This just dropped in my inbox from PirateShip (where I purchase my postage online):

USPS is increasing shipping rates twice in July ð¢

Here's what's changing on July 1st

Ground Advantage is increasing by up to $2.11:

• Weight-Based Ground Advantage for shipments that weigh more than 1 pound are increasing by up to $2.11, mostly in 1-5 pounds.
• Weight-Based Ground Advantage for shipments less than 1 pound are increasing by up to 33 cents for zones 6-8.
• Ground Advantage Cubic rates are increasing by up to $1.67.

Priority Mail is increasing by up to $3.10:

• Weight-Based Priority Mail rates are increasing by up to $3.10.
• Priority Mail Cubic rates are increasing by up to $2.97.
• Priority Mail Flat Rate prices are increasing by up to $1.18.

The new rates will lower the maximum discounts available for USPS compared to Retail Pricing from 89% to 88%.

Here's what's changing on July 14th

• Media Mail rates will increase by up to 56 cents.
• Signature Confirmation is going up by 20 cents to $3.70.

These rates are changing everywhere you can buy postage online—there's no escaping them ð so be sure to always compare rates to get the best deal!

That's it. I'm done. -R

Media mail....Ouch!  Thanks for letting us know. 

and forever stamps go up to 73 cents!!  With many brand name greeting cards up to $6.99 now, that's almost $8 to send just a card ( or with flat giftcard enclosed ) to someone for happy mail. 
 

I started over a year ago putting individual cards for my 3 grands ( all siblings) together in a 5 by 7 manilla envelope.  It was costing me $1.19 I think so was costing about the same as 2 first class stamps, so a 1/3 savings.  And I recently started putting 4 cards for my sister's grands ( 2 sets of 2 sibs)  in a manilla envy for her to hand deliver since she sees them a few days a week. They all love getting mail and I didn't want to cut back due to postage increases.  

The price of first-class Forever stamps will increase from 68 cents to 73 cents on July 14, an increase of more than 7%. Prices for all services will rise more than 7.5%.

this came up as an article in our local news today ~~ since our area of SE, TX has had trouble since Sept 2017 (Harvey destroyed 1 of the 2 sorting stations in Houston), anything USPS related makes our local news with Houston district having one of the poorest ratings in the country! 

only thing in green (= on target delivery ratings) is California and the rest of the country in blues (= not on target/poor ratings) 

Service Performance | Office of Inspector General OIG (uspsoig.gov) 

so who knows where all the increased prices are going but pretty sure they are not going into their system to improve speedy service~~ 

here, we still only get mail twice a week (since Harvey) with our rural postmaster saying; A truck didn't come from Houston!! 

it's cheaper to buy books on ebay than it is to swap them with friends. outrageous.

Get stamps from temu,much cheaper and they work fine as I've used them for the last 2 months.

Michelle, those are counterfeit.

https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/counterfeit-stamps

The PO can check your discounted stamps before you try to use them. I do that every time I buy any that are cheaper than face value. I get mine online from US companies, have been using them for years.  
I heard Walmart does sell books at a slight discount. 

last year our local PO was getting so many fake stamps on 1st class mail that their 'abandoned' bin overflowed. I saw many on Etsy last year and were clearly fakes and then Etsy shut sellers down after all the complaints. 

our postmistress said 'if their cheap, it's fake'! some will clear the sorting machines but many won't and end up as Dead Mail/abandoned, never to be returned to sender. 

Yes, WalMart and a few other box stores are allowed to sell stamps but the discount isn't much. I've asked at our local WM store. the only cheap stamps that are real and selling for cheap are the vintage stamps from people's 'collections' that are easy to find since most aren't collected any longer. I used combo value vintage stamps on mail for over 5 yrs and never had an issue. 

So I suppose I'll be buying a few years worth before the end of the year~ or just mail less~

This article didn't say how much any level of mailing will also increase. I've already seen a huge decline in junk mail the last year. It's all about the electronic age and no one really needs to mail things any more when a text will do. BaHumBug! 

NEW news today; 

You might want to stock up on forever stamps. The US Postal Service on Thursday announced plans to raise the cost of a first-class stamp, pushed to 73 cents in July, five more times before the end of 2027. The price will climb next July and "each January and July thereafter," the service said, per CNN. This follows a 36% increase in price since 2019, when Americans could nab a first-class stamp for 50 cents. USPS didn't lay out how prices would be raised. Its last six increases have ranged from two to five cents.

USPS has said price increases are needed as operational costs climb and mail volume drops. "The number of individual letters sent each year has fallen by about half in the past decade," per CNN. The service, whose plans need approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission, said it "remains committed to continued cost saving measures and to keeping its products and services affordable." Even so, GOP Rep. Jake LaTurner introduced legislation Wednesday to limit "rampant stamp increases".

It's that time of the year again... the Postal Service is increasing rates for the holiday season, October 6th to January 19th. 

not much time to prep before the rates go UP on Sunday Oct 6th! 

using PirateShip will still be saving me funds for the holidays!