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Price of stamps going down

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – For the first time in almost a century, the price of postage stamps is set to go down.

At first blush, you might think it’s an April Fools gag: the post office actually cutting the price of stamps? But it is not a joke, the first time the Postal Service has cut the cost of postage since 1919.

As of April 10, the cost of a first class stamp is coming down from 49 cents to 47 cents, post cards will drop by a penny from 35 to 34 cents.

Back in 2014, the U-S Postal Service was losing billions of dollars, so the Postal Regulatory Commission granted the post office an emergency rate increase for two years to slow down the losses.

In that two-year period, the Postal Service has started to catch up, especially in their shipping and package delivery services, but Buffalo post office spokesperson Karen Mazurkiewicz said, the emergency period ends on April 10.

“It is going to be a challenge. It equates to about a $2 billion loss a year, and we are just at a point where we are starting to invest in our infrastructure. We are ordering new vehicles that can handle the growing package business.

At this point, about the only way the price decrease can be avoided is by an act of Congress, and with only 9 days to go, even if lawmakers act, it might not be in time.

The last time the cost to mail something went down was 1919, when it dropped from three cents to two. How times have changed.