Are you ready?

[www.usps.com]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - New postage rates go into effect on Monday, May 14, including a two-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp to 41 cents. Post Offices nationwide are now selling the new 41-cent stamps and also one and two-cent stamps for customers who still have a supply of 39-cent stamps.

Selected Rates Effective May 14
First-Class Letter (1 oz.) 41¢
First-Class Letter (2 oz.) 58¢
Postcard 26¢
Priority Mail (1 lb.) $4.60
Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box $8.95
Express Mail (1/2 lb) $16.25
NEW Express Mail (1 lb) $19.50
Express Mail (2 lb) $21.40

Fee and Services Effective May 14
Certified Mail $2.65
Delivery Confirmation (Priority) 65¢
Delivery Confirmation (First Class Parcels) 75¢
Return Receipt (Original Signature) $2.15
Return Receipt (Electronic) 85¢
Money Orders (up to $500) $1.05
PDF:
[dartworth.com]

F-THEM... I am officially trying to NOT USE THE USPS any more than I have to... Before you know it we will be paying a $0.05 tax to send out e-mails to give to the USPS...

Bill

Sickening. Did not we have an increase last year? 41¢ is a bunch.

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Da Good Life

From now on, I too am avoiding the Post Office.

I'll just get in my car and drive my mail to the addressees. THAT'll show 'em!

Postage increased by 2¢ in almost a year and a half. Whoopty fsckin' doo.

You *could* get some Forever stamps and be done with it. Nah. That would be too easy.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

My father in law worked for the postal service (never met him) and from what I heard is that he was a good hardworking man. He was a WW2 veteran w/ shrapnel in his leg and walked w/ a limp. He got to work on time, had a route larger than most people that he worked with... Whenever he had TONS of mail for the day and asked to have someone take some of his route he was denied... However, the guys that came in after he did, drank coffee, ate donuts, bullsh**** for 1/2 of the morning, 1/2 the route he had always asked for help and the help was given too them.

Why did this happen? Because even though my father in law was bogged down w/ a larger route, he would ALWAYS GET IT DONE...

Those guys make good $$$$... Some of them deserve it... Some of them don't... I hope that they loose 25% of their business over then next 6 months from this move.

$0.41 is a felony.

Bill

Previous FOREVER ))<>(( STAMPS thread included a comment that buying them does not make financial sense.

BTW, I ship a lot of packages, between eBay, LEM Swap, and Anandtech. I'm going to have to compare with UPS, which I do anyway. A laptop cross-country, ground, via UPS, runs less than $13, insured for $100.

---

I only use USPS for bills. I can remember when creditors paid postage. I'm old.

---

Da Good Life

my 20 pack of stamps typically last 6 months now.
I love epay. Some stuff, USPS is the only game, but other ......... feh.

---

!#$@@$#!

proofraed by OwEn the c@t.



Nobody remembers their first download, but everyone remembers their 1st LP.

4% annual increase over the past 25 years. (per someone's post)

How does that compare to, say, gasoline or home heating oil?
Groceries? College tuition?

How much $$ do you all spend with the USPS per year?

Quote
incognegro
4% annual increase over the past 25 years. (per someone's post)

How does that compare to, say, gasoline or home heating oil?
Groceries? College tuition?

How much $$ do you all spend with the USPS per year?

Thank you for giving this the perspective it deserves. I'm now paying $3.50 per gallon for gas (where in the heck do all of you "average" guys live?!) It was $2.32 on February 8th. A postage increase from 39 cents to 41 cents seems mighty darned insignificant in the big scheme of things.

And I have only five stamps left! And enough one cent stamps from the last increase to make up the difference! Woohoo! For once I didn't get stuck with a bunch of leftovers!

I think that being able to throw something in a mailbox and have it show up in another state in a day or two is a BARGAIN at 41 cents.

I admit that the new rules about weight and depth are going to be a pain in my a$$ as far as my job goes, but honestly I think the USPS gives good value for the money. In a land where a cup of coffee costs $1.95, a couple of pennies extra for a stamp just doesn't seem so bad to me.

---

I would have to agree that postal rates are fine. If anything, I would rather see them raise the price of first class postage up to 50¢ and then leave it alone for ten years.

---

Let's not be giving them ideas, now.

$0.50 this year and next year... Then the decide to give everyone a 25% raise including their postal rate...

This pricing on packages is going to be a problem though. I have been able to send a couple CD / DVDs in a box for <$1.00. It looks (given only a cursory glance) that it will at least double. Netflix sends their DVDs in a flat envelope. Does anyone know a source for that type of packaging and will it still qualify for the letter rate? I suppose I could eat a couple broken DVDs to keep the cost at half what it looks like it will be, but then I have a bunch of unused DVD boxes to dispose of.

