Bah! Damn stamp prices!

[wickedrad79]

Of course the week after I run out of my last batch of Forever stamps and accidentally buy non-forever stamps, they announce stamp prices will be going up! Between myself and my mom, we might use up most of these stamps before May, but I really don't want to have to deal with 2 cent stamps. I still have a bunch of postcard stamps, too, and those

Comments

[sillyliss]

Stamp prices are going up again?? I thought the plan was one less day of mail?

edit: I wish I would have invested in some of those forever stamps. They might go up faster than the price of gold! A solid investment for our children and our children's children.

[wickedrad79]

Someone asked me why it isn't a good investment to just buy thousands of dollars of Forever Stamps before they go up (this was when they first came out, too) and I found an article that said there was a law or something stating that the cost of postage must stay below the rate of inflation, so it wouldn't be a good investment in the long run anyway, in the overall scheme of things. I can't remember where I read that, though, so I could be misremembering.
They are a good deal in the short term, though. Buy them at today's rates when they go up tomorrow!

[lietya]

In addition to the one less day of mail, it's getting less publicity, but the USPS is trying to cut down on staffing specific shifts - my father works at a post office, and at one point the plan was to force him and all the other day shifters to work overnights, eliminating the day shift entirely. The only people still allowed to work days would be the actual customer-service window clerks. That would, needless to say, suck royally.

(The union kicked up a fuss and they're negotiating nationwide, but it's nearly certain that at least some people are going to get saddled with shifts or jobs they don't want, in the effort to consolidate.)

[sillyliss]

That is awful. There is really no industry or group that is being left out of our happy little recession, is there? Why is there less mail NOW? Why not when the internet/email first boomed?

Our local (Fargo) post office switched their window hours. They used to be 8 to 5. Now they are 10 to 4. We used to bring mail there for work, before or just after hours. Now we can't go there unless it's during lunch. I have a hunch the branch is going to close completely.

[rolypolypony]

Damn! I've got like 15 Christmas stamps that I won't use up by then! I'd better start sending letters...

[wickedrad79]

Heh. Look how we'd rather use up perfectly good stamps than buy 1 or 2 cent ones for future use.

[lietya]

How annoying! Thanks for the reminder; I should stop at Costco and pick up one more batch of 100 Forever stamps before May.

[wickedrad79]

I think I still am going to stock up on some more Forever stamps even before I'm out of the regular ones. Can't hurt, right?

[lietya]

Nope! Any you buy now, you don't have to buy later, and you'll save a few cents. :)

[firynze]

Le sigh. Guess I'll need to buy a bunch of Forever stamps when I go to the post on Friday.