Poster Comment:
Today, Sunday, January 22, 2012, new postage rates went into effect in the US. True to form, the US Postal Service, displaying the sort of management skill that brought it to its present state of near-bankruptcy, refused to post the complete list of new rates until today, the same day they became effective. This undoubtedly meant that a great many businesses around the country sort of jammed up in their outgoing mail for the last couple of days until they could find out what postage to put on their outgoing stuff. The "FOREVER" stamps that had been selling for 44¢ are now worth (and will sell at) 45¢. The new first class rate for letters is: 45 cents for the first ounce. This much was known in advance but the rates on heavier envelopes was kept secret until today. First class domestic letters: up to: 1 oz $0.45 2 oz. $0.65 3 oz. $0.85 here's where it gets hairy: up to 3.5 oz $1.05 but above 3.5 oz, the envelope is treated as a "flat": 4 oz. $1.50 5 oz. $1.70 6 oz. $1.90 7 oz. $2.10 and so on, at 20¢ increments, up to 13 oz. above which it won't be treated as a letter but require mailing from a post office as a parcel. Postcards (remember them?) are now 32¢ letters to Canada and Mexico, first oz = 85¢ above that the rates differ. One convenience is that, now, the FOREVER stamps are accepted in International Mail (previously, foreign countries only accepted stamps that had the numbers of the value on them). 2 oz. Canada $1.17 Mexico $1.44 UK and elsewhere $1.05 3 oz. Canada $1.49 Mexico $2.03 Consult the linked list (it's a very long printout) for other details. In the meantime, be aware that the US Postal Service is cutting back on its services. Probably mail will be slower by a day, Saturday service (maybe including pick-up from most mailboxes) will end, some postal stations will close. It's to your advantage to buy the stamps you'll need when you have a convenient opportunity because otherwise it may not be at all convenient.