Heard from a friend the USPS is proposing a substantial increase in most classes of mail at the end of January, 2019.
I verified this on the USPS website. The initial impact will be the mailing cost of a First Class letter at $0.55. Other classes of mail (and especially all sizes of Flat Rate Boxes will also rise substantially). Those are scheduled to increase around the 5-10% range. I haven't done the math on all of these rates, but they'll certainly impact all of us when mailing Au, Ag, Ni, Cu and other metals to other RCers.
I guess the operative directive is to plan your mailings as best as possible before the increases.
On the personal side, it may be in everyone's interest to purchase as many Forever stamps as possible. That act will result in a net savings of 10% after the late January implementation date.
The release from the USPS is dated October 10, 2018, so this seems to be a fresh release. Of course the Postal Board of Governors still have to approve of the USPS' rate case for late January, but some rise seems inevitable.
[b]WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today of price changes to take effect Jan. 27, 2019. The proposed prices, approved by the Governors of the Postal Service, would raise Mailing Services product prices approximately 2.5 percent. Shipping Services price increases vary by product.
For example, Priority Mail Express will increase 3.9 percent and Priority Mail will increase 5.9 percent. Although Mailing Services price increases are based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Shipping Services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions. The Governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue. If favorably reviewed by the PRC, the new prices will include a 5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, from 50 cents to 55 cents.
[b][u]Here is the text of the USPS release from October 10.018.
The single-piece additional ounce price will be reduced to 15 cents, so a 2-ounce stamped letter, such as a typical wedding invitation, will cost less to mail, decreasing from 71 cents to 70 cents. The proposed Mailing Services price changes include: Product Current Proposed Letters (1 oz.) 50 cents 55 cents Letters additional ounces 21 cents 15 cents Letters (metered 1 oz.) 47 cents 50 cents Outbound International Letters (1 oz.) $1.15 $1.15 Domestic Postcards 35 cents 35 cents The proposed domestic Priority Mail
Retail Flat Rate price changes are: Product Current Proposed Small Flat Rate Box $7.20 $7.90 Medium Flat Rate Box $13.65 $14.35 Large Flat Rate Box $18.90 $19.95 APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box $17.40 $18.45 Regular Flat Rate Envelope $6.70 $7.35 Legal Flat Rate Envelope $7.00 $7.65 Padded Flat Rate Envelope $7.25 $8.00 First-Class Package Service, a lightweight expedited offering used primarily by businesses for fulfillment purposes, will move to zone-based pricing to better align with the cost of service and improve value based on distance.
The Postal Service has some of the lowest letter mail postage rates in the industrialized world and also continues to offer a great value in shipping. Unlike some other shippers, the Postal Service does not add surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or regular Saturday or holiday season delivery.
The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect Jan. 27, 2019. The complete Postal Service price filings with the new prices for all products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section at https://www.prc.gov/dockets/daily (see listing for Oct. 10). For the Mailing Services filing see Docket No. R2019-1. For the Shipping Services filing see Docket No. CP2019-3. The price change tables are also available on the Postal Service website at https://pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.
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