U.S. postal authorities report run on 'forever' stamps as rate increase looms

A looming increase in U.S. postal rates appears to be turning Americans into penny-pinchers.
Just ask U.S. postal authorities who say there has been a run on so-called Forever stamps in advance of next month’s planned rate increase. Officials say that with the postal rate increase just two weeks away, Americans are buying 30 million Forever stamps a day.
The cost of sending a first-class letter will rise a penny to 42 cents on May 12. But the Forever stamps – currently selling for 41 cents – will remain valid after the increase.
Forever stamps were introduced in the United States last year and since then more than six billion have been sold.
Unlike the Forever stamps, other 41-cent stamps will require additional postage when the new rates take effect. Postal officials say they have printed an additional 1.5 billion one-cent stamps in anticipation of the demand.
Also, for the first time the Postal Service has stamps available at the new rate before the change takes effect.
A set of five 42-cent stamps honouring pioneering journalists went on sale last week, as did a set of four stamps featuring the American flag flying at different times of day.
Postage rates last went up in May 2007, with a first-class stamp jumping 2 cents to the current 41-cent rate.
The first-class postal rate is the one that most people notice, but other prices will also rise.

A looming increase in U.S. postal rates appears to be turning Americans into penny-pinchers.
Just ask U.S. postal authorities who say there has been a run on so-called Forever stamps in advance of next month’s planned rate increase. Officials say that with the postal rate increase just two weeks away, Americans are buying 30 million Forever stamps a day.
The cost of sending a first-class letter will rise a penny to 42 cents on May 12. But the Forever stamps – currently selling for 41 cents – will remain valid after the increase.
Forever stamps were introduced in the United States last year and since then more than six billion have been sold.
Unlike the Forever stamps, other 41-cent stamps will require additional postage when the new rates take effect. Postal officials say they have printed an additional 1.5 billion one-cent stamps in anticipation of the demand.
Also, for the first time the Postal Service has stamps available at the new rate before the change takes effect.
A set of five 42-cent stamps honouring pioneering journalists went on sale last week, as did a set of four stamps featuring the American flag flying at different times of day.
Postage rates last went up in May 2007, with a first-class stamp jumping 2 cents to the current 41-cent rate.
The first-class postal rate is the one that most people notice, but other prices will also rise.
In the past raising postage rates was a long, complex process involving hearings before the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, a process that could take nearly a year.
But under the new law regulating the post office that took effect in late 2006, the agency can increase rates with 45-days notice as long as changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months. The Postal Regulatory Commission calculated that at 2.9 per cent through January, limiting the first-class rate to an increase of just over a penny.
Under the new law, postal prices will be adjusted each May, the Postal Service said. Officials said they plan to give 90 days notice of future changes, twice what is required by law.