BROOKLYN/QUEENS/FLUSHING/JAMAICA/STATEN ISLAND/ FAR ROCKAWAY — Beginning January 22, 2012, it will cost just a penny more to mail letters to any location in the United States, the first price change for First-Class Mail stamps (Forever stamps) in more than two and a half years. The new 45-cent price for Forever stamps is among price changes effective on Monday morning,
Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 22, include:
- Letters (1 oz.) – 1-cent increase to 45 cents
- Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents
- Postcards – 3-cent increase to 32 cents
- Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) – 5-cent increase to 85 cents.
- Letters to other international destinations – 7-cent increase to $1.05
Prices also will change for other mailing services, including Expedited Services, Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services. The Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) and Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) will be updated on the Postal Explorer website at http://pe.usps.com on January 22, 2012.
For complete pricing information, including the new Shipping Services prices and current Mailing Services prices, go to http://pe.usps.com; in the left sidebar, under “Jan. 22, 2012 Price Change Info,” click your desired file. Customers may also download and print the price tables.
“The overall average price increase is small and is needed to help address our current financial crisis,” said Frank Calabrese, District Manager for the Triboro area of NY. “We continue to take actions within our control to increase revenue in other ways and to aggressively cut costs. To return to sound financial footing we urgently need enactment of comprehensive, long-term legislation to provide the Postal Service with a more flexible business model.”
While actual percentage price increases for various products and services varies, the overall average price increase across all mailing services is capped by law at 2.1 percent, the rate of inflation calculated based on the Consumer Price Index.
For business mailers, the 2012 pricing adjustments offer good news for First-Class Mail Presort mailers. When the new prices go into effect on Jan. 22, the second ounce for presorted letters will be free. “This gives companies expanded opportunities to advertise new services and products to their customers as part of bill and statement mailings,” said Roxanne Hosein, Marketing Manager for the Triboro District.
And new for all customers is a 3-month pricing option to rent PO Boxes, perfect for people on the move and others who need a PO Box for a short time period.
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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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With nearly 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute. Follow the Postal Service on Twitter @USPS_PR and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usps
