[press release]
Canada Post proposes new postage rates for 2019
Price of a domestic stamp would increase to 90 cents

OTTAWA, June 21, 2018 /CNW/ – Canada Post is proposing to increase postage rates in 2019. The postage rate for domestic Lettermail™ items weighing 30 grams or less when purchased in a booklet, coil or pane would increase to $0.90 from the current rate of $0.85. The price of a single domestic stamp would increase to $1.05 from the current rate of $1.00. The rate change would take effect on January 14, 2019.

In January 2018, the Government of Canada unveiled a new vision for Canada Post focused on ensuring Canadians have access to high-quality postal services at a reasonable price, no matter where they live. This requires the Corporation to remain financially viable, generating sufficient revenues to support current and future services.

Canada Post works to strike the right balance between the need for greater revenues and ensuring it continues to provide good value to the people who rely on the postal service. While usage varies, the impact of the first increase since 2014 would be less than a dollar a year for the average Canadian household and about $14 per year for the typical small business. Canadians can avoid the cost increase by purchasing Permanent™ stamps at the current rate in advance of the change.

Canada Post is also proposing to increase rates for other domestic Lettermail, U.S. and international Letter-post items and domestic Registered Mail™. The current proposals will be published for comment on June 23, 2018 in the Canada Gazette Part I. Going forward, the Corporation will resume its annual review of regulated postage rates.

He may not have a stamp (yet), but Merle Haggard’s name is now on a U.S. Post Office. The Bakersfield, Calif., post office was named after the country music legend last Friday. About 300 people attended the ceremony, including his widow, sister and a band member… as well as local politicians.

Haggard is shown on the left in 1971, during the period when he all-but-owned country music’s top awards. He died on April 6, 2016 — his 79th birthday. Haggard was a native of the Bakersfield area.

Another, smaller, Bakersfield post office is named for another native son, Buck Owens. His son, Johnny Owens and the Buck Fever Band played for the ceremony. The band includes one of Haggard’s backup musicians, Norm Hamlet, who played for Haggard for 49 years.

There’s more on this story, including a video, at the Bakersfield Californian newspaper’s website.

[press release]
Wine sweeter than chocolate this Easter

Move over chocolate – wine has become the guilty pleasure of choice this Easter according to new Australia Post research.

Australians will spend on average $90 each buying wine online this Easter – more than double the average spend for chocolate ($43 each).

The buy-up comes as more Australians are buying online than ever before, with purchases surging a record 19.2 per cent last year, almost doubling growth in 2016.

Australia Post General Manager for eCommerce and International Ben Franzi said Easter was becoming a significant online shopping event as more Australians looked for more convenience.

“Online shopping is the new norm, thanks to competitive prices and the huge range available from Aussie retailers, all at our customers’ fingertips,” Mr Franzi said.

“Our research showed almost half of survey respondents want to buy their Easter gifts online to avoid crowds, while a further 43 per cent said online shopping was quicker and easier.

“We are also pleased that more of our customers are taking up our range of delivery options, such as Safe Drop, where a customer asks for a parcel to be delivered to a safe spot at their house so they can receive a delivery when they are not at home.”

The research, based on a survey of more than 2000 people, showed about a third of all Australians were planning to buy either chocolate or wine online ahead of the Easter long weekend.

Vinomofo Head of Marketing Kip McMillan said online wine sales typically lifted the week coming into Easter.

“Easter is a big deal for us as customers look for options outside of their busy schedules and closures on Good Friday,” Mr McMillan said.

“In fact this week we’re expecting to sell more than 90,000 bottles of wine, compared to roughly 70,000 last year.

“Australia Post’s fantastic delivery options have allowed us to distribute to our customers with ease, but for those eligible customers who still want to get their last minute orders in still can, even today!”

Australians will also spend on average $85 each on other types of gifts this Easter, such as books, fashion items and homewares, according to the Australia Post research.

VSC member Lefty Dundee reports…

USPS on eBay – On Vacation (?)

Home > eBay Stores > US Postal Service Store > All Categories
Search…
This store Seller is currently away. Please add this Store to your Favorites and come again when we re-open on Monday, 2/5/18.

This is why USPS has nothing for sale on eBay…
OK…
You have to go to www.usps.com/store It seems no eBay at the moment.

