The USPS has proposed raising the cost of postage in the US for a First-Class Mail single-piece letter from 46 cents to 49 cents.
This change would go into effect on January 26, 2014, raising about $2 billion in revenue for the Postal Service.
No one is happy about the increase, certainly starting with the direct mail industry which stands to lose more customers to digital communication…..but if you think 49 cents is expensive, check out these countries first class rates:
Denmark $1.46
Norway $1.25
Liechtenstein $1.06
Finland $1.02
Greenland $1.00
Switzerland $0.98
Belgium $0.97
Faroe Islands $0.96
Portugal $0.93
Sweden $0.92
Japan $0.90
Kuwait $0.88
New Caledonia $0.87
France $0.82
French Polynesia $0.82
Greece $0.82
Italy $0.82
Luxembourg $0.82
Monaco $0.82
San Marino $0.82
Vatican $0.82
New Zealand $0.80
Austria $0.75
Germany $0.75
Ireland $0.75
Great Britain $0.72
Martinique $0.72
Wallis and Futuna Islands $0.64
Iceland $0.63
Netherlands $0.63
Netherlands Antilles $0.61
Czech Republic $0.58
Isle of Man $0.58
Canada $0.57
Guernsey $0.57
Australia $0.55
Jersey $0.54
Gee, maybe 49 cents isn’t so bad after all…..
