Did you hear about the probable United States Postal Service changes? Starting January 21st, 2018, the price of First-Class Forever Mail Stamps will increase from 49¢ per stamp to 50¢ per stamp. Postcard stamps and metered letters will also have a one cent increase. Go here for more details.
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Where military and it is becoming very hard to use USPS because of the price increase.
Not intended as a rude question* But what does being military affiliated have to do with the usps price increase?
Ha I agree. Huh? We are too and I can’t figure this out…
I think it’s cause they send a lot of mail?
Most of the times when troops are deployed mail is the way to get stuff. Local exchange on base very often encounter logistic issues where they cannot stock up fast enough to meet demand. This is where the mail kicks in, if there is no deodorant or tampons on the shells then you get family to ship them to you from the states
OMG!! Someone who understands! It’s very expensive to write to my husband and send care packages. We have 4 kids and I was working a full time job, but now I’m limited due to my last labor I ended up hurting my back and rely on SSI. I haven’t wrote to him in 4 months. It’s expensive I feel for you!! ❤️❤️
Oh you should see those lines to pickup the mail, oh boy so much joy no matter the sun, the rain or wind from the hell, everybody is excited ❤️❤️ Thank you so very much 🙌🙌🙌
Oh this is awful, I am so sorry. I wonder if there is a charity perhaps that raises money for mail costs that we could donate to???
Those of you with deployed family members please tell them about adoptaussoldier.com! We’ve adopted a couple of soldiers. We send mail weekly and a package a month <3
Amazes me people don’t understand what she’s saying or why she said it? Lol.
Those that are non military are not aware of the daily nuisances that military families face. It doesn’t mean they are not compassionate, it just means they honestly have no idea. Once explained, then they do things like the poster above…asking if there’s a charity where we could donate to to help eliviate the hardship. I, for one, had no idea that the post would run out of deodorant or tampons, and that families would rely on stateside family to ship them out. Never would have crossed my mind, because I’ve never lived that life. But now that I’m aware, I’d gladly donate to a cause that would help military families that have a hard time with postage, deodorant, tampons, and the like 😉
Still the best deal around to mail something. 50 cents is a steal to mail a letter across the country (and it gets there in 2-3 days!)
I thought they were already $.50 so I guess I’m good!
I love USPS. I agree .50 is an excellent price to send mail. Reliable and deliver right to your box. One cent is not going to hurt most individuals and the USPS need the money.
It is good if you have a reliable mail delivery person but we do not. It is a daily struggle to track down our mail because it is ALWAYS delivered to the wrong mailbox or not delivered at all. I’ve even walked out to get our mail & the whole mail basket was sitting there full of mail for all my neighbors & delivery person was long gone. It’s not only annoying but it’s a constant stress because our personal & financial info is always being delivered to the wrong house. Identity theft is a constant concern since we never know who will get our mail. I find it ironic that the HIPPA laws take your medical info so seriously that it’s a crime to discuss it with others but when it comes to your finances & personal info being delivered by the post office you can’t depend on the security of those.
I second this…our delivery people drop mail on the street, throw mail on lawns, delivers to wrong address, its never the same person so there’s no accountability. And try to complaining…no customer service…$0.50 is too much
There are state and federal laws similar to hippa laws, that protect you if someone uses your information from a mail source. You could spend a lot more for the same services and still not be able to ensure delivery or wrongdoing by others outside of the USPS. Keep in mind, you are not paying for delivery of those type items to your own home from various businesses. Bank statements etc. can be sent electronically, which is usually free and then you take your chances with cyber criminals. My husband works hard, in all kinds of conditions to do his part in ensuring even the smallest postcard or 100’s of packages a day, get delivered.
Please don’t take it so personally. Obviously your husband is not my mailman & no one said he doesn’t work hard or that lots of others don’t. I have several friends who work for the post office but my concerns over my mail person in no way says anything about any other postal worker. There are some out there who don’t perform their jobs the way they should & when you’re the one who spends every day hunting for your mail & worrying about whether or not your will get the mail you are supposed to receive then you might have a little bit of empathy for those of us who are at the mercy of these mail persons. Bank statements are in no way the only concern so that wouldn’t solve the problem & it shouldn’t be our problem to solve in the first place. We certainly have the right to expect a certain standard of service without being made to feel like we are putting down all postal workers or that the problem is us. And I don’t believe anyone was complaining about the price either…just the lack of reliable service.
