Stop me if you've heard this one before. . .
"U. S. Postal Service Recommends New Prices For July"
Yes, indeedy, friends and neighbors -- yet another case of "insult to injury," as if we haven't received enough abuse already this year -- USPS Forever stamps to jump from 73 cents to 78 cents, and other mail services by an average of 7.4%.
It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Whether we want it or not.
57 comments
rudy2828
·1 year agoCoimpared to most every other country 78 cents is a bargain.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoI didn't have an outhouse, but I had a gas stove/oven that had to be lit by hand - that meant opening the oven door, turning on the gas, lighting a match and tossing it at the gas so it caught. Phoomp! Once I set the front of my hair on fire. I think it was a stove/oven from the 30s. It was during my flophouse days.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoWhen I was about 11 or 12 we lived on the Rouge river in Oregon in a cabin. It was a split level held up by a couple of large maple trees (3 ft. diameter at least) to keep it from sliding down into the river below.
My job in winter was to bank the fire in a large pot belly stove downstairs at bedtime (where us kids slept) and fire it up when I got up in the morning. I loved it there and my life there. Steelhead, trout, bears, deer in abundance. My mom told me she used to see a tom mountain lion sitting on the cut bank above me watching me fish from time to time. Never worried her because I had big red (dog) with me. Big red dog that even floated the river with me, on his own in the river. Me in cut-offs & sneakers on an innertube. Great memories.
Edit: I just read your reply to Davey and it's posted all over where I used to float the river with my dog "No Swimming" with an ongoing count of how many people have drowned there. I did think I was "bullet proof" at that age. I was an excellent swimmer though and my parents trusted my judgement even at that young age not to kill myself.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoLove the big red dog and great memory!
I've done white water rafting along the Rogue River, dumping down waterfalls and crashing through rapids. It was terrifyingly fun! I used to spend a lot of time in that area, would ride my bike from Seaside, Oregon down to Crescent City, CA (crazy place) down 101 with friends, then head inland. There was a restaurant in Crescent City called The Cove right on the water - they used to take a fresh catch straight from the water up through their 2nd storey window and cook it up. OMG, the OYSTERS! They had a 50s hotel made from a single Redwood. That was a while ago. I understand there's good mountainbiking there these days, with cycling encouraged - I'd go just for that but the DH, who is a superb road rider and a master's athlete contender, gets a bit unnerved on chunky trails. I tell him "Be like me - no brain, no pain" lol.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoDood memories of days gone by.
toomuchstuffagain35
·1 year agoI can beat that. When I was a tiny kid we had a refrigerator powered by kerosene and a water heater fired up by coal briquettes. We also had an outhouse lol
az93
·1 year agoApparently usps doesn't know what forever means.
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago"We will forever be raising our rates".
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoDeJoy is already gone. He tried his best and failed.
For whatever value of "best" is in this particular equation, though he did come up with Ground Advantage which I thought was a great idea.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoThe volume of letter mail continues to decrease and as a result the cost of sending a letter increases.
Is the volume helped by continued increases, no it isn't but USPS cannot significantly reduce service to areas of the country which are unprofitable to serve so unless a direct subsidy is created and funded, every mailer of every class has to subsidize letters.
DeJoy is already gone. He tried his best and failed.
The real question to be asked "is there any business stupid enough to buy USPS?". There are some people in DC who think one exists.
This increase is not going to be affecting me in any significant way. I'll wait until there is the next parcel services increase before I vent.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@1786davycrockett
Well.... one DOES have the option of driving 3,243 miles to deliver that letter in person.
orangehound
·1 year ago... which will result in even greater sales of counterfeit stamps.
meme6253
·1 year agoJust another increase, when we don't need any increase in anything, fuel to the fire.
loose_goose_garage
·1 year agoUnless I'm missing something, is this only for Stamps/ letter type mail? Not for Packages? This line has me a bit confused.
"The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for the Special Services products. "
tsme35
·1 year agoMeans, their still figuring out our rates and not ready to post it yet. Should come out in a couple weeks. Ebay's not going to doing anything, its just a rate increase for them.
mam98031
·1 year agoI suppose they might do this, but it isn't how it usually goes. The postal rate changes at this time would be proposed at this time. USPS would be waiting for approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
USPS just filed for these increases a couple weeks ago, so it will take some time for the PRC to approve them.
https://prc.arkcase.com/portal/filings/135911
No site can negotiate on the price increases until the increases have been settled and approved.
tsme35
·1 year agoWho knows, last year they increase rates for some postage and said no increase for GA, then a week or 2 later, we got a rate increase.
mam98031
·1 year agoLast year we had three increases, just like we are likely to have this year. January, July and October. Each increase is not the same. They differ a bit, but make no mistake, they cost real money for our buyers.
liawri-75
·1 year agoI do wish that EB would cut a deal like Posh has. Priority mail prepaid postage for $5.95 up to 5 lbs. The customer would pay the $5.95 and that would keep us, the sellers from having "calculated rates" that buyers pay. Just one flat fee. Simple.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoIt would be nice, but impossible on this site, and would be an administrative nightmare on top of it. Posh is a young site which started out with this scheme, is smaller and more agile than eBay, and the shipping scheme is organic to the site. It also means that even if one purchases a light little item on Poshmark, it still costs $8.30 to ship, so it has to average out. The USPS cannot take a loss on shipping - it's actually law.
mam98031
·1 year agoThe two marketplaces are significantly different. Poshmark is primarily a marketplace for selling and buying clothing, shoes and accessories. As I'm sure you are aware, many other type items are sold on Ebay too. Which is why that won't work on Ebay.
