[BGS_Graded_Card_Guy]

Noticed the increase in postage as well..usually I hear about a price hike..I guess the USPS did not think it necessary to notify the customers...
Looks like postage on eBay will be increased 5 cents again..how come nothing goes down in price and the wage raises do not seem to cover increased food and services prices?? Seems to be loosing ground all the time..

The US Postal Service is one of the worst run companies around. They lost $5.5 BILLION dollars last year alone. Overall, they have always done a decent job for me so I really don't have any complaints. I always get my packages on time and in good condition but they need a complete overhaul at the top and bring in people that know how to run company. Throwing a .5 increase at consumers is not the answer to their problems, just a temporary band-aid to cover a larger issue. So expect to see another rate hike in another six months even though wages, resources, gas prices etc. have not seen any increase and in some situations even seen a decrease. It is just a poorly run company.

[bonds20001]

$$ problems are multifaceted

A number of factors are behind the post office’s deficit problems: More of us use e-mail and text messaging to stay in touch, driving down mail volume; private competition from carriers like UPS and FedEx has chipped away at the Post Office’s package delivery service business; and USPS processing and distribution facilities have long been considered bloated and inefficient compared to private shippers. But the biggest obstacle to postal reform, by far, is the problem of funding Congressionally mandated pre-retiree health benefits.

Since 2006, the Post Office has been legally required to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees at a cost of around $5.5 billion a year.

Also...Congress decided that the Post Office was healthy enough to lock in health benefits for future retirees — for the next 75 years, mind you, something no other public or private agency does.

So far the Post Office has placed about $44 billion in that pre-retiree account. Without the mandate, the Post Office’s financials — while still not completely healthy — would be much more stable.