The Cost of Forever: USPS Raises Stamp Prices Amid $9 Billion Loss
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, If you rely on snail mail to send greeting cards, pay bills, or run your small business, your trip to the post office just got a bit more expensive. The United States Postal Service (USPS) officially raised the price of a standard Forever stamp by 4 cents, bumping the cost from 78 cents to 82 cents apiece.
This change is part of a broader set of price hikes hitting various postal services across the country. However, there is a silver lining for regular mailers: any Forever stamps you already own remain fully valid for domestic, 1-ounce letters, completely unaffected by the price surge.
Why is the USPS Raising Rates?
The decision to increase stamp prices isn’t arbitrary; it comes on the heels of major financial strain. The USPS reported a massive $9 billion net loss for Fiscal Year 2025.
According to the Postmaster General’s recent testimony before Congress, a standard first-class stamp would actually need to cost between 90 cents and 95 cents just to fully stabilize the postal service’s turbulent budget.
Several deep-rooted issues are driving these financial struggles:
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Declining Mail Volume: With the continuous shift toward digital communication and online billing, the volume of traditional first-class mail has steadily plummeted.
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The 2006 Pre-Funding Mandate: The USPS has long been bogged down by a controversial 2006 law that required the agency to prepay billions of dollars in future employee retirement benefits annually—a financial burden few other agencies or private companies face.
What Lies Ahead for Postal Rates?
If you think 82 cents is high, brace yourself. The USPS has signaled that future rate hikes could drop as often as twice a year through 2028 as part of its ongoing restructuring plan. While no further specific increases have been locked into the calendar yet, the trajectory makes it clear that the price of mailing a letter will keep climbing.
Pro-Tip: If you use physical mail frequently, now is the time to stock up on Forever stamps at the current rate before the next inevitable price jump.
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I like our friendly local carriers and this post is not directed at them.
The USPS has no one to blame but themselves.
Gross incompetence by the DEI hires and managers at this agency.
First class mail declines because senders are tired of late and lost mail.
They can’t manage to get overpriced priority mail delivered even CLOSE to the ”guaranteed” date.
They manage to lose mail on a regular basis (a check issued/sent took 5 weeks to delivery recently, requiring me to spend $30 for a stop payment on the original)
My business had no choice but to embrace online banking due to the regular incompetence of the USPS getting my vendors paid on time as they constantly lost mail or delivered it late.
I have ”informed delivery” so when I have inbound mail, I can see what is late or missing.
When I track a ”sent” priority mail package it SITS for DAYS at their regional facilities.
Total bunch of incompetent losers.
Time to privatize.