---

I pay all of my bills via USPS, and looking back at my checkbook, it seems I average about 12 bills a month. So it's going to cost me an extra $0.24 a month. Big freakin' deal. I'll bet some of you who are bitching that it's "sickening" or "a felony" don't think twice about paying $3 every morning for a cup of coffee.

If anyone wants to get around the new .65¢ Delivery Confirmation, try a legacy App called SwordfidhExpress.

It prints the Address Label and includes FREE Delivery Confirmation.

All you have to do is have the Post Office scan it when you ship it and you track it like the little green Delivery Confirmation slips at the Post Office.

I have used it for years and it still works in 10.4.9:

[www.buyolympia.com]

Take a look at the screenshots.

EDIT: You may have to explain to the postal worker that the Delivery Confirmation is already PRE DONE. Just scan it and stamp the Date on your copy of the generated label. I had to explain this a few times to uninformed Postal Workers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2007 12:28PM by ArtP.

Read somewhere that one good thing about this increase is that the .41 stamp will be good for first class forever! In other words, if the rate later goes up to .43 or .45, your .41 stamped mail will be delivered WITHOUT the additional stamps attached!

So stock up even if you don't need them immediately. Fortunately, I only use only one, maybe two stamps a month. I pay all my bills via online banking.

As other posters commented above, first class postage is a bargain and compared to other developed countries, light years ahead of them. Try sending a postcard from Australia or Canada. DELIVERED IN TWO TO THREE WEEKS! Here, LA to the east coast, three days at the outside, four during the XMAS season,

The USPS is a bargain and a minor marvel!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2007 12:44PM by GeneH.

Quote
GeneH
Read somewhere that one good thing about this increase is that the .41 stamp will be good for first class forever!

Yes, IF you buy the "forever" stamps.

First class postage is a bargain in this country.

I'd agree about it being a "bargain" or comparing it to increases in other things like gas, eggs, etc. if...

I didn't constantly get the wrong bloody mail in my box. Not just once in a while but at least 1-2 days a week. It's happened at the last 3-4 places I lived at approximately the same frequency. I don't know if it's incompetency or blatant laziness but it's pathetic. Makes me wonder how much of my mail doesn't make it into my box. Not a pretty thought.

Also, at least when I buy eggs, I'm not getting an extra carton of noodles or a jar of pigs feet or something else I didn't want that ends up increasing the price like all the junk mail I receive.

The postal service may seem like a great deal until you realize how @#$%& the service is. Maybe not everyone on the receiving end but remember there is someone on the other end that you're sending to. Well, that someone is me and I seem to be the lucky one that they decide not to deliver to properly.

moral of the story: don't send me anything ;)

Quote
(vikm)
I'd agree about it being a "bargain" or comparing it to increases in other things like gas, eggs, etc. if...

I didn't constantly get the wrong bloody mail in my box.

I live at something like 26 E. Maple Street. A block away is the post office, at 26 W. Maple Street.

I get stuff that is meant for people with PO Boxes -- including voting forms and jury duty notices. I get plenty of mail addressed to "Postmaster/26 W. Maple" -- the last one was on Friday.

I can't blame the USPS for this, exactly, but I've had vending machines delivered to my address by mistake, and a couple pallets of magazines. And lots and lots of pizzas.

Quote
Mike Johnson
And lots and lots of pizzas.

If they are prepaid they are for you. If not, return to sender.

---

C(-)ris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throwback Thursday Signature:

By the weekend I will have the new rates for the USB Scale posted. It will be a total package.

Dennis R

---

Formerly known as Dennis R

My mail delivery has always been very good, until "Sharon" came along. If they'd take away her cell phone, she might be able to concentrate on delivering the mail. I can hear her talking from a block away.

> I don't know if it's incompetency or blatant laziness...

I've moved around a LOT and I've noticed that the quality of postal service varies in perfect sync to the quality of my neighborhood.

When I lived in a bad neighborhood, my mail ended up in my neighbor's box as often as it did my own. Packages usually arrived crushed. We had different postmen from one week to the next so nobody could be held accountable for lost mail. If they ever got to me, my magazines always had shredded covers. And submitting a stop or a forward request card was about as useful as trying to phone it in with a Dixie cup and a string.

When I lived in a nice suburban neighborhood, my postman left an apologetic note if he got my mail to me after 4pm. Packages always arrived in pristine condition. My postman left little note cards introducing himself to new residents. When I put my mail on hold, he left a "welcome home" card in the bin when I picked it up. He took his substitute through his route before he took a vacation so that he could introduce her to the people on the route. He was damned good.

Most of the time, service is somewhere in-between.

Quote
Dennis R
By the weekend I will have the new rates for the USB Scale posted. It will be a total package.

