Forever stamps flying off the shelves
With another postal rate increase just two weeks away, the USPS is counting on its Forever stamps to make life easier on customers. Americans are reportedly buying 30 million Forever stamps per day nationwide. In Rhinelander, the post office has sold over 2,000 books of Forever stamps in the past two days.
On May 12, the cost of sending a first-class letter will rise a penny to 42 cents, but the Forever stamps–which currently sell for 41 cents– wil remain valid for full postage after the rate increase.
“The purpose of the Forever stamp was to make the transition easier for customers. Previously customers had to come in and get the penny stamps when we increased rates. We still have thousands of one-cent stamps but this has greatly simplified the process,” said Darlyn Jackson, Rhinelander Postmaster.
The USPS has cited increased fuel and transportation costs as its reasons for raising rates.
“We operate the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world. When fuel cost increases one penny, our costs increase over $15 million annually,” said Jackson.
Customers at the Rhinelander post office seemed unperturbed by the rate increase, citing more rapid increases in the costs of food and gasoline.
“It’s only a cent. Everything else is going up,” growled one resident.
Jackson, who has served the USPS for over twenty years, believes they have gotten much better at communicating with the public over the course of her career.
“There’s been a lot of emphasis on getting information straight to the public via the website. We have really tried to communicate better and I believe it’s paid off. The public needs to know what services we offer,” said Jackson.
One pertinent piece of information for USPS customers to note is that the policy governing the agency’s rate changes was simplified in late 2006. Under the new law, USPS can increase rates with a 45-day notice as long as changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12-month period. The Postal Regulatory Commission calculated the rate of inflation at 2.9 percent through January.
Tags: rates, usps
May 12th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
It doesn’t make sense to hoard the stamps, but if you are going to buy stamps you might as well buy forever stamps because they will be worth more than other stamps that are the same initial price. It might also be a good investment to buy lots of forever stamps just before a price increase, assuming that you need to use them soon after the increase or that you can sell them for a profit.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Well of course it doesn’t make sense to buy forever stamps directly AFTER a price increase. The graph would look different if the prices were normalized in 1981, before the next price increase.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I don’t get it, why is this supposed to be interesting?
May 12th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I can hardly wait for the “hacked” version of the doll where someone replaces the standard output with something of their own.Perhaps we’ll have lolJesus:”I can has last supper?”or right-wing-neo-con Jesus:”Let’s torture some muslims before church”I seem to remember somebody hacking a Teddy Ruxpin toy back in he late 80s and turned him into an instrument of Satan.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
From a comment: In aggregate it’s very likely to be a profit-lowering business decision for them, but then again they’re apparently not-for-profit.Read The Myth of the Post Office, an essay in Chodorov’s One is a Crowd (pdf, 190 pages).A taste: The Department does not charge against its income any rent for the land it occupies; any interest on investment in its plant and equipment; any depreciation. It carries no insurance account, since replacement of a destroyed building is met by special Congressional appropriation; new facilities are also provided by the general tax fund, to which no refund is ever made. The Civil Service takes care of employee pensions. And, of course, the Department pays no taxes. Notwithstanding the savings effected by such accountancy, the Department has managed to show a deficit in all but eight of the past one hundred and twenty years. Theoretically, the Department belongs to us, the citizens. Although our only prerogative as stockholders seems to be to make up the annual deficit, our self-respect should prompt us to make inquiry into the management of our business.permalinkstacy75 (0 children) [+]stacy75 2 points 12 days ago [-]I went to the post office yesterday and there was a sweet older gentleman (at least 80 years old) in suspenders with a very hunched back in line in front of me. When the postal worker asked him the usual “do you need any stamps or money orders?” He replied, “No, Not today. But I reckon I’ll be in here for some of those Forever Stamps before May 12th!”For whatever reason, I found the whole scene utterly charming.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:35 am
or ranting Jesus!”WTF, christians?? What part of ‘thou shalt not kill’ and ‘love thy neighbour’ don’t you fucking understand? And can’t you grow half a brain so you can realise that half of this storybook is metaphorical?? …” and on and on for 15 minutes.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:26 am
err.. no?it was on sale before this billthis is hillary trying to make a forever stamp with a purple heart on it
May 13th, 2008 at 2:17 am
I know my post office can’t anymore. Damn them and their infusion of cash scheme.