Stamp Prices Increase: What You Need to Know for Your Next Trip to the Greenbelt Post Office

Next time you head over to the Greenbelt Post Office make sure you have the right stamp on your letter.

While the volume of first-class mail has dropped sharply, from an all-time high of 213 billion pieces in 2006 to only 168 billion in 2011, according to a New York Times story, the United States Post Service (USPS) is struggling, showing a loss of $36 million per day.

The most prominent way for the USPS to recover revenue is to raise postage and mailing rates.

Since 1885, when the price for the first ounce of a first-class letter was $0.02, rates have increased 24 times and will jump to $0.46 as of Sunday, January 27, 2013.

According to a press release from the USPS, the price of a Forever Stamp - which allows a customer to send a one-ounce letter anywhere in the United States - will go up one penny to $0.46. Each additional ounce of a first-class letter will stay the same at $0.20.

Additionally, it is introducing an international version, called the "Global Forever Stamp," which will cost $1.10 and cover the cost of a letter mailed to anywhere in the world.

Postcards, which cost $0.01 to mail starting in 1928, have seen rates rise 23 times already, and the 24th increase will take it to $0.33.

The USPS website lists new pricing for Priority Mail Flat Rate as follows:

• Small box — $5.80
• Medium box — $12.35
• Large box — $16.85
• Large APO/FPO box — $14.85
• Regular envelope — $5.60
• Legal envelope — $5.75
• Padded envelope — $5.95