UPS stamps cost
 

I just bought a "book" of stamps. that is a sheet of 20. I paid $14.15!! why? I told the young man i wanted to get stamps before the price went up. I think I would have been better off just driving to the UPS store and buying one stamp at a time! very odd. sigh.

The price of stamps is supposed to jump up on January 22nd from 60 cents to 63 cents.

Where did you buy the stamps? If you buy them at the US post office you only pay for stamps, if you buy them at the UPS store or some other outlet, you are paying a handling/service charge too.

I only buy Forever stamps. Mostly so I don't have to deal with 3 cent stamps.

You definitely paid some kind of service charge. Even at 63 cents a stamp, 20 would only cost $12.60 from the post office. You pay for the convenience.

Yes, there was an added charge for those stamps. I buy them at the post office or grocery store without the extra fee. I like to buy the pretty stamps in sheets and save them in a book for DGSon.

UPS store. I will never do that again though. Live and learn.

As I buy a lot of stamps during the year, I've noticed the price of stamps jumped up twice last year and now they're going to jump up again. With these price increases, I expect to get better service than I've been getting lately. Just last week I caught my mailperson climbing onto my proch from the side thru my flower beds instead of using the stairs. I moved my metal bench to that side of the porch plus left a not so nasty note asking them to please use the stairs. As it is, they don't bother using the sidewalks but walk across everyone's lawn all year long.

Most times their service especially for packages are top notch but occasionally they slip. Hope that was just a one time thing.

I went to mail a softsided book yesterday. I bought a mailer package at walmart. The employee at PO said it will be $9.99. I said Really? He said the mailer was over the limit in size. Ugh I said that's too much to mail a book. He said oh it's a book? I can send it medium rate for $2.99. Ok do that. Their rules are out of control.

yep book rates still stand. Always tell them if it is a book.

Most employees don't know the rules. One told me the last time I mailed a book I couldn't use the book rate because it was personal mail. ? it was regulation and she couldn't change the rule. She did tape the end of the mailer down so it would be smaller in size but I had to send it non book rate. Now this next employee says Oh I can send that book by medium rate.

We are still using the rolls of forever stamps from years ago. In fact I think when they first had forever stamps. My husband bought rolls of them then. He said postage will only go higher so by low now. We don't use many stamps anymore. I doubt we have to buy any more in our lifetime.

I have enough forever stamps to last my lifetime too. These days I rarely use stamps as I do all my bills online.
They are also discontinuing the Regional A and B boxes. I'm really frustrated by that. It's hard when you have a small business.

I used to mail a lot of books I sold on eBay by media mail. I just told them at the post office that it was a book and paid the much lower media rate. Next time as for a supervisor if the counter person doesn't know the rules. Or better yet, take a copy of the rules with you.

What Can’t Be Shipped USPS Media Mail?

Anything not intended for educational purposes is prohibited in USPS Media Mail. The following items are unapproved for Media Mail:

• Entertainment media: Comic books, magazines, newspapers, and printed goods that include advertising or marketing don’t qualify
• Puzzles: Defined as entertainment
• Games: Both video games and board games are defined as entertainment
• Blank Media: The media must be ready for education, meaning unused journals, blank paper, and blank CDs/DVDs/Cassettes aren’t allowed
• Books lacking text: This includes books that center around a pattern, cut-outs, posters, crosswords, and sudoku
• Cards: Including greeting cards, playing cards, trading cards, etc.
• Marketing & advertising media: Anything meant for advertisement or entertainment purposes cannot be shipped via Media Mail.
• Though many have tried, it’s best not to add unapproved items to USPS Media shipments because...
  

  USPS Media Mail is Open To Inspection

  Media mail can be inspected by postal workers, unlike other package types. Yep, the post office is allowed to check whether you’re playing by the rules.
  
  If you’re found sending unapproved items as Media Mail, you could face charges of mail fraud. And you’ll certainly receive a notice (POSTAGE DUE) to pay the difference between the media rate and the rate for unapproved items.
  

I didn't know that they were allowed to sell stamps anywhere for over the actual cost. I don't use many stamps anymore, either.

For packages, I've had much better service with UPS than USPS. The post office tracking is horrible, and it is much slower. I can send a package from home (NY) or FL, where I winter, to our grandchildren in PA vis UPS and it will be there in 2 days. Sent via USPS, it's 4, sometimes 5.

As far as media, I think as soon as you send a book that has a card with it (as a gift, for example), you can no longer send it media mail. You'd be better off sending it them separately, with a note in the card that the gift is arriving in a different envelope.

I believe they get around that by selling the stamps for the usual price and then adding a "service charge"

Just don't fall for the Facebook ads promising 50% off stamp prices. If you get anything it will be counterfeit. I don't know why FB keeps showing me the ads, I report every one as a scam.

I will be really sad to see the Regional Rate boxes go away, they were very handy for mailing magazines.

I thought so too, but just looked it up. You can send a card with a book. Rules here - https://liteblue.usps.gov/news/link/...Guidelines.htm

My neighbor was on a rant about cost of postage but he has to remember expenses of the post office have gone up like everything else. Same neighbor spends a lot of time at the bar but never complains about how much money he leaves there. Go figure.

It is "media" rate. It applies to learning material of all kinds such as videos, books, cd's, etc.

I've never had them question when I asked to have something mailed media rate they just do it.