Time to Stock up on Stamps — Come Sunday, They’ll Cost 7% More

You might want to stock up on Forever stamps by Saturday — if you still use stamps, that is. Come Sunday, they will be about 7% more expensive.

The price of a first-class stamp — the postage needed to mail a 1-ounce letter — will jump from 68 cents to 73 cents.

This price change is among those that the U.S. Postal Service requested in April, and which take effect July 14. So, you have a few more days to stock up on postage at the current rates.

Other imminent increases for first-class mail prices include:

• Metered letters (1 ounce): 69 cents (up from 64 cents)
• Additional charge for letters weighing more than 1 ounce: 28 cents per additional ounce (up from 24 cents)
• Domestic postcards: 56 cents (up from 53 cents)
• International postcards: $1.65 (up from $1.55)
• International letters (1 ounce): $1.65 (up from $1.55)

Certified Mail fees and money order fees also are set to increase on July 14.

If this feels like deja vu, it’s because first-class mail prices also increased in January 2024 (when the cost of a stamp went from 66 to 68 cents) — not to mention twice in 2023 (when a stamp went from 60 cents to 66 cents).

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Not all prices are rising on July 14, however. Post office box rental fees are staying put, and the cost of postal insurance is actually going down 10%. (You can find all new prices in this price list.)

The Postal Service said the increases that take effect Sunday “are needed to achieve the financial stability sought by the organization’s Delivering for America 10-year plan.”

USPS relies on sales of postage and other products and services to fund its operations. It generally does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses.

Beware of phony stamps

If you can’t make it to a post office by Saturday, you might be tempted to order stamps online. Just be aware that counterfeit stamps are a thing — an increasingly common thing, according to the U.S. Postal Inspector Service, which enforces federal laws regarding crimes that involve the postal system.

So if you see a discount on Forever stamps on social media or an online marketplace, for example, the deal is probably too good to be true. After all, if the Postal Service could afford to cut you a deal, it probably wouldn’t be hiking prices every six months.

To avoid becoming a victim of fraud — that is, losing money and getting stuck with worthless stamps — the Postal Inspector Service advises that you:

• Don’t buy stamps in bulk, especially if they are steeply discounted. “Counterfeit stamps are often sold in bulk quantities at a significant discount — anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of their face value. That’s a tell-tale sign they’re bogus,” the Postal Inspector Service says.
• Buy stamps from an Approved Postal Provider. For instructions on how to search for one, visit the USPS “What is an Approved Postal Provider?” webpage.

Another alternative to driving to the post office to buy stamps is ordering them online directly from the U.S. Postal Service. To do so, visit USPS.com.