I think you should get a P.O. box. I’d like to see if you ever make mistakes at work.
good comment. I am in no way putting down ALL postal employees…… When we first moved to our current home, we had a wonderful postal carrier! They moved him to a different route, and USPS in our area has been declining in service. I wouldn’t mind a small raise in prices, if I didn’t have the issues I am having. I have tried speaking w local post master on issues, but have never gotten help, or even 1-800 number. It makes me wonder how much more service will decline if this is how it is now. This is just my experience. Maybe others have had better luck. It’s not like we get a choice on who delivers our mail. If we could I would. I wish I didn’t have to deal w these issues, but that is what has occured in our area!
Fran, seriously???? Come on now! I’m not talking about minor mistakes once in a while. This is an EVERY DAY thing. I can’t even tell you how many packages and pieces of mail that have been lost and I never got them. Maybe if you ever have to deal with it on a daily basis you might be able to comprehend how and why it is a source of frustration. Why are you so ultra defensive….unless YOU are my mail person? WHY is is so awful of me to expect to have my mail delivered to MY mailbox? I honestly do not understand why you and the other lady are jumping me over this.
Gentle- have you tried the usps email service that allows you to see what mail you’re supposed to get that day? It may be a little piece of mind knowing what exactly is missing.
Just passing through….yep, I use that. That’s how I know what’s missing. But, not everything is a bill or something that can be re-sent or replaced…like mail from my family (who lives all over the country) to me or my son. I spent an hour today trying to track down another package that is apparently lost in space. I had a package last week that said it was delivered and yet no one knows where it is…it’s still lost. And, our regular mail (bills and stuff) is a daily chore of me delivering my neighbors mail to them and hoping whoever got mine will deliver it to me…most do, but some haven’t and I’ve lost it forever. If it was an occasional thing, then it’s understandable but a daily issue is a real problem.
I have 3 boxes that say they have been sitting in Cleveland since December 24th, but nobody knows where they really are…. One cannot be replaced.
Guess I don’t have much sympathy for postal workers since my family used to deliver newspapers. Newspaper carriers deliver EVERYDAY ( even Christmas folks) in all types of weather and must have the papers delivered by a certain time or else their customers call to complain and those complaints matter. There’s no union, healthcare, overtime, holidays, sick or vacation days.
Btw we appreciate the tips during Christmas. 🤗
I agree that paper carriers take much more pride in the job they do which is odd considering they don’t have all the benefits of a postal worker. You would expect the opposite. But, my parent’s subscribed to the paper my entire life and they still do and they always tip their carrier because they do such a wonderful job. I think that’s why I’m dumbfounded that some on here act like I don’t have a right to expect more from our postal carrier. They get so much more for their work and what they are delivering is so much more personal that they should be held to higher standards than they are. I know there are good postal workers out there but all I was saying is that not all of them are that way and if you happen to be on the route of one who doesn’t care about doing their job correctly it’s very frustrating. Obviously there are some people out there who have been extremely fortunate to never have a bad postal carrier because they can’t even imagine what it’s like and feel the need to berate those of us who have bad experiences.
I just wanted to add that yesterday was my first day delivering mail for USPS on my own. It is the hardest, most stressful job I have ever had. It can very overwhelming and confusing. I started at 7 am and finished work at 7 pm. I did not pee for 12 hours, barely ate a sandwhich, and it was 12 degrees out. Enough said.
You are correct about paper carriers. I am a per diem healthcare employee, and get paid per day. I get no benefits, paid time off,etc. I have am required to work weekend, holidays, bad weather,etc. too! So I get it. I care about my patients, and they are depending on me to show up and do my job at taking care of them and their needs. I am still employed after 25 yrs with the same hospital and am proud of that. I was raised with a good work ethic such as you and your family! I wish others would follow that same practices…..
