USPS | LetterStream Blog

USPS First-Class Postage Increasing on Jan. 27th, 2013

usps rate increase

It’s official. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is increasing postage rates on many of their services, including First-Class postage. The changes are set to take effect on January 27, 2013.

The following is a snippet from a USPS press release:

The price for First-Class Mail single-piece letters will increase by just a penny when prices change in Jan. The new 46 cent Forever stamps will allow customers to mail letters to any location in the United States. Forever stamps are always good for mailing a one-ounce letter anytime in the future regardless of price changes.

Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 27, 2013 include:

Letters (1oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents

Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents

Letters to all international destinations (1oz.) — $1.10

Postcards — 1-cent increase to 33 cents

*Source: USPS.com http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2012/pr12_114.htm

Visit LetterStream.com today to create your First-Class mailing before the new postage rates go into effect. We are always available to help walk you through the process–it just takes a few minutes!

Now where did I put that green card?

If you send Certified Mail, you know what sort of pain it is when the attorney asks for the green card (PS Form 3811) and it can’t be found.

green card - certified mail receipt

I know, I know….we all like to put our highest paid employees on the task of filing the green cards so they are always where they need to be. Well, ok…..that’s not exactly true. In reality, they stack up on the receptionist’s desk, then they get moved to the mail room, then they may make it back to the collections department, with each department attempting to file a few whenever they get an idle moment.

Sound familiar?

Wish there was a better way?

Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t need to worry about hanging on to those pesky green cards? Instead, what if the green cards were electronically delivered to us with the name and address of the recipient and the signature of the person who received the certified letter. Then, what if the signature was instantly and accurately filed, just the way we like.

While we are dreaming, let’s make it one better. What if, when the green card is needed — even if it’s years down the road — all we need to do is type in the name or the address of the person who was sent the letter and we’d immediately see the certified letter, the tracking information and the signature, all available to be printed and handed over to the person who needs it. Now that would be ideal!

And it would also be an explanation of how our Certified Mail process works.

Don’t file green cards, use LetterStream.

Neither snow nor rain… But Hurricanes…

There’s a reason the postal slogan doesn’t mention hurricanes when talking about the conditions in which they deliver mail.

It turns out that Hurricane Sandy is already effecting postal deliveries all along the eastern shores. As we write this, most retail (post office counter) and BME (business mail entry unit) centers in Long Island, New York and along the New Jersey shore are closed. Many other states are reporting retail operations being affected and/or closed along the coast.

For the latest information about current mail delivery status, visit the United States Postal Service (USPS) Mail Service Updates page.

And, in case you wanted to know, the saying “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” is not a motto or creed of the post office, but it is an inscription from the James Farley Post Office in New York City.