Postal Service to Increase Stamp Price to 73 Cents, Up by 5 Cents this Sunday

Starting Sunday, the cost to mail a letter will rise to 73 cents following the U.S. Postal Service’s second price increase this year.
This hike includes the cost of forever stamps, which are sold at a fixed rate for mailing letters and other items.
The current price of 68 cents for first-class and forever stamps reflects a 5 cent increase implemented on July 9, 2023, following a 3 cent increase on January 22, 2023.
This year’s two price hikes mark the third consecutive year the Postal Service has raised stamp prices twice in one year.
When forever stamps were introduced in 2007, they cost 41 cents each. Nowadays, fewer people use the Postal Service due to the rise of electronic communications and online billing systems, with businesses accounting for most of its annual $40.8 billion in mail revenues.
In an April 9 news release, the USPS stated that these price adjustments are necessary to achieve financial stability as outlined in their “Delivering for America” 10-year plan, and that their prices remain among the most affordable globally. With first-class postage stamps increasing to 73 cents, the cost of mailing letters, bulk mailings, junk mail, and periodicals will also rise.
Higher costs may lead businesses to reduce their mailings or seek alternatives like FedEx and UPS.
Michael Plunkett, CEO of the Association for Postal Commerce said that these rate increases might not generate much additional revenue, as they drive volume out of the system. The decline in business use makes it harder for the Postal Service to sustain its business model.
Although postage stamp prices used to be based on inflation, recent increases have outpaced inflation by 10 points.
Fifty years ago, a first-class stamp cost 10 cents, and it was 34 cents in 2002. The Postal Service, which employs about 640,000 people in over 30,000 facilities across the U.S., has seen a decline in mail and package volume. Last year, it delivered 11.4 billion letters, 75% less than two decades ago. While online commerce has increased package deliveries, competition with private carriers is also growing.