When I commented on this post, I did not take it personally. I was simply commenting about the concern regarding the laws, that basically we take our chances online as well and no, my hubby isn’t one of the bad ones. Neither my tone or choice of words did anything of which you have now commented that I have done to you. I did not berate, not empathize with your experiences, or jump on you. Wow, but you did.
Whatever makes you feel better, postalwife.
Don’t let “Gentle” get you down….you weren’t rude and you’re allowed to have an opinion too! 😊
Oh the drama….. did you all see that stamps are going up to 50 cents? Hope everyone has a beautiful day.
It costs $1.18 each for foreign stamps and they are a deal. How else would I get a birthday card all the way to Germany to my grandchildren? And it gets there in 7-8 days!
At Christmas we sent out 50+ cards. It adds up.
Any tips on where to get discounts? Costco, Sam’s Club.. ???
Same here. It really makes me start to think twice about cards.
eBay ends up being a great deal, especially when they have their “$15 off $75 orders” coupon.
Watch for PayPal deals at the USPS’ ebay storefront. There was a deal for $15 off $80 in November if you used a PayPal account. Obviously $80 is a lot of stamps, but we send out nearly 90 Christmas cards so that helped a lot and since they’re Forever stamps, there’s no rush to use them. So far as I can tell, they sell any stamp at their ebay store that they do in office, so I was able to get a mix of Xmas stamps and Disney stamps.
Wish I would have seen this s month ago. We sent out 150, and that was cutting back from last year!
Currently Costco has 100ct. forever stamps for $48.75 cheaper than the post office. They usually don’t up in price for a couple weeks after an increase.
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I’ve used your EBay deals a couple of times, and got stamps for $.35 each. Great! Used flower stamps on our Christmas cards. Hope it brightened someone’s day.
My husbands gma sends all kinds of cards year round and thinks a stamp is a stamp but I agree with you! A stamp is a part of the whole look and package 😀
I’m part of the quad readers club. You call in what mail you get and the give you a book of stamps every 2 months. With all the things I mail I still have over 100.
Can you tell how I can do this ?
Ugh, Just another increase! I also have issues getting our mail. There is never the same carrier, or same time either. One day I receive mail at 10 am, and the next 530pm. They have one person who does just packages, and they always mess up! My husband ordered a part for his truck and my neighbor across the street, whom I have never met got it! Then they never called the post office to report that is was delivered to them. The parts place insisted we received the part! I called postal manager, and found out what happened. She had the nerve to ask me to “go ask my neighbor for the part”. Told her no way, that her carrier made the mistake, and they can get it from my neighbor and deliver it to me!
Also, when we go away and I put my mail on hold we never get it when we return! It takes a few days even though I requested it on a certain day to be delivered when we return. The USPS form states that when you fill it out! I even stressed delivery issue w manager, and they did it again to us! God forbid I actually want to pay my bills on time!!!! USPS is a mess! The boxes to mail out packages are way too small! My grandson lives out of state, so we no longer send packages just purchase from retailer and pay shipping or get free shipping! I am done w USPS!!!! Can’t complain bc nothing is ever done, even when you call 1-800 number! I also pay mostly all bills online because can’t trust USPS to get there even when you mail 10 days ahead!
What does the post office have to do with you paying bills on time? You know when they are due, so pay them. If you don’t like the size of the boxes they sell then buy them elsewhere.
Amy the USPS is who delivers the mail. If you can’t count on them to deliver mail accurately and in a timely manner, you are better off online paying to make sure it happens.
Amy,
My bills in NJ do not have an online portal such as utilities,etc. So while I am away the bills are coming to me. If I can’t receive right away when I return home, then they are late. As well as trying to mail, they have been received late and have mailed 12-14 days before they were due!!!!
As far as boxes, their box is so small, can’t even fit a small toy in it. And even if did, they now measure and weigh box. Old way was by weight. It is cheaper to purchase online and have toy shipped directly to my grandson.
