Looks like after the U.S.P.S. officially reported on Jan. 15th that postage would NOT be going up... They increased the rates anyway...
It took effect on May 30th, 2015. Kind of out of nowhere and RIGHT in the middle of wedding invitation season. Pretty strange.
...So, for the 2 oz. stamp, which is what most typical wedding invitation suites use, the price WAS $.70. --> $.49 (1 ounce rate) + $.21 (for an additional ounce). NOW, with this subtle, out of nowhere increase, the cost is now $.71. Several brides and wedding planners have had to couple their postage with a 1¢ stamp. How inconvenient.
Wanted to finally put this blog out so that if you are still planning on mailing invitations this season, plan accordingly.
In another strange turn of events, it looks like the U.S.P.S. prior increase from $.46 - $.49 that occurred back in 2013 will actually not be permanent. That MAJOR increase, which violated the Consumer Price Index at the time, was supposed to help with losses incurred from the 2008-09 recession. The USPS tried to make this increase permanent, but a D.C. appeals court ruled that they actually cannot. This happened in early June. At the time of this posting however, it is NOT clear when they will have to roll back this $.49 rate and by how much. Stay tuned!
Take care til' next time, --ct
