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There's been an alarming rise in Made in China counterfeit postage stamps here in America ... The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has been struggling for years, saddled with an outmoded business model and huge retiree pension liabilities. And now, added to its inflationary and management woes comes a new threat: counterfeit stamps from China marketed online through paid ads on Google and Facebook, among other platforms. Counterfeiting currency, bonds, or other government paper of value is a form of warfare. The British printed Continental paper dollars to undermine the American economy during the Revolutionary War. The Union encouraged counterfeiting against...

You'll soon have to pay more to mail a letter, as the United States Postal Service (USPS) is raising the cost of its Forever First-Class stamps in July. Starting July 9, the cost of a Forever stamp, or mailing a one-ounce letter, will increase from 63 cents to 66 cents. Other mail services will also increase. Here's a full breakdown. —Mailing a one-ounce letter — increase from 63 cents to 66 cents. —Mailing a metered one-ounce letter — an increase from 60 cents to 63 cents. —The price of a postcard — increases from 48 cents to 51 cents. —One-ounce...

Does anyone know why a "flat", as defined by USPS to be a large envelope not over 15" L x 12" W x 3/4" Thick, costs significantly more to send if it is square, than rectangular. This even if the rectangular flat is larger than the square flat?

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced Wednesday that it aims to raise postage prices by July 10 and has filed a notice of the desired changes with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The Forever stamp will move from 58 cents to 60 cents, marking what would be its second price hike in a year, CBS noted. In August, it moved from 55 cents to 58 cents. Between August of last year and this upcoming July, the stamp’s cost would have gone up nine percent, or five cents, should the prices take effect. But the Forever stamp is not the...

The Universal Postal Union has reached a compromise agreement on mailing rates that has averted a threatened walkout by the United States, which could have caused a major disruption to the global postal system. The United States declared victory in the UPU’s “Extraordinary Congress,” saying it got what it wanted. The head of the U.S. delegation, Peter Navarro, said member countries unanimously approved the adoption of a comprehensive set of reforms based on the U.S. proposal. Navarro, who is the director of trade and manufacturing policy at the White House, said the measure lets the United States immediately self-declare its...

If you have letters or bills to mail, you might want to rush. Saturday is the last day when it will cost you 46 cents. Starting Sunday, you'll pay more -- 49 cents. On Sunday, the cost of mailing a post card will also go up to 34 cents, a 1-cent increase. The current rate hike brings a much-needed cash influx to the financially struggling postal service. Much of its cash problems stem from a congressional mandate to make annual $5 billion payments for future retiree health care benefits.

Thousands of Ohio voters are voting by absentee ballot this year so they don't have to stand in line at the polls on Election Day. Ohio Boards of Elections expect at least 25 percent of all votes to come in this way. But the U.S. Postal Service says many absentee voters are not putting enough postage on the envelope, putting their vote at risk. Requires More Postage This Year Because of the size of the 2012 mailer,the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Ohio say you should put 65 cents worth of postage on most absentee ballots, about 20 cents...

WASHINGTON — Who would you put on a stamp? Charlie Sheen? Lady Gaga? Yourself? Hoping to boost sagging revenue, the U.S. Postal Service on Monday abandoned its longstanding rule that stamps cannot feature people who are still alive and is asking the public for suggestions.

Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, and former head of the KGB, rules as de facto czar of enormous empire that spans 11 time zones. A confirmed and dedicated Communist, Putin has decided that Russia should publicly honor another fellow socialist on his 50th birthday. From "The Voice of Russia" English language website we read: Russia's Post Office has issued a collection of stamps and envelopes to mark the 50th jubilee of the US President Barack Obama. The US leader is celebrating his birthday on the 4th of August. In one of his recent interviews Mr. Obama said that fifty...

