# U.S. postal rate increases: why not just a nickel each time?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-postal-rate-increases-why-not-just-a-nickel-each-time/348142>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [March 13, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-postal-rate-increases-why-not-just-a-nickel-each-time/348142 "2006-03-13T05:09:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-postal-rate-increases-why-not-just-a-nickel-each-time/348142/21 "2006-03-15T19:22:51Z")

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> [@Elendil's Heir](#):
>
> But wouldn’t lots o’ folks go out and buy a gross of the stamps now, and use them for many years to come, avoiding future higher prices (and, incidentally, depriving the Postal Service of the post-increase income stream)?

I don’t think hoarding would be all that much of a problem, honestly. Sure, some people would, but most people wouldn’t bother, particularly since rate increases are so small. You’d use what you have, go out and get some more, use that. Before a rate hike there might be a little run on first class stamps, but I think they’d make up for it with the savings of just having “first class stamps”.

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**Author:** ![EEMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@EEMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EEMan)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-postal-rate-increases-why-not-just-a-nickel-each-time/348142/22 "2006-03-15T19:27:52Z")

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Yeah, I can’t imagine someone going out and getting a few hundred thousand stamps, then selling them after the rate increase for a penny or two below the new value, causing issues for the post office.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-postal-rate-increases-why-not-just-a-nickel-each-time/348142/23 "2006-03-16T06:06:33Z")

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> [@EEMan](#):
>
> Yeah, I can’t imagine someone going out and getting a few hundred thousand stamps, then selling them after the rate increase for a penny or two below the new value, causing issues for the post office.

Sarcasm duly noted. And quite apt. 😉

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**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-postal-rate-increases-why-not-just-a-nickel-each-time/348142/24 "2006-03-16T08:06:31Z")

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> [@EEMan](#):
>
> Yeah, I can’t imagine someone going out and getting a few hundred thousand stamps, then selling them after the rate increase for a penny or two below the new value, causing issues for the post office.

Yeah, but in the meantime, the Post Office has been paid beforehand for a few hundred thousand letters that it didn’t have to move around, so they can leave that money somewhere collecting interest, right? I think it might break about even, but I don’t really want to do the math right now.

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