As Stamp Cost Rises, so Does the Tide of Postal Customers

Fighting long lines, crowded parking lots and sold-out stamp machines, hundreds of county residents rushed into area post offices Monday to purchase the first batch of 29-cent stamps.

Although the postal rate increase, which officially went into effect Sunday, was announced Jan. 22, many postal customers were still caught unprepared for the 4-cent hike.

“I meant to get in here on Saturday to mail this stuff before all of this confusion started,” said Lawrence Johnson of Costa Mesa, as he stood in line at the county’s main post office in Santa Ana with a stack of bills. “Now I have to buy about 40 4-cent stamps to get the job done.”

Christine Dugas, a communications representative for the U.S. Postal Service in Santa Ana, said that although lines of customers snaked out of the main post office Monday, the situation was even more frenzied for postal workers over the weekend.

“We went through about 2.2 million pieces of mail on Saturday alone,” Dugas said. “There are so many people that send mail by bulk and third-class that they felt like they had to do it before the stamp increased in price.”

Postal officials at the Santa Ana post office were kept busy Monday continually refilling stamp machines to accommodate increased purchases of the new F stamp--a temporary stamp issued until 29-cent stamps are printed--and with sales of 4-cent stamps.

“I didn’t even realize what was going on until I came in here to mail some bills, like I always do at the beginning of the month,” said Tony Ross of El Toro, who was waiting to buy stamps in Santa Ana. The letters “all had 25-cent stamps on them, and the guy in front of me in line said the only way I could mail them was to buy some 4-cent stamps to go along.”

While the rate increase will bring the U.S. Postal Service nearly $6.2 billion in revenue this year, post office officials continued to protest the independent Postal Rate Commission’s refusal to approve a 30-cent stamp.

“We asked for the 30 cents because we need the money to cover rising costs in our operations, transportation, supplies and labor,” said Postmaster Hector G. Godinez. “We haven’t been getting complaints about the increase, just the fact that people now have to carry around extra pennies for the uneven sum.”

Godinez also said the Postal Service’s appeal should be decided in the next four to six weeks and could lead to the additional penny being added to the current rate.

Letters mailed now with only a 25-cent stamp are delivered with postage due, said Bob Estedt, acting manager of communications at the main post office.

“We know how important the mail is, and we know it needs to get delivered. We just collect the postage at the other end and people are pretty responsive and cooperative when this happens,” he said.

Shannon Sands contributed to this report.