New 45-cent commemorative stamps unavailable to many post offices

The U.S. Postal Service increased the price of a stamp by one cent this week, but many area post offices are without the new 45-cent commemorative stamps.

Watertown Postmaster David A. McNulty said all local post offices were on the same ordering cycle, but that changed, which is causing the delay in some post offices receiving 45-cent commemorative stamps. Those stamps include special tributes to the four seasons and Hollywood legends, among other specialty categories.

The Forever stamps, he said, are not printed with a monetary value because as the price of stamps goes up, those Forever stamps adjust to the change in price.

“The Forevers become your 45 cents,” he said Tuesday. “They get revaluated at the new rate.”

Commemorative 45-cent stamps should arrive at local postal facilities soon, he said. When they do, post offices should receive “a healthy order.”

Mr. McNulty said the Postal Service typically is more prepared for these kinds of changes, but the change in ordering pushed back commemorative stamp arrival just a few weeks.

The price increase is one way the Postal Service aims to generate more income for the financially troubled agency. The Watertown post office, Commerce Park Drive, began offering the Every Door Direct Mail program, which will allow small businesses and community organizations to reach a maximum number of people at a discounted postal rate. A number of small post offices is expected to be on the chopping block.

These and many other changes are being implemented to help the Postal Service as it continues to lose money each year. The Postal Service expects to lose about $14 billion this year.