(NEXSTAR) – If you’re passing by the post office, you may want to go in and buy some stamps. Starting next week, they’ll be more expensive.
Starting Sunday, Jan. 21, a Forever Stamp will cost 68 cents, or two cents more than its current price. It’s a small bump, but it’s just the latest in a series of price hikes that have driven up the cost of the postage by nearly 24% since the pandemic.
A Forever stamp, as its name suggests, can be used to mail a letter regardless of when it was purchased. That means if you bought a book of Forever stamps 10 years ago, when the price was 49 cents each, you can still use them to mail letters now, even though prices have climbed.
But it’s not just Forever Stamps that are getting more expensive. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been increasing rates of many of its mailing services to keep up with inflation and the growing cost of doing business.
“As inflationary pressures on operating expenses continue and the effects of a previously defective pricing model are still being felt, these price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve the financial stability sought by its Delivering for America 10-year plan,” the USPS said. The Delivering for America plan was proposed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in 2021 to overhaul and modernize the postal service.
The postage increases kicking in on Jan. 21 are:
| Product | Price before Jan. 21 | Price after Jan. 21 |
|---|---|---|
| Letters (1 ounce) | 66 cents | 68 cents |
| Letters (metered 1 ounce) | 63 cents | 64 cents |
| Domestic Postcards | 51 cents | 53 cents |
| International Postcards | $1.50 | $1.55 |
| International Letter (1 ounce) | $1.50 | $1.55 |
Despite the recent increases, “the prices of the Postal Service remain among the most affordable in the world,” the USPS said.
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