By James Hamilton, EconbrowserFrom my ground-level perspective, postal mail is a dying industry, at least as far as it's used in academia. So I had some concerns when the Wall Street Journal ran this strongly worded editorial on Saturday: With their $15 billion line of credit from Treasury about to be exhausted, postal workers and management are now asking Congress to let them take a pass on $5.4 billion in legally required annual contributions to prepay for retirement health benefits. While there is honest disagreement about how much should be set aside, the Postal Service and unions essentially want to...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Postal patron Sean Swilling is tired of the inconvenience that comes with every change in the price of mailing a letter. That makes him just the type of customer the U.S. Postal Service wants to please with a policy designating all new first-class stamps as "forever." Beginning in January, all new stamps good for 1 ounce of domestic first-class mail will forgo a printed denomination and be acceptable for the typical letter regardless of the current postal rate.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – An image of President Ronald Reagan graces the U.S. Postal Service's newest 44-cent stamp.

Battered by massive losses, the Postal Service wants to raise rates to bring in more money. Postal officials scheduled a briefing Tuesday to discuss the amount of the increase, which will go to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for review. The boost comes as no surprise. Postmaster General John Potter said March 2 that a rate increase would be necessary for the agency, which does not receive tax funds for its operations. The current 44-cent first-class rate took effect May 11, 2009. While that change will be the most visible, rates for other types of mail will also go...

Postage rates are increasing on Monday, May 11 for first class postage and other services. .. it's not too late to lock in the current rate by buying Forever Stamps. "If you buy them today at today's price, it doesn't matter if you use them in numerous years to come, even 100 years from now, that stamp will still be good as a first class stamp, even though you paid 42 cents for it," But time is of the essence, because the Forever Stamp rate also will increase on Monday.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-44 March 3, 2009, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today urged the postmaster general not to increase parcel post and bypass mail rates. In a letter to Postmaster General John Potter, Governor Palin outlined her concerns regarding the rate increases that are to be enacted on May 11. “Alaska has more than 258 airports serving as the primary mode of transportation, and the only means of access for more than 160 remote and isolated communities. Our rural residents have been besieged by a poor subsistence harvest and high energy prices compounded by an exceptionally cold...

I received a nytimescorp. subscription sign-up in my mailbox last week containing advertisements about all the future news that would be available to me if I subscribed to their corporation news. It would contain, I assume Obama coverage (a little pic of him on the advert form).It also contained a return envelope that required no postal payment on my part. So……….. I started cogitating about the unsolicited paperwork I was forced to deal with, yes forced because you HAVE to do something with the paperwork. Trash it /open it /etc. If you did nothing, your mail box would fill up/...

Stamps to Cost a Penny More February 11, 2008 By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Writer Mailing a Letter Will Cost a Penny More Starting in May WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mailing a letter will soon cost a penny more. The cost of a first-class stamp will rise to 42 cents starting May 12, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday. The price of the Forever stamp will go up at the same time, meaning those stamps can still be purchased for 41 cents but will remain good for first-class postage after the rate increase takes effect. The post office has sold...

Re-elected! Reagan stamp reissued Reminiscent of his landslide re-election to a second term as President of the United States in 1984, Ronald Reagan won overwhelming support as the stamp in his honor was “re-elected” in its new 39-cent denomination this week. “Ronald Reagan’s record is proof that one person, determined and dedicated, can shoulder the greatest of burdens and carry them through to victory — and in his case, even make it look easy,” said Board of Governors Chair James Miller, who dedicated the stamp. Miller served as Reagan’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, and later chaired...

P O L I C Y B R I E F1920 L STREET, N.W. - SUITE 200 - WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036 - 202-785-0266 - HTTP://WWW.ATR.ORGA Different Kind of Postal Fraud Why US Postal Service rate increases are effectively tax increases, how those taxes are being misspent, and what should be done to stop it once and for all. By Robert Fike, Federal Affairs Manager With Alex Singleton, Visiting Scholar1Introduction: It Works Like a Tax and Costs Like a Tax, So Let’s Call it a Tax The US Postal Service’s Board of Governors, when defending its recent decision to pursue rate...

Okay enquiring minds want to know : Which would you prefer a private company delivering your mail or the U.S.P.S.?