First-class mail stamp price to rise to 41 cents

New postage rates go into effect on Monday, May 14, including a 2-cent increase in the price of a first-class mail stamp.

Post offices nationwide are now selling the new 41-cent stamps and also 1- and 2-cent stamps for customers who still have a supply of 39-cent stamps, according to a press release from the U.S. Postal Service.

Customers can also order new stamps online at www.usps.com or by telephone at 1-800-STAMP-24. The new stamps are also available at Automated Postal Centers and ATM's nationwide beginning May 14.

Examples of some of the other new rates and fees effective on Monday are 1-ounce, first-class letters will mail for 41 cents; 2-ounce, first-class letters will mail for 58 cents. Postcards will mail for 26 cents and 1-pound priority mail will mail for $4.60.

Priority mail in a flat-rate box will cost $8.95, starting on Monday; 0.5-pound of express mail will cost $16.25 to send.

New express mail weighing 1 pound will cost $19.50 to send, whereas 2 pounds of express mail will cost $21.40 to send.

Other fees and services effective on Monday include a cost of $2.65 for certified mail, 65 cents for delivery confirmation of priority mail, 75 cents for delivery confirmation of first-class parcels, $2.15 for return receipts with an original signature, and 85 cents for an electronic return receipt.

Money orders up to $500 will cost $1.05, starting Monday.

In addition to the new domestic rates, changes will also take effect on May 14 for customers sending international mail. The U.S. Postal Service has simplified its eight main international products into four products called Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Mail International.

New packaging will allow mailers to use the same priority mail and express mail packaging for shipping both within the United States and to other countries.

For more details about the international mail changes visit www.usps.com/ratecase and select "New International Rates, Fees and Country Listing."

Also on May 14, the Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp will go on sale at the new 55-cent price.

Since 1998, the postal service has raised more than $53 million for breast cancer research through the sale of this semipostal stamp.

An independent federal agency, the United States Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to cover its operating expenses. The postal service has annual revenues of $73 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.