user47
April 14, 2022, 7:21pm
1
Hey, all.
Looks like USPS is planning to increase rates effective July 10 . When I was new to Postcrossing last year I found this post looking at stamp values and postage combinations super handy. I just noticed that the original poster seems no longer on Postcrossing. I’m sadly not great with scripting so I don’t think I could replicate this. But perhaps someone else could? They did add a link to their code, thankfully hosted on github . Anyone up for a challenge?
Best,
The Johnsons
8 Likes
I had printed the combinations out last year and was sitting here writing postcards just now and just thought the same thing. It would be awesome if someone had the time to do it!
1 Like
There is this:
http://fancyham.com/stamp_calculator/
which you can put in the values of stamps that you have and it will tell you the best combination to reach the amount you want.
5 Likes
user47
April 14, 2022, 9:16pm
5
Hello, all. @stunclock rose to the challenge and re-ran the program. Hats off to her for doing such a great service for the Postcrossing Community. Here are the results she sent me (she said it was OK for me to post)
Hello! I just added the new stamp values and ran the program
worth at least $1.40 (the upcoming international one-ounce first-class rate) and no more than $1.50
no more than six stamps
using the following stamps:
0.60 forever
0.78 two-ounce
0.98 three-ounce
0.88 butterfly
1.00 one-dollar
1.40 global
0.44 postcard
0.24 additional ounce
0.10 pear
0.05 grape
0.03 three-cent
0.02 two-cent
0.01 penny
With one stamp:
With two stamps:
With three stamps:
With four stamps:
With five stamps:
With six stamps:
19 Likes
hamsun
April 14, 2022, 9:35pm
6
Another US Postal price increase?? And yet another 4 cent jump on domestic and 10 cent jump on international literally just months after the last one. Unbelievable, especially with the Dejoy’s USPS continuing to miss their own already lowered delivery guidelines. Paying more for less
They said a couple of years ago that they would raise prices twice a year, didn’t they?
3 Likes
user47
April 15, 2022, 1:30am
8
You are right, Jaenelle. Though I had hoped that with bipartisan legislation recently passed to rescue the USPS they might pull back on those hikes. Bummer, for sure. We’ll have to keep an eye on postal rates and see how they compare to our foreign neighbors. I believe last I saw our rates were still somewhat competitive.
2 Likes
If one ounce = 60¢, and each addl oz is 24¢, then aren’t the new 2 and 3 oz values $.84 and $1.08?
6 Likes
Thank you for sharing and thanks to @stunclock for the breakdowns!
1 Like
prssrp
April 15, 2022, 8:30pm
11
I was just looking at this and was wondering some of the same questions. If I am reading the USPS.com site correctly, the 2 ounce and 3 ounce stamps SHOULD be like a forever stamp since an actual denomination (like .78 cents) is not printed on it, you should be able to use them as the extra two or 3 ounces. However, the price increase information listed does not indicate what the new prices for those stamps are, just the additional one ounce. At least you can buy the existing global forever stamps and they can still be used at the increased price.
2 Likes
user47
April 17, 2022, 1:04am
12
Indeed. Here is hoping it becomes more clear if/when the increase is approved
It doesn’t look like this post takes in consideration that the butterfly and 2 ounce stamps also went up in price. 99 cents and 84 cents.
3 Likes
user47
July 13, 2022, 6:19pm
14
Good feedback. At the time it wasn’t known what the face value of some stamps would be. Awesome to see that the butterflies are now 99 cents.
1 Like
jeffbh
July 13, 2022, 6:27pm
15
Perhaps people who complain about the U.S.P.S. rate increase should remember that, like other delivery companies, the postal service is currently losing a massive amount of money just in terms of the increased cost of gasoline. The U.S.P.S. loses eight million dollars annually for every one cent increase in the price of a gallon of gas.
1 Like
Yes, John, they are. These increased prices are how they are listed on the USPS stamp order site.
1 Like
kellymy
December 31, 2022, 7:21pm
17
Wow @stunclock !
Is there a way we could turn this into a web calculator that we could update when postal rates change and new stamps come out?
Looking ahead to the Jan 2022 rate increase… and beyond.
Thanks!!
Hey @kellymy
I’ve got this basic stamp calculator up now, I’ll continue to improve it (make it prettier, better user experience, etc.)
here it is for now
https://stamp-calculator.netlify.app/
Here’s how to use it:
You can enter the current price of an international stamp, then the price you do not want to exceed. You can enter the maximum number of stamps you want to use and then add as many stamps as you can think of/want to use with the Add Another Stamp button. In each stamp field, enter the price, then a space, then the name of the stamp Then just click Calculate.
Again, I will continue to improve the site, but I wanted to get something up for the January price increases
EDIT: made this post
6 Likes
kellymy
January 19, 2023, 2:18am
19
Very cool!! I like how you’re making it dynamic and changeable as the postal rates move and NOT hiding the base post price behind the code. Smart!
1 Like
This is exactly what I need for now - February 2023. Is there an update? Thanks so much!