Kerry, you live in NJ? Maybe it’s a typical problem in the areas we live in then. I live in NY. Maybe up here the postal workers just don’t care.
Gentle,
Not sure if in northeast that is the case? My first carrier when I purchased this home was 11 yrs ago, and he was wonderful. We had him for a yr and then they moved his route. Now one day I get one carrier, then another, then another. I am not sure what is going on. However, none seem to care about their job. Even the post master is nasty! I am so fed up these days with the situation. While I have never had the issue you have had, sorry to hear about that. It’s just not right! I believe you after what has been done to us in our area!
Kerry, it’s the same here. When we first moved to this house our postal carrier wasn’t friendly but she did a good job and was consistent. But, now, we never know who it will be, when they will show up, etc. I don’t know why they changed. One of the ladies that works at the post office counter is great, but the carriers here just don’t care. I hope it gets better for you…and me. 🙂 It’s nice to have someone who is empathetic to it though. And thank you for your hard work and dedication in the healthcare field.
You criticized someone saying that you are being made to feel like you are putting down all postal workers, then you do it for an entire area of the country. Post was about a one penny increase.
Ha! Had a similar situation where package was confirmed delivered, but not to me. Called and the post office and was told the same thing!! “Go check with your neighbors”! The other line I have been told, “What do you expect? We have to sort a lot of packages.” Ugh, just do your job USPS!!
Molly,
I guess I am not the only one with issues with USPS….. Very Frustrating!
I work for a hospital, and if I did my job the way our carriers do their jobs, I would not have a job today! I go the extra mile for our patients, and believe me in healthcare it is a thankless, and tiring job! I do my job well, and actually care about who I am serving! That is why after 25 yrs at the same hospital, I still have my job! Not sure how these carriers keep their jobs?
Exactly!!! I’m a teacher, so like you, we have to do our jobs well! Or we find new ones..
USPS, they just raise the prices lol! I’m sorry for your troubles, but I’m glad to see it’s not just me! 🤣
I totally agree! I strip for a living. I used to live in Oklahoma but after I got pregant I wasn’t making enough o over my bills. I worked for the post office which was decent but we had lay offs. I moved to Las Vegas and I strip now and I bring in over $400 in tips on a good night! You can find me on the east side! 😘
Ugg my husband sold something on eBay and it was delivered to the wrong address in NYC. Seriously didn’t think they would get the package back but they did. The person did have to pick it up at the post office due to their mistake. When my husband called he said they were so unprofessional like what do you want.
In my neighborhood, we just walk the mail over if it’s not ours. But it is crazy they expected you to ask a stranger for your mail.
Makes me glad that I got married yrs ago. All the invites and stamps to put on the RSVP cards, yikes!
I’m dealing with that now. Thankfully our RSVPs will be online through our wedding website but we are still sending paper save the dates and invitations with the instructions how to RSVP online. 2x stamps per person or family adds up pretty quickly with 110 guests. But at least the 1c increase won’t make a huge difference, it’s expensive regardless.
It’s just a part of life having prices go up.
True minimum wage is going up and the cost of everything goes up it is part of life.
i don’t send out mail so should i be concern lol
Thanks for the heads up! Glad to see it’s not too much of an increase because I do actually mail a lot of cards with my business. I wonder if other shipping costs will be going up….
Shipping costs also going up! Read below: This is from Stamps.com. All package rates are also up! If you want to read more information go to Stamps.com, it will give you all the increases!
Commercial Base Pricing)
Priority Mail will see an average increase of 6.2%. A 1 lb. package going to Zone 8 using Priority Mail will cost $7.76 in 2018 compared to $7.25 currently.
Overall, prices for Priority Mail Express will increase by 3.9%. A 1 lb. package going to Zone 8 using Priority Mail Express will cost $35.04 in 2018 compared to $33.76 currently.
Go to Stamps.com for details! It is not just a penny raise on a stamp, it is also package increases again….. So, it is not just a 1 cent increase!
