You probably haven’t thought about a stamp in months. Honestly, most people don’t. We live in a world of instant pings and DMs, but the moment you need to mail a wedding invite or a legal document, the sudden confusion about first class postage hits hard. It’s not just a sticker you lick and stick. It’s a whole system that’s been changing faster than most of us can keep up with.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been in the middle of a massive identity crisis. If you feel like stamps are getting more expensive every time you look, you aren't imagining things. They are. Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s "Delivering for America" plan, the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp has been ticking upward with a frequency that feels almost aggressive. As of early 2026, we’ve seen the price climb well past the 70-cent mark, a far cry from the days when you could dig a few nickels out of the couch and send a letter across the country.
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The Reality of Sending Mail Today
First class postage is basically the USPS's flagship product for the average human. It’s designed for lightweight stuff. Letters. Bills. Birthday cards. If it weighs less than 13 ounces and it’s flat, it’s probably going First-Class. But here’s the kicker: the "Forever" stamp was a stroke of genius. You buy it at today's price, and it works forever, regardless of how high the rates climb. If you have a drawer full of stamps from 2019, they’re still valid today even though the face value has shifted significantly.
It’s worth noting that the "speed" of first class has changed. A few years ago, you could count on a letter getting from New York to California in three days. Now? The USPS officially widened the delivery window. It’s more like five days for cross-country trips. They moved a lot of volume from planes to trucks to save money. It’s slower. It’s more expensive. But it’s still the most reliable way to send a physical piece of paper for less than a dollar.
What You’re Actually Paying For
When you buy a stamp, you aren't just paying for the paper. You’re paying for a network that touches every single door in the United States. No other carrier does that. FedEx and UPS often hand off their "last mile" deliveries to the USPS because it’s the only way to reach rural addresses without losing a fortune.
The weight limit for a standard letter is one ounce. If you're sending a thick wedding invitation with those heavy cardstock inserts and a wax seal, you're going to get hit with a "non-machinable" surcharge. This is where people get caught. If the envelope can't go through the automated sorting machines because it’s too stiff or has a lumpy ribbon inside, a human has to handle it. That costs more. Currently, that surcharge is an extra 40 cents or so on top of the standard rate.
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- Standard Letter (1 oz): One Forever Stamp.
- Each additional ounce: A smaller, fixed fee (usually around 24 cents).
- Postcards: Cheaper than letters, but they have strict size rules.
- Flats (Large Envelopes): These are for things like manuscripts or legal stacks that shouldn't be folded. They start at a much higher price point.
The Ground Advantage Shift
Wait, what happened to First-Class Packages? This is a big point of confusion. In 2023, the USPS rolled First-Class Package Service and Retail Ground into a new thing called USPS Ground Advantage. If you go to the post office with a small box that used to be "First-Class," the clerk will tell you it's now Ground Advantage.
It’s basically the same thing but with $100 of insurance included. That’s a huge win for people selling stuff on eBay. Before, you had to pay extra for insurance on First-Class packages. Now, it’s baked in. The delivery time is usually 2–5 business days. It’s the USPS trying to compete with the "ground" services of the big private carriers, and honestly, it’s working pretty well.
Why the Prices Keep Jumping
The USPS is required by law to cover its own costs. They don't get tax dollars for operations. With mail volume dropping—because, you know, email—they have to make up the revenue somewhere. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) gives them the green light to raise rates twice a year now.
Some experts, like those at the Lexington Institute, argue that these frequent hikes might actually hurt the USPS in the long run. If it becomes too expensive to send junk mail (marketing mail), companies will just stop doing it. And since junk mail actually funds a huge portion of the postal service, that’s a risky game. But for you and me, the "price of a stamp" is more about the convenience of the blue box on the corner.
Pro Tips for Saving Your Sanity
If you’re someone who still sends physical mail—maybe you’re a stationery nerd or you run a small Etsy shop—you have to be smart about first class postage.
- Stockpile Forever Stamps. Seriously. If you know a rate hike is coming in July, buy five books in June. It’s a tiny investment that pays off as a hedge against inflation.
- Use a kitchen scale. Most "returned for postage" mail happens because the sender guessed the weight. A heavy card is almost always over one ounce.
- Check the dimensions. A square envelope is a trap. The USPS sorting machines hate square envelopes. They charge you the non-machinable rate just because of the shape. Stick to rectangles.
- Digital Postage. Use services like Pirate Ship or Stamps.com if you’re sending "flats" or packages. You’ll almost always get a "Commercial Base" discount that is cheaper than the price at the post office counter.
The Future of the Mailbox
Is the stamp going extinct? Probably not. There’s something about a physical letter that a digital message can't replicate. Legal systems still rely on "service by mail" because it creates a verifiable paper trail.
But the "first class" experience is definitely evolving into a premium service rather than a daily utility. We're moving toward a world where the USPS is a logistics company that happens to deliver letters, rather than a letter company that happens to deliver boxes.
Actionable Steps for the Modern Mailer
Before you head to the post office, do these three things to avoid getting rejected at the counter:
- Feel the envelope: If it doesn't bend easily, you need a non-machinable stamp. Do not try to use a regular Forever stamp; it will likely be returned to you a week later.
- Verify the address: Use the USPS Zip Code Lookup tool online. If the machine can’t read your handwriting or the zip is wrong, it goes to the "Dead Letter Office" or takes a three-week detour.
- Buy your stamps at the grocery store: Most big chains sell them at the customer service desk for the same price as the post office. It saves you the 20-minute wait in line behind the guy trying to mail a car bumper to Idaho.
First class postage remains the backbone of American communication, even if that backbone is feeling a bit creaky these days. Keep a book of stamps in your junk drawer. You’ll need them eventually, and they’re only going to get more expensive.