The U.S. Postal Service is seeking a price increase for first-class stamps, marking the fourth time in less than two years.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is considering increasing the price of a first-class stamp to 73 cents, representing a roughly 7% increase on various types of postage.
The plan, announced on Tuesday, will increase the cost of 1-ounce metered letters to 69 cents. International ounce-size letters and postcards will be priced at $1.65, while domestic postcards will cost 56 cents.
The independent Postal Regulatory Commission has received the proposal for final approval. Once approved, the new prices will come into effect in July.
In an effort to counter rising costs, the USPS has recently proposed increasing prices once again. This comes after the cost of a first-class stamp was already raised from 66 cents to 68 cents on January 21st. It is worth noting that stamp prices have already increased twice in 2023.
Over the last two decades, the cost of a first-class stamp has increased by approximately 84%.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” exclaimed Jacqueline Pollen, a New Yorker, as she left a post office on the upper West Side of Manhattan. As a senior on a fixed income, she expressed her concern about the rising cost of stamps. “I can’t really afford stamps that much. I still have a lot of Forever stamps that I bought years ago and I’m using them up. But now, having to pay 73 cents for just one stamp? I don’t know how I’m going to manage.”
Pollen, like many Americans, has reduced her reliance on traditional mail, including sending Christmas cards. She explains, “To save money, I now prefer using E-cards and email.”
Albert Quiles, a resident of Manhattan, was heading to the post office to buy stamps when he expressed his acceptance of the increased postal prices.
“I have to handle it. What other choice do I have? I have to adapt, you know? Times change,” Quiles expressed to ABC News. “There’s nothing I can do about it. The government has set these requirements for everyone. It’s not just me; it affects everyone. I don’t feel guilty about it.”
The USPS’s recent increase in postage prices is a key component of its “Delivering for America” plan, a long-term strategy introduced in March 2021. The goal of this initiative is to revitalize the financially strained organization, making it self-sustainable and more efficient in its operations.
According to postal officials, the USPS experienced a net loss of $6.5 billion in 2023. This decline in profitability can be attributed to a 0.4% decrease in revenue, which amounted to $78.2 billion. Additionally, the use of first-class mail reached its lowest point since 1968.
In 2022, customers were cautioned by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to anticipate “uncomfortable” rises in postage fees until the USPS achieves self-sustainability.
During a meeting with the USPS Board of Governors in 2022, DeJoy expressed his intention to advocate for price increases, although the final pricing decisions are made under the authority of the Board. He acknowledged the detrimental impact of a flawed pricing model that the USPS has been grappling with for the past decade. DeJoy emphasized that a couple of annual price hikes would not suffice to address the damage caused, particularly in the current inflationary environment.
According to a USPS survey conducted in 2023, despite the increase in postage prices, the cost of stamps in the United States remains lower in comparison to 31 other countries that were analyzed.
According to a report released in March by the USPS Office of Inspector General, the price of a standard domestic letter in the U.S. in 2023 was almost half the average price in the 31 sampled countries.