Between the issues I already have with service to my area, and more increases. I guess online shopping with free shipping for Amazon prime members, or ToysRUS at holidays with free shipping offer is the only way to go! With the way they both wt and measure boxes these days, I could buy another gift for my grandson! Cheaper to buy on Amazon or free ship when offered! The largest box they offered for a toy that cost me $50, wound up in fees to ship was another $50. Total cost would be $100.00 for a $50.00 gift! Postage as much as gift! Not worth it for me!!!!
I have heard USPS is suffering financially. I know I have stopped sending cards (which I used to love doing) because it got too expensive. My mail service is also really bad (not only timewise but both at home AND my po box I get things that have a different address than mine on them). I might be willing to put up with one of those problems but not both. Maybe if somehow they could do something to make things better more people would use them and they wouldn’t have to keep increasing costs (because I send with fed ex and ups now, I know they haven’t had to increase). Just saying…
My mail carrier is awesome! I have no complaints. Due to closing sorting plants, mail takes longer to get places.
Keep in mind there are awful and lazy employees everywhere. For example, my local walmart is so bad. However, I go to walmart once every week or two. We notice the mail more because it is something we deal with 6 days a week. Just as other companies are having a hard time finding quality employees, so is the USPS. (I made over $12 an hr at the USPS as a summer job while in college almost 15 years ago, imagine what they pay now!!!)
Fun fact: USPS likely delivers most of those packages you are ordering from Amazon (especially if you do not live in a major city.)
Unfortunately, I can’t choose who delivers my mail….. However, I can choose not to shop at Walmart, and no longer do because of issues. I choose a Target in my area instead, because they are better to shop with in my local area!
As far as my packages, I get delivered by either Fed Ex or UPS. I live in a large suburb area where it is no issue to get a package delivered! In fact UPS has to deliver my medicine via overnight, and I have to sign for it. So, no USPS is really not delivering my packages, because I have choosen other companies!
I am guessing you were a good USPS employee, which is great for those you served. It is not all employees that this is directed at. The Postal service needs to get rid of those who can’t do their job. Their need to revamp and regroup so that better service is provided for those who are having issues with carriers, etc. Burying their heads in the sand and not correcting the situation is not going to fix the issue. For those that go above and beyond, thank you! I do understand because as I have said, I work in healthcare and it is a tiring and thankless job too! When I have had good service by USPS in past I went as far as calling 1-800 number to put a good comment in! However, that hasn’t been in a very long time! If I got better service in my local area, maybe I would not be complaining. For those who have had good experiences, that is terrific!
Que suave no seas mamon🧐
FYI: The prices are going up because people are sending less mail and the USPS already has a large debt. Not sending letters anymore will only make the costs to mail/ship with USPS more outrageous. Obviously, we cannot do without them, but mail delivery may not occur 6 days a week any longer if we continue to use other delivery methods. Just some food for thought.
I still have a bunch of forever stamps from 2007. $0.50 is really not bad.
fyi in case you did not you can get a list of mail that should be delivered in your mail box on a daily basis. we had to resort to that. we live in a rural city and we are in the county so we have contractors who deliver the mail. the one lady is fine but the boss of her is terrible. we get mail lost also. I file a complaint every time. our mailbox is on the street. yet our post office states they can put a box on your porch but have to put actual letters in your mailbox. really. yet today had both on my front porch. we had a piece missing so checked the box we did not get it. we also get other people’s mail. not by one wrong number but from a whole different reason. yes they work hard but they also should be held more accountable
So all this chatter is really over ONE CENT 😂😂 sorry but seems umm well a tad bit…well..I guess u could just walk the letter there yourself! 👍😀
To those of you who have a different mail person all the time, I have a similar issue. Half the time the mail person doesn’t pick up our mail. (I have to have it sticking out of the box to get their attention and it still doesn’t guarantee they will take it.) I was told this is because our street is on a “training route” which is why we continuously have a different person all the time. Hard to complain if the person isn’t the same one delivering constantly.
I’m just sick of prices on EVERYTHING raising and wages definately aren’t increasing fast enough to compensate. If USPS could restructure and compete more with UPS and FedEX without the government problems it could help it. I doubt that will happen though.
