There seems to be a little confusion as to WHEN the price of postage stamps rise in 2012. Some say January 22, a Sunday and others have “heard” January 24, a Tuesday for 2012.
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The price of a first class mailing postage stamp rises from 44 cents TO 45 cents. But, that’s 
not the end of it. There are 23 different categories at the United States Postal Service (USPS) that are price affected in one way or another — from everyday letters to Grandma somewhere in the USA to International rates. Commercial enterprises using the USPS for mailing out their advertising, shipping packages and others are also affected.
Today – SUNDAY JANUARY 22, 2012….
I took the liberty of copying, direct from the United States Postal Service’s official WEBSITE, just the everyday First Class Letter rates, which is just ONE of the 23 categories in the list. Here is the current PRICING for various First Class Mail services.
To examine the other rates for 2012, click HERE
This links you DIRECTLY to the United States Postal Service website. You will find the listing of 23 categories leads you to click on THEIR link to the appropriate information. The information is provided in Microsoft’s XLS spreadsheet format while the USPS also provides a comma delimited format under the CSV protocol.
These files, the 23 categories on the USPS website, provide January 22, 2012 USPS domestic and international prices.
If your browser is configured to display these files in your browser window, select the link with your left mouse button (Mac users: hold down on the link) and choose “Save” from the pop-up menu and follow the prompts – or – you can choose “Open” instead — this will give you the same information but will not be “saved” to your computer.
For MOST Internet users, clicking on the XLS format is the proper choice to display the 2012 USPS RATES for whatever category you choose.
Hi
Thanks for the info. I also heard the price increase was effective the 24th but like you said, the postal website says the 22nd of this January. Thanks for the link too. That really help.
Nice website you have here, no bickering or arguments going on, and no bad language either. Thats cool. keep up the good work.
Your comment came in while I was working on another article… thanks for the compliment NancyPancy. Yes, I scrounged the news media AND the USPS for any indication the PRICE INCREASE was effective on Tuesday the 24th… but, nothing found. I did note the USPS “set” the new prices on November 4, 2011 — to become effective Jan 22, 2012 based on information found on their website.
Indeed, no arguments or bad language here. I try my best to moderate each “comment” to ensure the site stays 100% child safe.
–BF
I mailed some bills on Sunday 22-Jan. They all had 44 cent stamps (Iprint them myself from stamps.com) Will my mail be sent back to me for incorrect postage?
This website is a great source of information. Thanks.
Thank you for your inquiry.
I just got off the phone with our local Post Office at 09:09 a.m Monday Jan 23.
The answer is:
“If they (your mail) were IN the System on Sunday, they’ll go… no problem.” (close quote).
Given that Jan 22 — the starting date for the $0.45 cent requirement — AND the Postal Service is officially “closed” on Sundays, the “start” date would be Monday. Since your mail was stuffed into their receptacle on Sunday prior (assuming that’s where you put the mail) they’ll not be returned to you. That’s how I interpret the Postal Worker’s telephone answer to your question.
Hope this helps…
–BF
Here is my correct email address. Apologize for the error.
Hello NancyCC
Got it. Sent you email & posted comment here as well.
–BF
My gf sent her rent check yesterday (jan 31) with a 44 cent stamp. she didn’t know the price went up by a penny a week ago. Is her mail going to get returned to her or do u think there is a tacit grace period and they will let it go through?
Please let me know! This is very urgent since her rent check cannot be late and she will need to overnight fedex it today if there is a risk of the check not reaching.
thanks
Greetings Robert — thanks for your question and obvious concern.
Quite frankly, it’s a “toss of the coin” as to whether that “penny short” mail will be returned or not. According to our “local” postal worker, “… it may slip through.” Many postal workers don’t “bother” scanning each and every stamp on the millions of letters sent through the USPS every day of the week. If they did, several days “delivery delays” would be quite evident.
If that were “me”, I would contact the landlord by phone (or?) and advise that the rent had been sent, “…but later discovered the postage was short a penny” which “may” cause the letter to be returned for “improper postage affixed”. Chances are Robert, the USPS may just show something on the letter that “postage is due”….. where her landlord will be obligated to pony up a “penny” to cover the shortage. Whether or not that is what “will happen” is another “toss of the coin”.
As for a “grace period”, officially, there is none. But in past years when prices were raised, most mail was processed and delivered in the usual manner and timeframe. I don’t believe your girl-friend’s letter will be returned given the short time lapped from the 22nd (a Sunday) to now.
Since none of us USPS users “know for certain” what will happen, I’d be on the phone to the landlord indicating what “could” happen — just as a courtesy to the landlord and for some “peace of mind.”
Sorry I couldn’t be more specific.
–BF
ok thanks Bill for the info. I passed it along to my gf and she has decided she is going to send another check and overnight fedex it this time. It’s too bad she now has to spend all this money to repost it when she was only a penny short.
But she doesn’t want to call her landlord, unfortunately here in the hip part of brooklyn the landlords aren’t so courteous or understanding. When they can rent a small 1 bedroom unit out that has no working toilet for $3000 a month in a building that is in complete disrepair and infested with bedbugs then they relish the idea that the rent doesn’t arrive in time so that it is an excuse to turn the apartment over again to a foreigner for whom america is on sale. Since dollars are so cheap now thanks to Bernanke’s massive QE and ZIRP policy, for alot of foreigners 3 grand for a tiny little hovel of a space that they can use as a post-hangover crashpad when they visit ny is an absolute steal.
anyway, we’re gonna play it on the safe side, thanks!
Okay Robert…
First things “first”. If she “over-nights” a new check… be certain she puts a STOP-PAYMENT on the “old” check — obviously, the landlord “could” simply deposit BOTH checks and “call it payment in advance for the next month”. Be mindfull also that the bank may charge a fee for a “stop payment” action. Sorry ’bout that.
Best regards Robert
–BF
I cannot find the price of international mail stamps
When purchasing postage stamps, here in the United States, you will NOT find stamps that are sold only as “international postage stamps.” You will pay what ever the current rate per ounce is plus any other international fees or charges imposed by the foreign government of the country the mail is being sent to.
BF