Effective April 3, 2025 on Poshmark, shipping is $8.27.
https://support.poshmark.com/s/article/975218789?language=en_US
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoIt's also going to be meter mail...ESE eBay envelopes.
kickin.assets
·1 year ago@liawri-75
Posh just increased shipping by about 0.30 on April 3rd ~ Still a great rate as that covers all packages up to 5lbs! ðŸ˜
mam98031
·1 year agoYep, every year for the last several years or more we get an increase in January, July and October.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoBut horseback riding is so much more pleasant than being stuffed in a boring car. And I like camping.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoYes I like camping too but four days (round trip) to get supplies (shopping) is why they only went shopping 2 times a year.
It was the early 1900's in Western Canada and they took a buckboard and him and my uncles were outriders looking for folks with hostile intent, bears or troubles ahead. We sure have it nice compared to then.
chariot_badges
·1 year agoI am 75 years old.
When I was 10, my grandmother visited us.
She was 80 or so at the time.
This is a story she told me.
(Even as a kid, I really liked 'old people' stories)
"We moved from Peoria to Denver.
It was 1880 or so, and we moved in a covered wagon, drawn by mules.
Dad had a horse that was used for hunting and scouting.
Somewhere outside of Kansas City, my little sister died ... consumption, and we buried her on the prairie. We made friends with some native Americans, and we almost had to fight some native Americans.
A cougar tried to get one of the mules and injured it, slowing our trip for a week. Dad was able to kill it, and I remember that cat tastes pretty good. The mule was hurt bad enough to need to be put down, and I learned that mule does NOT taste so good.
I saw two men walk out into a dusty street, stand six feet away from each other and draw guns and shoot at each other. The winner bought the beer.
The food we carried got old, and made me sick once. Maggots were just protein.
Water was a constant concern.
It seemed to take months to get there, and we had a weather deadline.
That is when I was ten years old, your age.
Yesterday, I flew from Miami to San Francisco in less than three hours. And I got a cold drink and a packet of peanuts.
I watched a man walk on the moon. On the moon! I saw that on a box that sends sound and pictures in almost real time.
Miracles.
ONE lifetime. MY lifetime I have seen all that and much more.
Just imagine the miracles YOU will see in YOUR lifetime."
She was an amazing woman, grandma.
evelyb30
·1 year agoOn the other hand, in her day people played chess by mail in the cities. They made multiple moves per day because the mail came twice a day and you could do that. It cost a penny.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoYesterday, I flew from Miami to San Francisco in less than three hours. And I got a cold drink and a packet of peanuts.
I enjoyed the reminiscence, but Miami to San Francisco in less than three hours? 🤔
Anyway, my grandma used to tell me stories of growing up in Irish New York City. I never tired of hearing them!
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoSix hour flight, three hour time difference 😊. There will be a surprise when the return flight takes nine hours.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoThat must be what happens to me when I fly to the US from Australia - we travel in a relative way and arrive the previous day. I feel so young!
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoYes I am 71 and have seen alot of changes and miracles.
One thing I learned from my mother and father's recollections is how good we have it now and how weak most of us would be considered by people in the past.
That's a cool story by the way. Before he died my dad took me to where he was born, at home (nothing but a stone foundation left) and showed me the horse drawn farm machinery still there he and my uncles worked with. They are still there rusting away to time. At one time I was going to bring them back to our land here but Antiquities Canada (?) wouldn't let me take them out of the country.
My wife asked me "Why didn't you stay in such a beautiful place?" (I'm dual) when we visited one August. I replied that she hadn't been there in January when it's 40 below zero. One winter was enough for me. It still amazes me that without electricity and the technology available then that people did so well in such an enviroment.
I know my age doesn't seem to match my parents being that old but they had us kids late in life and were the youngest of their respective families. They both lived to 90 and 89. I never met my grandfathers for instance and only one grandmother when I was young.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoPeople adapt to conditions, though - a previous generation would really not have known anything else but their own "normal". If we had been born in that generation, would have adapted to those times and it would have been our "normal" as well, not weaker or stronger.
I recall my great grandparents and great aunts and uncles. They were a crazy bunch and used to gang around together - our family parties were something else lol.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year agoMy husband's only in his mid-60's but he grew up rural, in a place where 40 below is relatively common & when he was a little kid, he remembers having an outhouse! I'm only 5 years behind him but always grew up in cities/suburbs, so that was really fascinating to me. I was talking to a Millenial the other day & he was telling me that he believes the most important achievement of the last 100 years is Bluetooth. I'm like, more important than commercial flight? More important than television or a space flight? Really? Bluetooth?