Dennis R

God bless you Dennis R!

Quote
MacMagus
> I don't know if it's incompetency or blatant laziness...

I've moved around a LOT and I've noticed that the quality of postal service varies in perfect sync to the quality of my neighborhood.

When I lived in a bad neighborhood, my mail ended up in my neighbor's box as often as it did my own. Packages usually arrived crushed. We had different postmen from one week to the next so nobody could be held accountable for lost mail. If they ever got to me, my magazines always had shredded covers. And submitting a stop or a forward request card was about as useful as trying to phone it in with a Dixie cup and a string.

When I lived in a nice suburban neighborhood, my postman left an apologetic note if he got my mail to me after 4pm. Packages always arrived in pristine condition. My postman left little note cards introducing himself to new residents. When I put my mail on hold, he left a "welcome home" card in the bin when I picked it up. He took his substitute through his route before he took a vacation so that he could introduce her to the people on the route. He was damned good.

Most of the time, service is somewhere in-between.

Sniff, sniff. I actually live in a very nice suburban neighborhood; I had better mail service in the slum. It was fine here, too, until Sharon came along.

Quote
ArtP
If anyone wants to get around the new .65¢ Delivery Confirmation, try a legacy App called SwordfidhExpress.

It prints the Address Label and includes FREE Delivery Confirmation.

Hey, If I want to send one of these from home, first class, do I need to add 15¢?

I use Swordfish Express all the time.

The Delivery Confirmation is free because it's electronic compatible and it's part of the label. With any other service, you'll have to pay the full appropriate cost in addition to the postage.

Also, you can't use Delivery Conformation for First Class mail unless it's a package. No envelopes, large or small. The padded bags qualify as a package.


...something else I didn't want that ends up increasing the price like all the junk mail I receive.

One problem is all that junk mail subsidizes the cost of First Class mail, so without that one would be paying a lot more for their personal postage needs.

The Postal service *is* a great deal for me because I've almost always had great service. I say almost because somewhere along the line I must have had mail delayed. But I mail packages to New York via Priority Mail, and it makes it from CA in two day business days. Always. Not too shabby.

Now the rates go up again about 15 months after the last increase. Let's see if the rank and file get a 25% raise. I suppose that would be on top of the 25% increase they got last time.

Stevie has what-- 5Billion in cash assets for Apple? The USPS isn't allowed to do that. They can only make enough profit to cover relatively short term overhead. That's not really profit.

And if you get bad service, complain. Start with the supervisor at local office. Not happy, go to the Postmaster. And I'm sure HE or SHE has a boss too. There's the local TV consumer advocate in many areas. There's also the Postal Inspection Service.


...a pain in my a$$...

<ignoring some obvious responses> I'll probably make a chart or templates for the various packaging sizes. I don't think it will be so arcane that I won't get the hang of it before the next rate change.

Me, I dread the day my bills come via Billy Joe-Bob's SuperGood Mail Delivery and Mobile Dentistry.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
jonny

Quote
ArtP
If anyone wants to get around the new .65¢ Delivery Confirmation, try a legacy App called SwordfidhExpress.

It prints the Address Label and includes FREE Delivery Confirmation.

Hey, If I want to send one of these from home, first class, do I need to add 15¢?

It generates an oversized label (look at sample), not sure if they will take that on an envelope at .41¢.

I think the way it works is that if you use Swordfish Express, it generates a Delivery Confirmation number and sends that via the Internet to the USPS computer system. I think when the package is delivered the Mail Carrier scans it to confirm that it is delivered.

Problem is IF there is a dispute about delivery (as in not delivered), you need an official USPS hand stamp to prove that it was actually mailed off via the USPS at a post office.

EDIT: RAMd®d beat me to the answer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2007 06:18PM by ArtP.

i've used Swordfish for years though mostly for media mail. delivery confirmation for media mail is not free with Swordfish but still a bargain at $0.13.

also, you CAN use delivery confirmation with first class mail envelopes if the thickness at it's widest point is at least 3/4". (it may be 1/2", i forget which). whatever it is, Swordfish will remind you if you try. i've often had to insist that clerks measure it and when they do, they find my measurements pass muster.

I think the way it works is that if you use Swordfish Express, it generates a Delivery Confirmation number and sends that via the Internet to the USPS computer system.

The number doesn't go anywhere unless you get it scanned at the window, until it gets to the carrier.


also, you CAN use delivery confirmation with first class mail envelopes if the thickness at it's widest point is at least 3/4".

By the PO's definition, that is no longer an "envelope" (they call it a "flat"). It's now a package. THAT's why you can use DC. Come May 14, that will be very clear since packages like yours will clearly be spelled out as not a flat, so no problem with adding that service.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.