U.S. Postal Service workers in Leelanau County say that although the cost of postage will increase May 14, new "Forever Stamps" now being offered for sale aren't exactly flying across post office counters.

The cost of mailing a one-ounce First Class letter will increase from 39 cents to 41 cents.

Now, for the first time, the postal service is offering what it describes as its “newest consumer innovation” – the Forever Stamp. On sale for 41 cents each, the stamps will cover First Class postage for a one-ounce letter even after the next rate increase, and all subsequent increases. Forever Stamps, purchased at 41 cents today, may cover the cost of sending a First Class letter decades from now regardless of postal rates increases in the future.

“We’ve sold a few books of the Forever Stamps,” said Elaine Mikowski, a postal clerk at the Suttons Bay Post Office. “But, so far, nobody’s come in to buy a whole bunch of them.”

Buying the Forever Stamps in bulk may make the most sense. Those who buy only a few booklets of the stamps will likely use them up before the postal service decides to raise rates again – whenever that is.

Whenever rates rise again, the Forever Stamps will still be offered for sale – but at the higher rate.

The postal service innovation appears to be targeted primarily at individuals rather than businesses, however.

“Most businesses like ours don’t use very many stamps,” explained former Leland resident Patricia “Bitsy”
Pendergast, owner of Bitsystems Mailing Service in Traverse City. “Most businesses use a postage meter or put indicia on mail,” she said.

“I’m not real thrilled about the postal rate changes overall, though,” Pendergast said. “The rates are hard to keep straight even when they don’t change. There are so many different rates, it’s confusing.”

Many of the Leelanau County businesses that ship products out of the area do so through FedEx, UPS and other commercial services.

No one knows, of course, when the rate for a one-ounce First Class letter will change again after it increases by two cents on Monday.

Local postal clerks say they expect to see a run on 2-cent stamps beginning Monday.

The Postal Service announced the rate increase and its new Forever Stamp program on March 26. The Forever Stamps have been on sale since April 12.

“We’ve had some people asking about them and they’ve been available,” said Vernie Nagy, a clerk at the Maple City Post Office. “And we’re actually selling more of the Forever Stamps than we are the new, regular 41 cent stamps,” she said. “But we’ve only been selling three or four books at a time – that’s not many for something that’s supposed to last forever.”

Nagy said she expects to see sales of Forever Stamps increase later this week and early next week as more people become aware of the rate change.