, especially in a world that uses them less and less.
By Ashley Sue on Feb 14, 2008