Postage Update
In case you have not already heard, the price of stamps will be increasing on May 12, 2008. It will now cost 42 cents to mail a First-class 1 oz. letter and 59 cents for a 2 oz. letter. For those of you that rely solely on the computer or telephone to pay bills or say “happy birthday,” that is only a 1 cent increase in price. This is however something to keep in mind when preparing your invitations – especially your reply envelopes. Yes, it is proper etiquette to include stamps on the reply envelopes or postcards. So, please plan ahead and keep in mind when your reply cards will be hitting the mailboxes. Also, don’t forget about the “Forever” stamps. I’m sure you have seen them – the stamp with the liberty bell that I always try to avoid at the post office? As the name suggests, you will still be able to use them as long as you have them – no matter the cost of mailing a First-class 1 oz. letter. On the downside, if you are like me and try to stock up on your favorite stamps (see below), you may be stuck having to add those little 1 and 2 cent stamps to your envelopes.
Also, I recently made a visit to the post office in order to do a regular check on mailing our invitations. A while back, the USPS changed some of their regulations and consequently when mailing certain items, you may be hit with a surcharge. Now, I say “may” simply because each trip to the post office seems to be a bit different for me. I will share with you what I do know, but please be aware that before mailing your invitations, it is best to take one to the post office you will be mailing them from and find out how much they will cost. And here’s why… Over a year ago, we could drop our invitations in the mail for the cost of a 2 oz. stamp. Now however, there may be a surcharge for a “rigid” envelope. This is currently a 17 cent surcharge – the same as you would be charged for mailing a square envelope. However, you may instead be charged a parcel rate which is $1.30. The problem in my experience is a complete lack of consistency. Meaning, one employee at one post office will charge one rate, while you may be charged the other rate at another post office. Why? Well, I won’t even touch on my thoughts on the matter… for this really is not the place for that!
I will say however, that on this particular trip to the post office I had an armload of items and the line was almost out of the door. Not only that, but each one of those items needed to be dealt with a bit differently. (”Um, these need to be sent priority with a delivery confirmation, and this one here – could you please weigh it first, and oh yeah, I need a book of stamps as well please…”) This is an experience I normally dread since not only are other people waiting on you but the person behind the counter (at least in my experience) somehow always makes me feel bad for asking them to do their job. But this time, in a certain downtown post office, thanks to a particular employee, my experience was one that can best be described as pleasant. I think I actually walked out of there with a smile on my face. So for once, United States Postal Service, thank you for making my day.