Us Postage Price Increase On Jan. 27, 2019

USPS announces new prices for 2019

It's a good idea to stock up US Forever postage stamps now while they're $0.50.

I bought 3 sheets of Mister Rogers stamps several months ago thinking I was going to use them. I've used one. I'll probably be good for at least 5 years with those.

the postmaster at my post office mentioned that the price was going up again a ways back, in early december i think. i bought another two sheets (of 20) Forever stamps in mid december.

I hate it. I have a small online business and customers always grumble about the cost of shipping but I only charge what I have to pay.

I just bought a roll of 100 forever stamps, but I'm going to have to reconsider how I pay my bills. I'm old school, and for the most part, I write a check and mail it in. Some of these could go to autopay, and I will have to think about it at these rates. 55 cents is really a lot.

I pay everything online through my bank. They have electronic transfers to most billers so no checks floating around in the mail and because the payments get delivered the next day I can wait the day before due dates to initiate payments. And of course you save all that postage.

It's a big jump this time. I don't think a stamp has ever gone up by 5 cents at once before. But it's still the cheapest compared to other developed nations.
Congress Is Strangling The USPS By Forcing It To Sell The Cheapest Stamps In The World (well, this is from 2012 but I'm pretty sure not much has changed).

They did an audit a while ago and found that first-class mail was seriously underpriced. I guess this is to correct that. The second ounce/nonmachineable surcharge is actually going down by 6 cents. Parcels are going up a bit but not as much as last year's price change.

I second online banking. They print out the check and mail it. And autopay is another option I'm looking into since thr cable company gives 10 bucks off a month if set up autopayment. I've got one bill I send a check into because the amount is different every month plus i prefer getting statements in the mail. Kind of a physical reminder to pay.

The only things I actually use stamps for are birthday, Christmas cards, etc. All bills are paid online.

Does the Postal Service still make the stamps that you have to lick to moisten the adhesive?

I don't use stamps for much, just greeting cards and whatever bills I get in the mail like payments for doctor visits that aren't fully covered by insurance. I do use Priority Mail service often to send packages and it's going to cost more now

LTS3 said:

Does the Postal Service still make the stamps that you have to lick to moisten the adhesive?

Click to expand...

Nope! Even the envelopes have peel-off adhesive. I'm glad. Licky stamps tasted terrible .

My wife just had me get $100 in forever stamps because we do (still) use the mail for bill paying, as well as cards and such. I've heard too many horror stories from people I know to trust exposing any personal data online that I don't absolutely have to.

I do everything either online or via phone. The last two times I had to mail something (in 3 years), I just get a stamp at the post office, since I have to go there to mail it anyway. - we don't have mail pickup or delivery here.