Finally, mail that pays the additional-ounce price comprises only 3.3 percent of total volume, so the decrease in this price will not mitigate the effect of the price increase. Also, most customers buy stamps in quantities of 20 or 100 and pay by debit or credit card, so any notion that prices that are divisible by five are more straightforward or understandable is nonsense. I noted that the public had never had any difficulty understanding postage prices that were not divisible by five. “Last October, I filed comments with the PRC opposing this increase. Under the Postal Service’s novel interpretation, the Postal Service says that it intends to maintain five-cent increments in the future. “The Postal Service asserts that the five-cent increment will contribute to ‘simplicity of structure’ of the price system, a statutory consideration for setting postage prices. Not only will customers more easily grasp the concept of a five-cent increase, so the argument goes, but they also supposedly will prefer to pay 55 cents instead of 52 cents. However, apparently a two-cent increase would have been too complex for average customers to understand. Rounding up, a two-cent rate hike might have been in order. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4 percent. “ The Postal Service’s assertions defy logic and common sense and insult the intelligence of the American public. “In its Notice of Market-Dominant Price Adjustment, the Postal Service told the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) that a five-cent increment ‘should facilitate convenience for retail customers, for whom a straightforward, understandable pricing structure is more important than it is for commercial customers, who do not rely on stamps.’ … So why is the Postal Service increasing the Forever stamp price by five cents? And how can the Postal Service increase so dramatically the price that the general public and small businesses pay while increasing prices for large mailers by less than inflation? As a percentage, the 10-percent increase is the largest since 1991, and it is about four times the average increase since 2006. “A five-cent increase in the price of a Forever stamp will be the largest increase in history for the one postage price that most Americans pay. In his petition, Carlson stated, in part:
He holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and lives in San Francisco.” He also has faced off with the Postal Service in federal court numerous times in Freedom of Information Act cases. “… is a self-professed postal ‘watchdog’ who has filed numerous comments and formal complaints with the PRC, advocating in the interest of the general public for better postal rates and services. 4875 that relates to an increase in the price for single-piece, oneounce, stamped, First-Class letters from 50 cents to 55 cents.”Īs later described by Save the Post Office when it reported on the suit in a January 27 article, Carlson With little apparent publicity in the postal media at the time, Douglas Carlson filed a petition last December 11, asking the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit “for review of the portion of Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Order No.
The price of a stamp went from $0.50 to $0.55 last month but a challenge to that increase continues. Excerpted from the Februedition of Mailers Hub News
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