Countywide : Postal Patrons Get Their 4 Cents In

Mailing a letter will cost 4 cents more as of Sunday and customers lined up at a Santa Ana post office Thursday were not pleased to be shelling out the extra money.

“I don’t think it’s necessary, but I’ve got to get 4-cent stamps because of the increase,” said Joseph Butchko, a 76-year-old retired salesman. “I have a lot of 25-cent stamps at home. Nobody can figure out why they went to 29 cents instead of 30 cents.”

“It’s way too much to pay,” said Orange Coast College music professor Allen Remmington. But he didn’t seem worried about the penny in change he’ll get when buying the new stamp. “In six months they’ll raise it to 30 cents.”

The Postal Service wanted a 30-cent stamp but that request was denied by the independent Postal Rate Commission. The Postal Service is appealing the 29-cent decision.

The new 29-cent stamp bears the letter F and a red flower, but no price because it was produced before the new rates were finalized. It will only be good for use within the United States and for sending mail to the military in the Persian Gulf.

Twenty-nine cents will only pay for the first ounce of mail sent. Each additional ounce will cost 23 cents.

Other postal services will also cost more as of Sunday and customers were reportedly trying to get their bulk mail in before the increases kick in.

Postal workers in Anaheim, Brea and Costa Mesa said they have noticed an increase over the past few days in the amount of third-rate advertising mail, often called junk mail.

“There’s a whole lot more,” said one postal worker, “because everyone is trying to beat the (Sunday) deadline.”

This mail is brought to the post office in bulk and is presorted to some degree by the customer. The current base rate is 48 cents per pound. The new rate will be 60 cents per pound.

The cost of sending a postcard will rise from 15 cents to 19 cents. For most international mail, the first half ounce will cost 50 cents and 1 ounce will cost 95 cents. Express Mail rates presently range from $7.75 to $89.05. The rates will increase to between $8.35 and $91.60.

Certified mail will increase from 85 cents to $1 and a return receipt will rise from 90 cents to $1. The cost of a post office box will increase to between $21.50 and $202.50, up from $14 to $170.