This'll be a pretty short story, folks.
Our friends at the U.S. Postal Service have a new, bright money-raising idea: raise stamp prices nearly 20% from 78 cents to somewhere between 90 and 95 cents.
Its excuse, er, reason? It faces a financial crunch according to Postmaster General David Steiner, speaking Tuesday at a Congressional hearing. Steiner said if we don't bite this bullet and raise the rate, the Post Office could run out of money in 12 months.
"As you all know, there are only three things that any company can do to improve financial performance — sell more products, raise prices or cut costs," Steiner said. "On the pricing side, we need to look for higher prices on both our package and mail products."
Steiner tried to find a happy spin for this problem by telling Congress that Americans pay less for postage than the U.K. and France.
"And the longest distance that letters have to travel in those countries is about 600 miles — smaller than the state of Texas. We deliver from the tip of Puerto Rico to the tip of Alaska for 78 cents," he noted.
Get ready for the stamp scams
When the price of stamps jump, scammers usually crawl out of their hole to try and profit off the move.
Counterfeit postage stamp scams involve selling fake, deeply discounted stamps—often 20%–60% off—via social media (Facebook), third-party websites, and ads, primarily targeting holiday mailers. These convincing fakes, often imported, lead to mail confiscation and forfeiture. Buy only from the USPS or Approved Postal Providers to avoid loss.
United States Postal Inspection Service (.gov) says the four key indicators of a stamp scam are:
- Deep Discounts: If stamps are sold for less than their face value, they are almost certainly counterfeit, as authorized retailers rarely offer significant discounts.
- Suspicious Sources: Ads on social media, unknown websites, or vendors based outside the United States.
- Poor Quality: Fakes may have slightly off colors, poor-quality images, or lack the correct texture.
- Bulk Selling: Offering large quantities of "Forever" stamps or rolls at "too good to be true" prices.
Bottom line: There are no discounts anywhere. If you don't want to pay 95 cents, then buy all the 78 "Forever" stamps you can now.
