Postage rates go up today

By Kari L. Sands

May 11, 2008 11:39 pm

— VALDOSTA — Today, people across the country will experience a one cent increase on postage. But there is no need to be alarmed; the increase is as costly for the United Stated Postal Service, which is a non-profit organization.
“For every penny increase in gas, it costs the United States Postal Service an estimated $8 million a day,” said Darryl Bryant, supervisor at the main post office in Valdosta.
According to Bryant, this is the first rate increase in two years at the United States Postal Service, one of the largest employers in the country.
People who already have 41 cent stamps will still be able to use their stamps. “Supplemental stamps ranging from 1 to 5 cents and 10 cents can be added to stamps to raise them to the new cost of 42 cents,” said Bryant.
Also, the “forever stamps” the postal service has been selling are guaranteed to always be good for mailing a regular piece of first-class mail without adding more postage
“Everything is not increasing. We are also having a rate decrease on some products. All of our online services such as ‘click and ship,’ priority mailing, and express mailing will see anywhere from a 1 to a 5 percent decrease in price,” said Bryant. “And even with the rate increase, we are still of much better value than UPS and FedEx.”
Money orders, another popular seller at the Post Office, will remain $1.05. The 1 cent increase is on first class mailings less than one ounce, according to Bryant. For more information, visit the United States Postal Service at www.usps.com.