Postal Letter

How often does the post office change their pricing?

Well, I just tried to send something out today and apparently I didn't have enough postage since they changed the pricing at the post office. How often does this happen? I am relatively new to using the post office, but if they keep the flat-rate stuff at this much, I'm going to use a lot of money. How often do they change pricing?

Public Comments

1. The current price is 41 cents for first class. They change it on average every couple of years but there is no set schedule for an increase. The second ounce is I believe, 17 cents now. Anyway, buy the Forever Stamp at 41 cents and if you buy enough to last a long time, even during the next increase you will save money. Believe me, postage costs are the LEAST of your concerns what with the current price of gas and food.
2. Apparently whenever it feels like it. I sell books and a few other things via Ebay and noticed the hit on my profits on Tuesday. Wow. It now costs me $2.48 to ship a paperback book. Fortunately, I am also studying several alternative ways to make money. Check out the site below for some interesting ideas.
3. It seems like the rates change every couple of years.
4. Unlike UPS and FedEx the postal service cannot raise prices whenever they want to, contrary to another answer given above, The Postal Service requests rate increases from the Postal Rate Commission in order to fulfill an order of the US Congress. The Congress passed a law in 1970 stating that the USPS must not lose money or make a profit. While they WILL lose money some years and be in the black other years, the bottom line is meant to balance out over the course of time. With the recent rate increases the USPS has been required to charge postage using two differing systems. In products that the USPS does not have competition (1st class mail, advertising mail) they must keep their rates steady. In products and services where they do have competition (Express Mail, Priority mail, etc) the postal service has the right to raise or lower rates at certain percentages to stay competitive with it's foes. In this way the postal service cannot undercut the pricing by UPS, FedEX, DHL etc. If you do a alot of mailing there are options available to help you save money. You can contact 1-800-ASK-USPS and ask them to have a small business counselor contact you. Or if you wish you can e-mail me, and I can try to help.