Mail cost goes up tomorrow
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
A reminder before you drop that letter or bill in the mailbox this weekend: The cost of sending a first-class letter goes up to 37 cents effective tomorrow.
Associated Press
Those sending a letter with a 34-cent stamp must mail it in time to have it postmarked by today or risk having it returned.
These 37-cent postage stamps are on sale at post offices across the United States. The new postage rate goes into effect after the last postal pickup today.
"As long as they place the letter in the collection box by the last listed pickup time (today), they can mail with the 34-cent stamp," said postal service spokeswoman Nancy Wong.
The 37-cent first-class stamps are available at all post offices and most stamp vending machines, Wong said. Post offices throughout the state are also selling 3-cent "makeup" star stamps for customers with leftover 34-cent stamps.
In addition to the first-class stamp, the cost for mailing a postcard will increase from 21 cents to 23 cents.
Priority Mail will have a flat-rate envelope for $3.85, an increase from the previous one-pound rate of $3.50. Heavier pieces will be weighed and priced by zone.
An Express Mail letter up to 8 ounces will cost $13.65, up from $12.45.
Fees for additional services, such as certified mail, delivery confirmation and insurance, are also going up.
Not all postal rates are increasing, though, said Wong. Rates for interisland priority mail between 3 and 11 pounds will decrease by as much as 24 percent. The postal service approved rate increases in April to cover mounting losses since the Sept. 11 attacks.