I guess that ages me but I've just started using Bluetooth a few months ago. I like it, but it doesn't rank up there with commercial flight or space exploration 😀
As for USPS, they raise rates twice a year, we all know it. We were thinking of where to retire & I'm always researching places & Colombia is a hot spot these days. Amongst the downsides, no postal system. Some countries apparently don't have one at all.
1786davycrockett
OP1 year ago@simply-the-best-for-you
" I was talking to a Millenial the other day & he was telling me that he believes the most important achievement of the last 100 years is Bluetooth. I'm like, more important than commercial flight? More important than television or a space flight? Really? Bluetooth? "
Having spent far more time than I wish to remember shivering inside an outhouse in the 1950s, my vote would be for indoor plumbing.
Too many of these Millennials are technology-spoiled, and will be totally useless when (not IF) the United States faces a serious military threat.
Their silly little Bluetooth devices are no match for an enemy determined to break America.
Wait for it.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoAm a 44 model, grew up on a farm in Michigan ( near the thumb not far from the Detroit Rive and Lake Erie). Here is pic of me reading the Sunday Newspaper in January.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@1786davycrockett Well, maybe I'm guilty of being what you're attributing to the milennials now LOL. Having only ever lived in cities & suburbs, I thought outhouses were in the 1800's, I was floored when my DH told me he actually had one. I had no idea that so many people alive today actually had one. He also only had 1 TV station & no FM radio. To this day, although we line up very closely in musical tastes, he doesn't know the music of some of the most popular bands of the 70's cuz he didn't have FM or a nearby record store. You know, little bands, like Led Zeppelin. We went to the movie for my b-day & he finally realized why he'd never known them. It was b/c they didn't release singles & if it wasn't played on AM, he didn't know it.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoYes but the alternative isn't so good.
Every time gas gets expensive I think about my father telling me how long it took him and my grandfather to ride horses the same distance it takes me minutes to drive. Having to set up camp, gather wood for a fire, picket the horses etc. etc.
I guess we could send everything by rail..............?
johnrj1226
·1 year agoWasn't talking about this -
But rather this -
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=if+wishes+were+horses+meaning.
I'll slow down my typing next time -
PS Took typing in HS my senior yr - could type 26 wmp at mid semester. A the end of the year final I could type all of 25 wmp. Solution: only date girls that were taking classes to become a secretary in 2 years and get a MRS associate degree. It worked - all my typing needs were satisfied for 4.5 years and didn't miss a
party.
This was way way back then close to the on slot of the horseless carriage - the days of the Vietnam Conflict.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoYes I'm just glad we have the service we do.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoAgree with that point - only shipped by USPS when we sold on eBay - good service - only lost 2 packages out of 1665 shipped -. timely delivery services. Buyers pay for the % increase(s) for all those sellers that use USPS on eBay and other similar sites. Had one damaged package that was my fault. - pretty darn good batting average in my book.
Wonder how many of the complainers received straight A s throughout their educational years and job performance reviews.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoWell when the USPS keeps loosing big time money year after year - guess one can expect more of the same down the road , This used to be only a mere -3 billion operating loss year after year that has steadily gone up from -6.5 billion to -9.5 billion last year. Something has to give - the Post Master General (LaJoy) says he will retire when they find a replacement.
https://news.usps.com/2024/11/14/usps-reports-year-end-financial-results/
PS: Too late to stop ya'
1786davycrockett
OP1 year ago@johnrj1226
"Something has to give - the Post Master General (LaJoy) says he will retire when they find a replacement."
DeJoy resigned as Postmaster General on March 24 -- so even that rat has left the sinking ship.
And the lookouts inform us that we are surrounded by icebergs.
Cue Celine Dion.
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoThose loss figures are somewhat misleading. In most years, the post office has what most would consider to be a profit. But, because of a unique and onerous pension pre-funding program, the post office shows significant losses.
caldreamer
·1 year agoNot again...I am so sick and tired of USPS raising their rates. Hopefully EBAY will be able to negotiate a good rates for EBAY Sellers.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoThey already have - we pay commercial rates. There's only so much negotiation eBay can do. Also, there are alternatives - stamps dot com, pirateship, etc.
But yeah, the rates keep going up.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoBelieve that these old adages applies here -
"If wishes were horses beggars would ride" or "You can't get blood from a turnip"
In my youth the 3 cent stamp used to cost exactly 3 cents - now the Forever stamp soon will be 78 cents (up o nickel) and the 3 cent stamp went the way of the dodo bird a while ago.
liawri-75
·1 year agoHow is it that POSH is able to get a $5.95/7.95 Priority mail deal with the USPS up to 5 lbs?
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoIt's $8.27 for up to 5 lb. Any discounts are provided by the seller.
They've arranged with the USPS for a flat rate - that means an 8 oz package and a 4.5 lb package both go for the same rate. Anything over 5 lb the seller/buyer pays the difference per pound - this includes up to $22.50 extra for a 10 lb package.
eBay can't do this because of its complexity. Mercari also strikes deals with shipping, but theirs is more complex - again, the shippers don't lose out.
Unavailable member
·1 year agoI'm not surprised, USPS increases their prices every year sometimes twice a year.