50c Stamp Increase... They Still Don't Get It.

Postal Service Seeks 50-Cent Stamps to Prevent 'Taxpayer Burden'
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...?cmpid=yhoo)

They keep raising the price for the average American only making more people use other means of communication. This is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I mailed exactly 3 pieces last year. 11 the year before. I expect less than a dozen this year.

Bring bulk mail, postal cards and all other postage up to the same price as first class. That'll bring in more money than running off the general public with even higher rates.

Stop spending millions designing unwanted stamps every year. Limit it to 10. No more 50 new plates. Hundred new designs, proofs, etc etc etc. Just 10.

Close those offices and move to 5 days a week already. Sheesh.

The USPS Business Plan presentation of 02/16/2012 is at this link:

http://www.postcom.org/public/2012/...016%2012.pdf

We pay 60 cents to mail a basic letter here.

If the Chief Financial Officer is so badly misinformed, then might I suggest they look for a new Chief Financial Officer !

Londonbus1

Lets see.. One stamp costs 6 SEK in Sweden.. *checking todays exchange rate* 6,76 SEK = 1 Dollar. So our stamps cost about 0,90 Dollar each.

.90¢ to mail a letter! Wow. it's getting that bad here these days too.

Cant keep costs down, cant cut waste, cant do it efficiently. Maybe its time for a new idea!

The shift to electronic communication is inevitable. They will continue to raise prices to offset the cost. It's time to open up the market to private companies. As a stamp seller/dealer the alternative to shipping is not an option unless you sell only the most expensive stamps and covers.
William

50 cent first class makes perfect sense. It might start to cover the cost of service we are getting. 50 cents is more in line with other countries who mostly have an easier geographic burden. The complainers remind me of the people who demand lower taxes - please! realize what services these taxes provide. Would you rather live in Guadalajara - crappy services, crappy life, and low taxes? In the US, we pay our postal workers a living wage - and enjoy the FACT that virtually none of our mail gets stolen, unlike some of the rest of the world. No private company will deliver anything for 50 cents - if they could they would be doing it.

I wouldn't mind the stamp increase, but I think it is a big mistake to raise the prices and cut services! You want to keep the business you have left, so don't offer worse services for higher prices and expect not to lose business! It's bad enough that the psot offices are closed two hours a day on people's luch breaks. They'd get more people to mail stuff if the customers could run over to the post office on their lunch hour. There's no reason why the postal employees can't stagger their two hour lunches to keep the window covered.
Another thing they can do to get more business is to go to companies that mail a lot of packages, and show them how it is cheaper to mail small packages though USPS with delivery confirmation, than shipping those packages UPS. I work in the shipping department at my company (although I don't do the actual shipping) and I see so many instances where a package was sent by UPS to get the tracking number, whereas you can get free delivery confirmation form the USPS when you print the postage online (I tried it and it worked!) But probably a lot of businesses don't realize this.
The problem with the USPS is that they don't operate like a regular business, more like the government. And of course nothing the government runs is efficient.

do you think the post office will not accept older stamps for postage in the near future...like 3-4 cent stamps?

Canada were at 62 cents , they pretty well raise the price every january by a couple cents and without resistance. UPS FED EX judt don't cut it for letter rates and can post stays lower on the average small package. So for example a small bubble pack from Canada to the US approx 100grams (4oz) cost me say $3 - Now I assume Canada Post makes the extra but USPS does most the work and in turn the USPS charges extra for out of country delivery and keeps the change. Seems to be a wash for most countries. My problem is with the millions of packages coming from china (and I'm guilty myself) china post charges very little and when all these packages arrive in there destination countries the work load is all on their post offices. Not only just dropping in a mail box but many times requiring a signature for which usps / can post gets 0 for the extra efforts. If same amount of small packages were leaving Can/ USA to china it would be a wash but we all know theres not much here in North America that China needs or wants. Ultimatly the easy option is to increase rates to the average user - To me that is greasing the wrong wheel but will push the problem back a year or 2. Have to admit the US rate is low compared to most simular nations. Then again living only 10 minutes from Michigan where gas is $4 a gallon compared to the canadian equivelant of $5.25 a gallon makes no sense to me either other than to remind me were taxed to death.

Like it or not, I agree that our stamp prices, like our gasoline prices are amoung the lowest in the world. However, with the seeming constant chant of "USA, USA" and "we're number 1", some seem to feel this should apply this should apply to the price of goods and services also.

I use stamped mail in the hope that some of the stamps may end up in the hands of collectors, but also get discouraged when I get mail cancelled like this.


All the other stamps (lower, and more common values) were approiately cancelled. Take the ball point pens away!! Does the USPS issue to many stamp designs, yes, but almost everyone issues "wallpaper" anymore.

Could there be a more efficient service, probably, but as someone mentioned, it is a government service.

murdo01.....Wow, I can't believe they just took a pen and scribbled all over those stamps!
You are right....someone needs to take away their pens.

I agree with charging more for stamps, but they also need to decrease mail delivery to five days a week. Saturday mail just isn't necessary anymore.

What cheezes me off is the amount posted on the junk mail!
Why do some corporations get to mail something first class for less money than a person?!?
I see metered mail come in for 10c or more less than I could mail the same thing for.
Why do they give price breaks to corporations, banks, and junk mailers?
That is corporate welfare if you ask me.

Has anyone heard anything further about when the rates are going up to $.50?