Jan

2

1-ounce stamp = forever

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USPS plans to announce that starting in 2011, all new 1-ounce stamps will be Forever stamps; the official announcement is supposed to come later this month. Forever stamps are always usable for the current first class 1-ounce rate, regardless of when the stamps were purchased or what the rate was when the stamps were purchased. Forever stamps can also be used for international mail; their value is equal to the current 1-ounce rate. (We have heard postal workers tell a person that you cannot use a Forever stamp for international mail, because stamps used for international mail must bear a price or value. This is incorrect.)

Though we couldn’t find real confirmation of it anywhere yet, we suspect this means the post office plans to eliminate low denomination stamps, such as 1 cent or 2 cent, as these stamps were most frequently used when first class postage rates increased by people with leftover stamps at the old 1-ounce rate. Such a change could be a way for the USPS to save money. These stamps are currently still available for purchase.

New rates to into effect today for Priority Mail. USPS is also expanding its options for shipping via Priority Mail; the post office now offers a legal-size flat-rate envelope and a padded flat-rate envelope. There are now six different Priority Mail envelopes available, all at the same flat rate of $4.95. We have updated our U.S. Postal Rates sheet to reflect these changes. Also, pricing for PO Boxes at 49 post offices will change to a new pricing schedule, “based on their presence in areas where significant competition exists.” Find out more about current postage prices.