Stamp prices are increasing again

Nothing lasts forever — not even the cost of a Forever stamp.

The price of first-class Forever stamps will increase from 68 cents to 73 cents on Sunday.

The U.S. Postal Service announced that the adjustments will raise mailing services product prices by approximately 7.8%.

Prices will increase for the following postal services:

• Letters (1 ounce) will increase from 68 cents to 73 cents.

• Letters (metered 1 ounce) will increase from 64 cents to 69 cents.

• Domestic postcards will go from 53 cents to 56 cents.

• The additional ounce price for letters will increase from 24 cents to 28 cents.

Current Forever stamps in hand can be used no matter when the stamps were purchased, despite any price increases. The first Forever stamp, which featured the Liberty Bell, went on sale in April 2007, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

George Curry, 66, of Greensburg was prepared.

“I’ve got $500 worth of stamps that I bought a long time ago,” Curry said. “When they keep going up … you save money.”

He said he uses about one or two stamps per week, depending on when his bills come in, because he doesn’t like paying for things online.

He said he’s never had to pay the difference for using old Forever stamps.

Curry was not shocked by the price raise.

“It’s like everything else — everything’s costing so much,” he said. “We got too much debt. Nobody wants to do anything about it.”

This is the sixth stamp price hike since January 2021, NPR reported.

But, NPR said the price of a first-class stamp remains cheaper in the U.S. compared to 30 other countries, including much of the European Union, along with Canada, Japan, Brazil and Russia, according to a recent ranking by the USPS Office of the Inspector General.

The OIG report said the U.S. Postal Service has increased the price of first-class mail 18 times since 2000.

David Coleman, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said the price change will not cover the postal service’s financial challenges. Volume for domestic first-class mail has declined by 57% compared to 2007, he said, and it’s expected to continue to decline as a result of increased online transactions and pivoting to digital communications.

“In light of a decade of sharp declines in marketing mail and first-class mail volume, the postal service needs more than an incremental price change to effectively respond to its financial challenges,” Coleman said.

All new prices can be found on Notice 123 on the Postal Explorer website, and the complete filing with the new prices for all products can be found on the Postal Regulatory Commission website.