First-Class Stamp Price Set to Jump to 73 Cents As US Postal Service Proposes Another Hike

The US Postal Service has recently proposed to raise the price of the First-Class "Forever" stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents. If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the change will be reflected in the prices starting July, raising the cost of mailing services products by more than 8%. As per reports, the proposal is currently with the independent Postal Regulatory Commission and awaits final approval. As per the statement, "The price hike is necessary to achieve financial stability," via CNN.

"Today, the U. S. Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of mailing services price changes to take effect July 14," USPS's official statement read. 

USPS started raising prices back in January of 2023 and since then has already raised the price twice, making the price soar by 36% since 2019, and 84% since 2004. Other price changes include domestic postcard prices increasing from 53 cents to 56 cents and international postcard prices increasing from $1.55 to $1.65.

"It's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," New Yorker Jacqueline Pollen told ABC News as she exited a post office on the upper West Side of Manhattan. "I’m a senior on a fixed income. I cannot really afford stamps that much. I do have a lot of Forever stamps that I bought years ago and I’m using them up, but I don’t know how I’m going to afford 73 cents for one stamp."

There is a good chance that The Postal Regulatory Commission will not deny USPS requests as they have only done it once back in 2010 because USPS "failed both to quantify the impact of the recession on its finances and to show how its rate request relates to the resulting loss of mail volume."

Many are now moving away from letters to E-cards and email. "That's what I use now to save money," Pollen said.

This price hike comes as part of a 10-year plan, "Delivering for America", which was launched back in March 2021 to transform the USPS from a money-strapped organization to a self-sustaining and high-performing body. 

As per reports, USPS is currently loss-making and reported a net loss in 2023 as revenue fell from 0.4% to $78.2 billion after the use of first-class mail dropped to its lowest level since 1968. Moreover, these hikes do not come as a surprise as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy issued a warning back in 2022 telling customers to expect "uncomfortable" increases in postage until the USPS gets on track to be self-sustaining.

"While our pricing decisions are ultimately made under the authority of the Board of Governors, in the near term, I will most likely be advocating for these increases," DeJoy said. "I believe we have been severely damaged by at least 10 years of a defective pricing model, which cannot be satisfied by one or two annual price increases, especially in this inflationary environment," he added.

While the price hikes do seem like a lot, a USPS survey done in 2023 showed that despite the hikes the United States is still lower compared to 31 other countries that were taken into account.