PSA: postage rates

[redbird]

It being a nice afternoon, I wanted to walk a bit at lunchtime, so I went to the nearest post office and bought ten one-cent stamps from a vending machine. (There's not much you can get out of a machine for a dime anymore.) They're nice stamps, with a Tiffany lamp on them.

When my officemate came back from his lunch, I mentioned having bought one-cent stamps. He asked why. I explained that I had some 39-¢ stamps and didn't want to waste them.

It transpired that he didn't know the postage rates had gone up, and in fact had mailed a bank deposit a few days ago with a 39-cent stamp. In case anyone else didn't know and is affected: the one-ounce rate for U.S. mail is now 41 cents. The second-ounce (and thereafter) rate is now 21 cents an ounce. (Yes, that's a reduction: if you have a two-ounce letter, and a 39 and 23 sitting around from the previous rates, you're fine.) There are also some odd new rules about package and envelope size and shape: if it's something other than a standard-shaped letter or card, check at www.usps.gov for details.

Belated correction: The second-ounce rate is actually 17 cents, as I discovered when I asked a postal clerk for 21-cent stamps. I now have ten of the new second-ounce stamps. (Anyone who put 39+23 on a two-ounce letter will have gotten it through okay, and there's something to be said for using up those old 23-cent stamps.)

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

How odd; that's not at all what the postal clerk explained to me. She told me that a large envelope is now 80c including the second ounce, with 17c each ounce to follow. She had 80c and 17c readily available to sell to people who wanted to mail large envelopes.

Maybe it's only small envelopes that are 21c/oz?

That's just bizarre. I would have thought that the size of envelope that allows you to mail letter paper flat would be a standard envelope size -- after all, how many 7 oz "standard-shaped letter" envelopes do they get, that they should arrange the rates differently for them?

Postal service. Uff da.

[redbird]

If I recall correctly, it's 41 cents for one ounce at the standard size, 62 cents for two ounces at said size, etc. But that's things like the classic number ten business envelope that bills come in, not fancy birthday or holiday cards. But I rarely send things that weight, and may be misremembering. (Mostly what I send is either within one ounce, or significantly larger.)

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

It's been publicised around some of the filkers on LJ since it affects posting CDs in cases also, as there's a maximum thickness as well. Oh, and square envelopes cost more too!

Basically there are happy sorting machines that can handle standard "paper folded in half"/"paper folded in thirds" sized envelopes, and can figure out which way up the address is (or read it upside down I guess), but if the envelope is larger, strange shaped, thicker than 1/4" etc. then it gets charged at a higher rate.

Start here (http://www.usps.com/ratecase/)

Oh, and the UK just went through a very similar exercise a couple of months back, for much the same reasons.