Current:Home > StocksStamp prices increase again this weekend. How much will Forever first-class cost?-InfoLens
Stamp prices increase again this weekend. How much will Forever first-class cost?
View Date:2024-12-23 11:11:48
Postal rates, including the price of Forever stamps, are going up again.
Forever stamps get a 5-cent increase from 68 cents to 73 cents when the price increase goes into effect on Sunday.
When Forever stamps were introduced in 2007, they cost 41 cents each. That's a 78% increase in 17 years.
The U.S. Postal Service called them "Forever" stamps so consumers knew whenever they bought them, the stamp would be good for sending mail. That means any stamps you have now that you bought for 68 cents or cheaper can still be used even after the price increase.
Here's what else you need to know:
Why does the Postal Service keep raising price of Forever stamps?
The most recent price changes were proposed by the Postal Service in April and approved by its board of governors in November.
Aggressive price increases have been part of the Postal Service's 10-year Delivering for America plan, enacted in 2021 by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
"You understand the Postal Service had been in a financial death spiral for the 14 years prior to my arrival in June of 2020 and had no plan to curtail these losses, and therefore no plan to become fiscally self-sufficient," he told a U.S. Senate committee in April 2024.
Despite some cited improvements at the Postal Service, many senators decried how its plan has led to delays in their constituents' mail. The Postal Service, which had forecast a $1.7 billion surplus in 2024 in the Delivering for America plan, is expected to lose more than $8 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and has asked the White House for an additional $14 billion, The Washington Post reported.
Upping the price of Forever stamps and other mail services won't solve the agency's financial challenges, Postal Service spokesman David Coleman told USA TODAY. A big problem is that domestic first-class mail has declined by 52% compared to 2007, he said.
"The Postal Service is one of the most efficient postal administrations in the world, but volume … is expected to continue to decline as a result of diversion to digital communications and the increase in online transactions," Coleman said.
Can I still use Forever stamps?
Yes, you can still use any Forever stamp. Any Forever stamp covers the cost of first-ounce postage even if the price of a stamp changes, Coleman said.
You can also still use stamps that are not Forever stamps, but you will need to add enough postage to total 73 cents when mailing a First-Class Mail letter weighing 1 ounce.
Forever stamps: Tracking price increases over the years
If it seems as if Forever stamps have been increasing forever, well, they have been rising a lot in recent years. Here are the increases since the stamps were priced at 55 cents on Jan. 27, 2019:
◾ Aug. 29, 2021 - 58 cents
◾ July 10, 2022 - 60 cents
◾ Jan. 22, 2023 - 63 cents
◾ July 9, 2023 - 66 cents
◾ Jan. 21, 2024 - 68 cents
◾ July 14, 2024 - 73 cents
What other mail prices are going up?
Other services will see an increase, too, including Priority Mail (5%). Here are some other price increases that took effect on Jan. 21:
Product | Prices before July 14 | New Prices |
Letters (1 oz.) | 68 cents | 73 cents |
Letters (metered 1 oz.) | 64 cents | 69 cents |
Domestic Postcards | 53 cents | 56 cents |
International Postcards | $1.55 | $1.65 |
International Letter (1 oz.) | $1.55 | $1.65 |
Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.
What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
veryGood! (6)
Related
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chancellor to step down at end of academic year
- California man convicted of killing his mother as teen is captured in Mexico
- Iowa and LSU meet again, this time in Elite Eight. All eyes on Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese
- Tampa welcomes unique-looking (but adorable) baby endangered Malayan tapir: See photos
- Colts' Kenny Moore II ridicules team's effort in loss to Bills
- LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey subjected to harsh lens that no male coach is
- 'Unlike anything' else: A NASA scientist describes seeing a solar eclipse from outer space
- The Trump camp and the White House clash over Biden’s recognition of ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’
- One person is dead after a shooting at Tuskegee University
- Caitlin Clark delivers again under pressure, ensuring LSU rematch in Elite Eight
Ranking
- Controversial comedian Shane Gillis announces his 'biggest tour yet'
- It's the dumbest of NFL draft criticism. And it proves Caleb Williams' potential.
- The history of No. 11 seeds in the Final Four after NC State's continues March Madness run
- 'Unlike anything' else: A NASA scientist describes seeing a solar eclipse from outer space
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- Elaborate scheme used drones to drop drugs in prisons, authorities in Georgia say
- Full hotels, emergency plans: Cities along eclipse path brace for chaos
- Alabama's Nate Oats called coaching luminaries in search of advice for struggling team
Recommendation
-
Chris Wallace will leave CNN 3 years after defecting from 'Fox News Sunday'
-
South Korea's birth rate is so low, one company offers staff a $75,000 incentive to have children
-
Robert De Niro, Snoop Dogg and Austin Butler Unite at Dinner Party and Talk Numbers
-
New $20 minimum wage for fast food workers in California set to start Monday
-
KFC sues Church's Chicken over 'original recipe' fried chicken branding
-
Majority of U.S. bridges lack impact protection. After the Key Bridge collapse, will anything change?
-
Transgender athlete Cat Runner is changing sport of climbing one remarkable step at a time
-
Shooting outside downtown Indianapolis mall wounds 7 youths, police say