What? I didn’t hear about this. I was just at the post office earlier and thinking about buying some stamps since I’m running low.
Agree with all these with mail issues! I have had so many problems. I have tried contacting my local office as well as the 800 number. No luck getting any help. The last time I called my local office they actually said I complained too much. Now I try to pay online on line and have stopped sending cards. Hope the USPS can get it together soon.
Hijos de su madre como chingan… agan frijoles
Ihr müsst aufhören, 50 $ zu zahlen, damit ihr für eine Briefmarke bezahlen könnt, um einen Job zu halten .
I purchased over $30000 worth of postage last year (8000+ packages) for my online business, always free ship for the customer. 2 of those packages got lost. Across the entire US, plus all of its territories. I’d say they’re doing a decent job.
On a separate note has anyone seen how they are in Georgia? Horrible! Does anyone know where the MLK March will be held this Monday?
The most absolutely ignorant comment of the day.
Elaborate.
My address plaque on my house is literally 1 foot by 2 feet. It’s huge! Impossible to miss. The mailboxes in our subdivision are post office installed mail boxes that are locked and THEY put the numbers on them, not me. I know how to type my address, thank you very much, and I even double and triple check my order before placing and it and if something doesn’t arrive I go back to check it again to make sure I didn’t mistype anything. But, as for the rest my mail (the sender is the one who puts my address on it, not me, so that can’t be MY fault as you want to claim). Also, if it’s regular monthly mail that I’ve gotten before, then how is it my fault when it doesn’t show up one month but did last month? I don’t go online and CHANGE my address each month just to mess with the post office. So, tell me again how it’s MY fault since you are so smart and know everything about my situation. And, if the problem is me like you want to assert, then every one of my neighbors would also be the problem as to why their mail isn’t getting delivered to the right place. So, do you want to try again or maybe you just need to take a seat.
If you don’t have problems with your mail then just sit down and be grateful but don’t open your mouth and assert your opinions about situations that you have no idea about, that don’t affect you, and that no one asked your opinion for. Trust me, if you ever had mail problems like some of us do you wouldn’t like it either. So instead of trying to antagonize people and make them look bad why don’t you just scroll on by and mind your own business.
While this has provided me with much entertainment, “Gentle” began complaining at 3:30pm and continued until 10:04. Sometimes you need to be called out, so you can take a look at your own actions.
By the way, did everyone notice that stamps are going up to 50 cents? Hope everyone can be kind and have a beautiful day.
Isn’t it though?
I actually have decent mail service even though I do get other people’s mail. One looked like a check and another one a serious legal document so I took the mail to them a few streets over. The last one was from an organization for the blind—a package that I was concerned might contain glasses or something the recipient might really need so I drove it several streets over and popped it in their mailbox.
I was told several years ago by my carrier not to put the flag up to avoid alerting potential thieves that you have mail going out.
And for the record, ups delivered my package to someone else and I got their package. Fortunately, the driver realized the error and came back shortly. I felt bad for the driver. Honest mistake, I’m sure.
Thanks for the information. Guess I will go buy some forever stamps now before the price increase
That sounds like a good plan! You’re welcome!
Wow. Anyway. The super nice and kind postmaster at my Post Office was sorta happy about stamps going up to a nice round number. Less pennies for him to deal with😀
Aww, this is a nice optimistic perspective! Love it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Except for Christmas when we send out cards, we only mail out our mortgage payment once a month, everything else I use online banking to pay. It would take like 8 years for the stamp increase to cost me an extra $1.00 lol
Bummer. I sell on eBay and this will impact my sales I’m sure. Also drives up costs on all items purchased online. I wonder if they are still considering one day less of weekly delivery?
Wow came here to see what so many people had to say about a one cent increase. Lot of whining and complaining over a penny that most of them would not bother to pick up on the street. Many should use your energy to become part of something better in today’s society rather than your petty “poor me” over that penny that you probably have stuffed into your car and don’t even bother to look. NUFF SAID!!
Well said! Best comment EVER!!!!🤣😉 100% agreed!!!