Added:

And here’s the likely explanation, from the stamp-selling part of the USPS.com:

Due to systems upgrades, orders placed Tuesday, January 30th through Sunday, February 4th will require an additional 3-5 business days for delivery. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

When there’s a major operation at SFS (including the annual full audits), everyone gets conscripted to work on it and other operations such down. In this case, you can’t sell stamps over the Internet if the computer systems are down!

 

[press releases]
Caribbean Letters To Santa Head to NYC

San Juan – Like so many of our neighbors here in the Caribbean, even Santa Claus needs a little help this year after the hurricanes.

The New York City-based OPERATION SANTA program is in its 105th year of operation. Operation Santa is an annual letter-writing program for individuals, businesses and charitable organizations to respond to children’s letters addressed to Santa Claus, the North Pole and other seasonal characters. While there are no promises that all letters will receive a response, many New Yorkers return to read letters and to respond to wishes.

The process is strictly monitored. No names are shared. Those who write letters, and those who respond, remain strictly anonymous. All items for shipping must be deposited with the Main Post Office in Manhattan, the only location which will have that mailing address.

All letters to Santa from Caribbean addresses collected through December 13 are being added to the New York program for consideration. Letters may be presented at local post offices or addressed to OPERATION SANTA, Postmaster, San Juan PR 00936 for consideration.

Also from the USPS:

Operation Santa
Background
As much as history reveals, the Postal Service began receiving letters to Santa Claus more than 100 years ago. However, its involvement was made official when in 1912 Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local Postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to the ever growing number of letters received every holiday season.

In the 1940s, mail volume for Santa increased so much so that the Postal Service extended the same invitation to charitable organizations, community groups and corporations to help respond to children who wrote letters to Santa.

105th Anniversary
This year, 2017, the Postal Service is celebrating the 105th anniversary of the Operation Santa program as it continues to fulfill the dreams of children nationwide. More than one hundred years later, postal employees, volunteers and organizations remain committed to making children’s Christmas wishes come true.
What We Do

The Postal Service has Operation Santa sites in action around the country. In the vast number of locations postal employees respond to the letters by providing a written response signed by Santa, while other Post Offices may work with local schools, municipalities and community groups who volunteer for the joyous task.

Each year, however, in select Post Offices the general public is invited to “adopt” Santa letters. In all locations where the public may adopt letters written to Santa, strict privacy guidelines are in place. Any member of the public choosing to adopt a letter may simply respond in writing or if they choose grant the wish, a decision that is left to the individual.

New York City’s Operation Santa serves as the largest public adoption Post Office in the country. A “Big Apple” tradition that has changed very little since the 1940s and one which continues to thrive in the heart of the Manhattan, much to the delight of those who visit the iconic James A. Farley building.

How to adopt a letter

Privacy guidelines
In 2006, national policy guidelines were created regarding the handling and adoption of letters addressed to Santa. These guidelines were designed to protect the children who wrote to Santa and mandated that individuals wishing to adopt letters must do so in person, present valid photo identification and fill out a form that includes the list of letters being adopted.

In 2009, the Postal Service changed the letter adoption process by redacting or blacking out all reference to the child’s address and assigning the letter a number. Individuals interested in adopting letters go to the post office, select the letter(s) and sign an official form. When the individual has fulfilled the child’s wishes, they return to the same post office with the letter and/or gift for mailing. A postal employee weighs the package and the individual pays for the postage, or a Priority Mail Flat Rate box could be used. Then a postal employee matches the number on the letter with the child’s address, prints and applies a label to the package and readies it for delivery. The individual never has access to the mailing address.
Local Programs

Children of all ages send letters to “Santa Claus, North Pole, Alaska” every year. Unless these letters contain a complete Alaska address, the letters will remain in the area they were mailed. Where available, these letters are routed to the nearest post office that coordinates responses, often in postal administrative sites like District Offices.

As time and resources permit, these offices help provide a written response to letters bearing a complete return address. While responses are not promised, the Postal Service understands that a letter to Santa is often a child’s first written correspondence. Through this seasonal outreach, the Postal Service helps to promote literacy and letter writing.

2017 Operation Santa Locations

People-Community-Social Responsibility
The Postal Service and its employees play important roles in communities around the nation. Postal employees live in the communities in which they work. Their children attend school there. They actively participate in community business, shop in its stores and patronize local restaurants. It makes perfect sense for postal employees to want to help their fellow citizens, especially during the holiday season.

Individual customers and representatives of organizations wanting to adopt a letter must come to a participating Operation Santa Post Office in person. Both individual customers and organizational representatives must fill out the proper PS Forms 6012 (organization), 6012-A (organization record of letter), or 6012-I (individual) and show identification before viewing any letters.

