Price of USPS Stamps Will Increase July 10: What You Need to Know

Effective tomorrow July 10, the cost of USPS stamps will increase incrementally and continually. This is what you need to know.

In a Nutshell

The price of mailing a letter in the U.S. is going up now and will continue to increase twice yearly.

To start with, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced an increase in the price of USPS Forever Stamps from their current cost of $.58 to $.60, effective July 10, 2022.

USPS Forever Stamps are the only First-Class Mail stamps you can buy now and use FOREVER for First-Class Mail postage, regardless of future price increases.

As detailed below, USPS also announces increases in the cost of metered letters, postcards, and international mail. See this press release for more information.

Price Increases

On July 10, 2022:

The price of a First-Class Forever Stamp will increase by $0.02, from $0.58 to $0.60.
The price to send a one-ounce domestic letter will increase by $0.02, from $0.58 to $0.60.
The additional ounce rate for single-piece First-Class letters will increase by $0.04, from $0.20 to $0.24.
The metered mail rate for First-Class one-ounce letters will increase by $0.04 from $0.53 to $0.57.
Postcard stamps will increase by $0.04 from $0.40 to $0.44.
International one-ounce letter rates will increase from $1.30 to $1.40.
Media mail rates will increase by 9%. Rates now begin at $3.49 (previously $3.19).
The prices of other services, like Registered Mail, Signature Confirmation, Return Receipt, and Certified Mail, will also be impacted.

Beyond that, the USPS has announced plans to raise postage prices twice yearly, with the next increase to take effect in January 2023. It’s time to gear up, especially if you are frequent user of the U.S Mail’s outbound services.

What USPS and Others are Saying

[The USPS] “intends to be judicious in the use of available pricing authority but anticipates the prospect that, given our current financial condition, the price change for each market-dominant class may be required to apply most or all pricing authority available on the date of filing.”

If you think that statement sounds ominously vague, you’re not alone. An industry watchdog, The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers has called this filing “a death spiral accelerator” for the USPS. It also warns its members, “We assume USPS will use the full pricing authority it has at any moment.”

Services Targeted

The services affected by these twice-a-year price hikes include first-class mail, marketing (advertising) mail, periodicals, package services, and special services—many in which the USPS holds a monopoly. For them and for now, USPS is the only game in town

Why Now?

In the past, inflation caps limited USPS’s ability to raise the price of a stamp by keeping postage increases in line with inflation rates. But the Postal Regulatory Commission recently gave the agency additional rate authority. This means we may see historical price increases while the Postal Service tries to save itself from financial ruin.

A word to the wise: Get ready for big postage increases now and again every six months in the future—increases that businesses, manufacturers, and distributors will pass on to us, their consumers.

What Can We Do?

If you rarely use outgoing USPS services, an increase of two cents from time to time is far more tolerable than other soaring prices we are witnessing at this time. But if on the other hand, you do send out mail requiring U.S postage, it might not be too late to load up on Forever stamps at their current rate or less!

In the past, selling postage stamps was a thing that only the U.S. Postal Service could do. But today, various retailers, grocery stores, banks, gas stations, and pharmacies sell stamps. And a handful sells USPS postage stamps at a discount.

Hedging Your Bets with Forever USPS Stamps

The US Postal Service introduced Forever stamps in 2007. These stamps sell for the current cost of postage but instead of having a face value of that amount, they will always be worth the current value of a First-Class U.S. postage stamp.

For example, when these stamps were introduced, the cost of a first-class stamp was 41 cents. If you bought enough Forever stamps in 2007 to still have some in 2022, you would save 19 cents on every letter you mail. The stamp you paid 41 cents for in 2007 is worth 60 cents in 2022.

Costco

Costco members can purchase U.S. Postage stamps at a discount at any Costco warehouse or Costco.com. Even though the price of a Forever stamp goes to $.60 on July 10, Costco members can purchase Forever stamps at current member prices through August 28, 2022.

Walmart

Walmart also sells stamps in store and on its website.

Stamps.com

A legitimate postage-on-demand service, Stamps.com makes it possible for you to print your own postage and shipping labels in seconds. With a Stamps.com account, you can get postage discounts not available at the post office. It’s quite an operation and while it might seem as though you’ve turned into a counterfeiter, you can relax on that score. It is totally legitimate, trustworthy, and sanctioned by the USPS.

Before signing up, ensure you read everything and fully understand that there are fees. However, your discounts could offset the fees if you are a small business owner or just adore sending hundreds of letters and postcards monthly. Either way, it is certainly worth checking out.

