US | USPS Cost of a Stamp Just Went Up 3 Cents USPS gets rate hike; stamp will now cost 49 cents By Polly Davis Doig Posted Dec 24, 2013 4:05 PM CST Copied In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, file photo, US Postal Service letter carrier Michael McDonald delivers mail in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) The good old USPS got its three-cent rate hike approved today, in a move aimed at stemming the $5 billion that the post office says it lost in the last fiscal year. The change—which brings the cost of a first-class stamp to 49 cents—goes into effect on Jan. 26 for no more than two years, notes the AP, and the Postal Service hopes it will allow it to recoup some $2.8 billion. The first-class stamp wasn't the only product affected: Bulk mail, package services, and periodicals will also see a 6% hike. Read These Next Sienna proves herself to be a very, very good dog. Three hikers jumped into a waterfall and never resurfaced. America has lost a '60s teen idol. Millions of student loan borrowers could see their paychecks docked. Report an error