Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter



CAT Tracks for May 13, 2007
POSTAGE RATE CHANGES

From the Southern Illinoisan...

Stamp prices jump Monday to 41 cents

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - It will cost a bit more to mail letters and parcels starting Monday. A first-class letter will go up 2 cents to 41 cents.

But there is also some good news - folks will be able to buy "forever" stamps that remain valid regardless of any future increase.

While the new rates take effect Monday, most post offices are closed on Sunday so officials say items dropped in a box that won't be collected until Monday should have the higher postage on them.

On the other hand, when rates change the agency usually allows a little leeway, and it doesn't plan a rash of returns for insufficient postage.

Postmaster General John Potter has said that even with the higher prices the agency expects a deficit this year as it struggles to compete in a swiftly changing communications market.

For most people, the first-class rate has the greatest impact, covering cards and letters.

While the first-class rate will rise from 39 cents to 41 cents for the first ounce, people sending heavier letters - such as wedding invitations - will see a reduction in the price. That's because each additional ounce will cost just 17 cents, down from the current 24 cents. That means a two-ounce letter will cost 58 cents to mail, compared with 63 cents now.

Also expected to be attractive to many people is the forever stamp.

The first forever stamps are selling for 41 cents apiece, but they won't have a price printed on them and they will remain valid for sending a letter regardless of any future increases.

While a forever stamp will always be valid for mailing a latter, that doesn't mean the price won't go up. If rates were to increase to 45 cents, for example, that's what a forever stamp would sell for. But stamps already purchased at a lower cost could still be used without adding extra postage.

International rates are also going up.

Letters to Canada and Mexico will rise to 69 cents and to most other countries to 90 cents. Other international services are being redesigned to more closely resemble domestic rates, and the charges will vary by country.

Prices based on size and shape are also included in the new domestic rates. For example, while a first-class regular envelope is 41 cents for the first ounce, the charge will be 90 cents for the first ounce of a large envelope and $1.13 for the first ounce of a first-class parcel. For all three each additional ounce is 17 cents.

When the new prices go into effect the fundraising stamp for Breast Cancer will increase to 55 cents. It is valid for first-class postage with the excess charge used to support research into breast cancer.

Postage rates last went up in January 2006.

Details of the new rates are available at www.usps.com or (800) 275-8777.

And...from the CNN.com website...

Size matters, so does shape under new postal rates

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- The postal rate increase that kicks in Monday is shaping up to be a big headache for many businesses.

Many companies say they are confused and frustrated as they try to adjust to the new rules, and some say mailings could be severely curtailed due to higher postage costs.

The new regulations mean larger envelopes and packages will automatically cost more than smaller mail. Currently, postage is determined by weight, unless it's an especially large or odd-shaped package that warrants special handling.

If your solution come Monday is to stuff the same amount of material into a smaller envelope, the Postal Service could get you there, too: There are new thickness restrictions.

For first-class, letter envelopes, the allowed thickness is a quarter inch. If you go over a quarter inch, you run into more costly large envelope or parcel rates.

Postal Service spokesman Dave Partenheimer said the new rates take shape into account because it requires more effort to process a larger piece of mail.

"Before, thickness didn't matter," he said. Now, "thickness does come into play. If it gets too thick you create a new shape."

Cindy Golebiewski, an office manager in Wilmington, Delaware, said her company faces much higher postage costs under the new rules.

"The price is just doubling," she said.

If not for the new thickness limits, "we would be better off stuffing a 6-by-9-inch envelope than putting it into a big brown envelope," she said.

The Direct Marketing Association in New York is "very, very unhappy," said spokeswoman Stephanie Hendricks. "The rates go into effect on Monday under protest."

She complained that businesses also have to deal with a new pricing category called "not flat-machinable."

That pertains to mailings that are not flat and more rigid because they might contain things like cardboard. As such, they don't go through processing machines as easily as letters -- they have "parcel-like characteristics," Partenheimer said.

The new rules pose a problem for Roska Direct Advertising in suburban Philadelphia, which produces marketing pieces in unique shapes like small boxes.

"We're trying to figure it out," said Mario Amici, senior vice president of production, operations and project management. "The post office hasn't really explained this."

Even mailing a simple brochure may pose a problem for businesses.

Postage for a three-panel brochure weighing an ounce might cost the new rate of 41 cents -- up from 39 cents -- unless it's not folded well and the envelope puffs up to half an inch. If the mail can't be easily flattened, then the postage would shoot up to 80 cents. Under the old rules, the envelope could puff out and still cost the same.

Details of the new rates are available at www.usps.com or (800) 275-8777.

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