Postal Rate Increase: an Anecdotal Reminder

So we've now had a whole 24 hours to get used to the new $.41 postal rate. And we're more confused about how much it will take to drop something in the mail than we were when we tried using a CharlieTicket CharlieCard for the first time. We dropped in to mail the letter that we'd promised to send to Grandpa Bostonist back in March – marched up to the fare vending machines stamp vending machines armed with a pocket full of $6 in quarters and a couple singles intent on purchasing our first "Forever" stamps at the newly released rate. Nothing. Everything but the $.02 stamps were flashing "Sold Out" in that loveably outdated digital font in the machines. The line for the main counter snaked out the door, so we hopped into the line at the "Post Office Store" intent on buying a book of stamps. After a contractor bought a shipping box, a nice woman purchased a few stamps and an oversized padded envelope and joked for far too long with the postal worker considering the length of the line, and a guy purchased sixty $.02 stamps (with pennies!) We snagged a book of Liberty Bell forever stamps (congrats Phillyist on the iconic triumph). We plunked down the $8.20 knowing that we can mail up to six sheets of nicely folded paper in a #10 envelope anytime, anywhere.

While we waited in line a postal ambassador surveyed the parcels, envelopes, and packages held by those in line. His ID hung around his neck obscuring his postal themed tie but clearly identified him as an employee of the United States Postal Service. With a friendly manner he explained to the holders of large envelopes, and those overstuffed, that the new rates would kick in. One guy saved 4 cents as the $.62 postage was now $.58, and others needed to go for $.80 of postage to deliver their envelope to the intended destination. The rate increases are not just the flat increase – it's like they took a play out of the MBTA book. Raise prices, but confuse the heck out of the users as you do it. Stamps are one price for standard domestic envelopes, but if you use a large format envelope to send something of the same weight it'll cost you almost double. A full explanation of the increases, decreases, and best ways to crease your mail can be found in an absurdly large pdf file on the USPS website or the quick reference "lite" version. Meanwhile we'll keep showing up at the post office trying to get a laugh from a postal worker when we try to explain that the stored value on our CharlieCard gets us our stamps for $.39, those poor saps with a CharlieTicket will have to pay the $.41 rate. So far it hasn't worked.