Everyday Cheapskate is reader-supported. If you click through some links in this post and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

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Cally Ross says:

July 11, 2022 at 7:24 am

I mail cards/notes to four out-of-state grandkids (ages 1-7) just to keep in touch, and because as a kid “mail is fun!”. at four x .60, it’s still an inexpensive expression of love.

Deb R. says:

July 10, 2022 at 2:52 pm

My reply didn’t make the cut yesterday apparently. I’m afraid many of you may have purchased fake stamps. If you use them, your mail may be confiscated. Not what you want to happen to your bill payments if you still do that by mail or a birthday card . . .

Mary Hunt says:
July 12, 2022 at 12:12 pm

Thanks for your cautions Deb R. Readers should do their own independent research always.

m says:

July 9, 2022 at 6:10 pm

The Walmart stamps you link to are sold not by the company, but by a third-party seller. Can you confirm that they’re not counterfeit? Thanks.

Mary Hunt says:
July 12, 2022 at 12:10 pm

I cannot confirm that … I’m a messenger. Buyers using any source should always beware

Joanne Horst says:

July 9, 2022 at 2:38 pm

These “discount stamps” have been investigated by our local TV station and we’re told they are counterfeit. Also, they have been featured on Facebook at ridiculously low prices. BEWARE!

Mary Hunt says:
July 9, 2022 at 3:20 pm

Caution is always advisable in all things.

Suz G says:

July 9, 2022 at 2:37 pm

Thank you SO much for this good information!

Red says:

July 9, 2022 at 2:25 pm

I would have thought it was already clear that the more cost increases the fewer buyers. We live where USPS is pretty much the only thing in town. Now several rate hikes back our post offices reduced their hours to half days because of reduced usage. Duh!

At the meeting we were invited to attend we were told several post offices were also slated to close as they were too close together. Without saying it directly it was pointed out that we were not crows! We live in a valley and one of the post offices that was claimed to be within 2 miles was in fact 10 miles by road. Of course, even 2 miles by horse and buggy was a longer trip than necessary. I might add the roads are narrow and winding and unsafe for many of the buggies now, adding more was putting lives at risk. To my knowledge that post office is still open. Even alternating days open would have been a better solution!

Thanks for the links, I’m going to encourage those who litter my mailbox with stuff I’ll never be interested in stop. Now, if I could just figure out how to stop the multiple cards a week telling me there may be a better option for Medicare if I just call them, I’ll be over the moon! We’ve called them multiple times and they always verify that it isn’t cheaper but rather more expensive for us to change. Some even have said it’s illegal for them to offer some plans to us. What we have asked is how to get off their lists and no one seems to know. This year alone I think we have about 1 inch of cards stacked up, yes the idea is to really figure out how much wasted paper those alone are!

Cally Ross says:
July 11, 2022 at 7:21 am

I’m not old enough for Medicare and I still get weekly postcards! what a waste of paper and postage.

Linda says:

July 9, 2022 at 2:22 pm

Thank you so much for letting me know about Walmart stamps! Just ordered!
Great saving for someone who sends a lot of cards.

Pat says:

July 9, 2022 at 2:20 pm

Thank you, Mary for the terrific hint about postage stamps at Walmart!

Katrina C. says:

July 9, 2022 at 2:04 pm

Thank you so much for the tip about buying them from Walmart. I purchased 4 rolls!! I mail a lot of cards and with Christmas coming, 35 cents a stamp can’t be beat. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Katrina

SueMN says:

Thanks for this Mary! I ordered a roll of these just now. It’s a super good deal!
I use stamps for Christmas and birthday cards, rent (no online payment available) and other misc. things where online isn’t available.
I love all your tips and advice!

July 9, 2022 at 1:57 pm

Mary, I am not sure those stamps at Walmart are legit. I read the negative reviews, did some research of my own, and noted that Walmart has this disclaimer on the listing: “Manufacturer, suppliers, and others provide what you see here, and we have not verified it.” If you use counterfeit stamps, the postal service will confiscate your mail. I am going to take a pass on this offer. (Note that FB has been removing a lot of fake stamps sales in the last several days.)

Corinne says:

July 9, 2022 at 1:51 pm

Just ordered the cheap 300 stamps through the Walmart app! My husband said “How does Mary Hunt find such great deals?!” I just told him it’s your thing!!

Sharon Benton says:

July 9, 2022 at 12:47 pm

Mary,
I was seeing discounted forever stamps on social media but was afraid it was a scam, so I didn’t buy there. Instead, I checked Amazon and they carry discounted forever stamps. These are great for the occasional bill or birthday card. Also, they carry special love forever stamps great for summer wedding invites or baby showers!