Stamp Prices Have Gone Up for the Second Time This Year
The price of first-class stamps, postcards and metered mail has risen three times since July 2022.
On July 9, the cost of first-class stamps went up to 66 cents.
The price of stamps went up again on Sunday, the second increase this year and the third in the past 12 months.
The cost of a first-class "forever" stamp rose from 63 cents to 66 cents. That follows a jump from 60 cents to 63 cents in late January and, in July 2022, from 58 cents to 60 cents. It's the fifth uptick since January 2019, when stamps retailed for 50 cents.
In a statement, the US Postal Service blamed the hike on inflation, as well as what it labeled as an earlier "defective pricing model."
Here's what you need to know about the increase, including why it's happening and what products are being affected.
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How much has the price of stamps gone up?
On July 9, the cost of a first-class stamp rose from 63 cents to 66 cents, a 4.6% increase. There are also increases in other Post Office offerings.
USPS increases
| Product | Current Price | New Price |
|---|---|---|
| Letters (1 oz.) | 63 cents | 66 cents |
| Letters (metered 1 oz.) | 60 cents | 63 cents |
| Domestic Postcards | 48 cents | 51 cents |
| International Postcards | $1.45 | $1.50 |
| International Letter (1 oz.) | $1.45 | $1.50 |
Details on price changes can be found on the Postal Service's Postal Explorer website.
Have shipping rates changed?
On July 9, the Post Office also launched USPS Ground Advantage, a shipping service intended to combine and replace existing offerings.
Ground Advantage will actually reflect a 3.2% decrease in retail prices and a 0.7% drop in commercial prices, according to the USPS, and will include free package pickup and $100 in insurance coverage.
The new service "provides a simple, reliable, and more affordable way to ship packages in two-to-five business days across the continental United States," the agency said in a release.
Why do stamp prices keep going up?
The Post Office is saddled with more than $144 billion in debts and unfunded liabilities, according to the Government Accountability Office. It receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on postage, products and services for funding.
While the Postal Service Reform Act signed by President Joe Biden last year included a $107 billion bailout, analysts say the USPS underestimated its losses from marketing mailing and other sources.
Unveiled in 2021, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan to overhaul the agency projected it would break even this year for the first time in nearly two decades. Now, a little more than two years later, DeJoy has pushed that goal to 2030.
He acknowledged that, after reporting a net loss of $2.5 billion in the second quarter of 2023 alone, the Post Office will likely close out the year at least $4 billion in the red.
By raising prices twice yearly, the USPS hopes to generate an additional $44 billion by 2031, Reuters reported.
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