United States Postal Service customers are angry about announced price increases that are set to take effect this summer.
With only a few weeks left until the price increase, those who want to purchase stamps, letters, postcards and other services had best act quickly and get what they need.
At least six services of the US Postal Service (USPS) are expected to be affected by this until July 14, especially postage stamps, according to a press release.
The price of the First Class Forever stamp will be a whopping five cents higher.
The First Class Forever stamp currently costs 68 cents and the increase will bring the total price to 73 cents.
According to a USPS press release, there will also be surcharges of several cents for heavier letters, single letters, international letters, and domestic and international postcards.
Additional products are expected to be announced at a later date, including “special service products, including registered mail and money order fees.”
An increase in shipping costs was not specified, the press release states.
Customers can obtain all the stamps they want before the deadline in just under three weeks through the USPS website, by mail through USA Philatec, by phone at 844-737-7826 or at any post office.
MAKE ADJUSTMENTS
The USPS cited changes in the transportation and postal market as the reason for the price increases.
It was stressed that the increases were “necessary to achieve the financial stability that the organization seeks in its ten-year plan, Delivering for America.”
The Delivering for America plan was first introduced in March 2021 to give the USPS the opportunity to grow “from an organization in financial and operational crisis to a self-sustaining and high-performing organization.”
“Delivering for America” addresses several problems in the USPS’s service that the company plans to adjust and correct in the future and complete by the ten-year goal in 2031.
For detailed information about Delivering for America, visit the USPS website.
FAN RAGE
Although everything seems to be going according to plan, many fans are still not happy with the cost increases.
One customer said in a Facebook post that it was “time to close it.”
USPS price increases
The following price increases for USPS services were announced in an April press release. All changes are scheduled to take effect by July 14, 2024.
- Letters (1 ounce): 68 cents to 73 cents
- Letters (franked 1 ounce): 64 cents to 69 cents
- Domestic postcards: 53 cents to 56 cents
- International postcards: $1.55 to $1.65
- International letters (1 ounce): $1.55 to $1.65
- Single item letters: 24 cents to 28 cents
“The USPS is worse than ever,” complained another.
“The USPS is deeply in debt,” claimed a third.
The July price increase is the fifth by the USPS in recent years.
STILL IN PROGRESS
The first time was in July 2022, then in January 2023, followed by July 2023 and January 2024.
For comparison: The cost of sending a 30 gram letter was 73 cents in July, while in 1999 it would have been about 33 cents.
This corresponds to an increase of 40 cents over 25 years.
Not to mention that due to technological advances in the 21st century, the number of letters sent has decreased.
Data collected by the USPS shows that the company’s peak mail volume was reached in 2006, with 213.1 billion letters.
FedEx and UPS also came under criticism from customers for increasing surcharges at the beginning of the year.
An automatic fee change by FedEx last August also impacted millions of customers across the country.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1196x420:1198x422)/Teen-Boy-chewing-gum-061324-1-b36fbcf9f7914257a42adcba732bf29f.jpg)