• For organizations wanting to adopt a letter, please send a representative with correspondence on letterhead from your company/organization authorizing the representative to view the letters on behalf of your company/organization. Your representative must present his or her employee ID and a valid state driver’s license or state-issued ID card.
• For individuals wanting to adopt a letter, please bring a valid state driver’s license or state-issued ID card.

After completing the forms, you may then read and choose a letter(s). To protect the anonymity of the letter writers, all personal information will be blacked out in the letters you view — no last names, addresses or contact information of any kind will be visible.

Bring your selections to a postal clerk so the clerk can notate which letter(s) you will adopt.

Here is the fun part — you get to be Santa’s helper by fulfilling the wishes of the letter writer.

Once you have fulfilled the wish, you simply bring your wrapped gift(s) back to the same Operation Santa location to mail.

Individuals and organizations will be responsible for paying the postage to mail the gifts to the recipient.

Once you pay the postage, the postal clerks will match your box with the letter writer by using an internal numbering system.

The return address on the box will read “Operation Santa, North Pole.”

[press release]
U.S. Postal Service Letters FROM Santa Program Provides Santa’s Personalized Response to Your Child’s Letter
NORTH POLE — Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus — and the U.S. Postal Service can help you prove it when Santa replies to your child’s letter — complete with a North Pole postmark.

Here are the steps for your child to get a letter back from Santa:

• Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole.
• Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response.
• Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child.
• Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope.
• Affix a First-Class Mail stamp, such as a new Christmas Carols Forever stamp to the envelope.
• Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope — preferably a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope — with appropriate postage and address it to:

 

North Pole Postmark
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Drive
Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

“Letters from Santa” must be received by the Anchorage, AK, postmaster no later than Dec. 15. Santa’s helpers at the Postal Service will take care of the rest.

Be sure to share the experience on social media using #LettersFromSanta.

Tips

 

• To save paper, write Santa’s response on the back of your child’s letter. If you keep them together, your child will also be able to recall what he or she wrote.
• When responding as Santa, make the response as personal as possible by highlighting your child’s accomplishments over the past year, for example, helping around the house, receiving good grades in a particular subject at school or participating in community service activities.

 

The Letters from Santa program adds to the excitement of Christmas and is ideal for interesting youngsters in letter writing, stamps and penmanship.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

The Postal Regulatory Commission approved this request. —The Virtual Stamp Club

[press release]
U.S. Postal Service Announces New Prices for 2018
Penny Increase for the Forever Stamp

WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today of price changes to take effect Jan. 21, 2018. The new prices, if approved, include a one cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 49 cents to 50 cents.

Postcard stamps and metered letters would also have a one cent increase. Today’s filing does not include any price change for single-piece letters being mailed to international destinations or for additional ounces for letters.

The proposed prices would raise Mailing Services product prices approximately 1.9 percent, and most Shipping Services products will average a 3.9 percent price increase. While Mailing Services price increases are limited based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Shipping Services prices are adjusted strategically, according to market conditions and the need to maintain affordable services for customers.

The proposed Mailing Services price changes include:

Product	Current	Proposed
Letters (1 oz.)	49 cents	50 cents
Letters additional ounces	21 cents	21 cents
Letters (metered)	46 cents	47 cents
Outbound International Letters (1 oz.)	$1.15	$1.15
Domestic Postcards	34 cents	35 cents

The new Shipping Services product prices would increase Priority Mail 3.9 percent and Priority Mail Retail an average of 0.8 percent. As in the past, the Postal Service will not include any surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or regular Saturday delivery.

The proposed domestic Priority Mail Flat Rate Retail price changes are:

Product	Current	Proposed
Small Flat Rate Box	$7.15	$7.20
Medium Flat Rate Box	$13.60	$13.65
Large Flat Rate Box	$18.85	$18.90
APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box	$17.35	$17.40
Regular Flat Rate Envelope	$6.65	$6.70
Legal Flat Rate Envelope	$6.95	$7.00
Padded Flat Rate Envelope	$7.20	$7.25

The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect on Jan. 21, 2018. The complete Postal Service price filings with the new prices for all products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section at https://www.prc.gov/dockets/daily. For the Mailing Services filing see Oct. 6, 2017, Docket No. R2018-1. For the Shipping Services filing see Oct. 6, 2017, Docket No. CP2018-8.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations

As of January 21, 2018: