Postal Service to Raise Stamp Prices

USPS recently announced that the organization will raise stamp prices for First-Class Mail, the service that covers postcards, letters under 1 ounce, and envelopes. Currently, the price of a “Forever” stamp is 55 cents. However, beginning on August 29th, 2021, the new price of a “Forever” stamp will be 58 cents.

USPS Raising Stamp Prices is Part of the 10-Year Plan

While prices for shipping services take place every year across all carriers, an uptick on First-Class Mail stamps is much more rare. The upcoming planned price increase is a part of Postmaster General DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan for the Postal Service, which consists of several structural and strategic changes to steer USPS back to financial sustainability. By raising prices of First-Class stamps to 58 cents, USPS hopes to generate enough revenue to offset continuously-declining mail volume.

According to USPS, mail volume dropped by 28% over the last 10 years. Current mail volume sits at roughly 46 billion pieces, and continues to fall.

The price of “Forever” First-Class Mail stamps isn’t the only increase USPS will impose. Here are some of the other services that USPS plans to increase prices for:

• Metered 1 oz letters: 58 cents (up from 55 cents)
• Domestic postcards: 40 cents (up from 36 cents)
• Flats: $1.16 (up from $1)
• Outbound international letters: $1.30 (up from $1.20)

Even with the new price increase, USPS still boasts some of the lowest mailing rates in the world. The next cheapest country to mail a letter is Japan, coming in at $0.77, followed by Australia at $0.86. Meanwhile, the global average for sending a single letter is $1.32.

How will the new price increase for stamps affect your business? Leave a comment and let us know!