Regulators on Tuesday approved a temporary price hike of 3 cents for a first-class stamp, bringing the charge to 49 cents a letter in an effort to help the Postal Service recover from severe mail decreases brought on by the 2008 economic downturn. The cost for a second ounce of first-class mail was increased to 21 cents. However, for automated first-class mail, the second ounce remains free.
Bulk mail, periodicals and package service rates will rise 6 percent. The actual rate charts have not been published as of this writing. They will be posted on this blog as soon as they are available.
The new price of a postcard stamp, raised by a penny to 34 cents in November, also is effective next month.
The last price increase for stamps was in January, when the cost of sending a letter rose by a penny to 46 cents. A post card also increased by one cent to 33 cents.
Our take on the issue
As an industry, it places greater emphasis on the necessity to optimize postage for our customers, utilize drop shipping and take extra steps in data processing like scrubbing the data and better targeting. Additional steps include prudent use of return mail endorsements, address correction service (ASC) and active analysis of mail tracking to determine if some first class mail can be converted to standard. If the postal increase forces the industry to adopt these measures, we may find ourselves conducting smarter mailings that, in the end, could more than offset the increase.
