Stamp prices go up today

Starting today, it will cost more to mail letters and packages, but that’s not the only change.

You can buy the Forever Stamp for 41 cents, the new price for a first-class letter of up to 1 ounce. There is no price printed on the stamp, and it can be used at any time to mail a first-class letter, regardless of future stamp price increases.

An even bigger change is a shift in the mindset of the U.S. Postal Service.

Weight doesn’t mean everything these days. Shape counts, too, primarily because the postal service is trying to figure out ways to reduce its handling costs.

It costs more to process a larger piece of mail, so the bottom line is that larger envelopes and packages will cost more than smaller ones. That’s a shift from previous charges, which were mostly based on weight of a letter or parcel.

For example, while a 1-ounce letter will cost 41 cents, the cost of an unfolded letter mailed in a large envelope and weighing only 1 ounce will cost 90 cents. The cost of a 2-ounce letter in a small envelope will actually go down, moving to 58 cents now from 63 cents before.

But that’s only if you keep the envelope from being thicker than a quarter inch. For first-class letters, that’s the new allowed thickness. Anything over and you face large-envelope or parcel rates. A 1 ounce, first-class parcel would cost $1.13, for example.

Postal Service spokesman Dave Parenheimer said shape is now being taken into account because of processing expenses. “Before, thickness didn’t matter,” he said. “If it gets too thick, you create a new shape.

The new rates kicking in today could be a problem for many businesses because of the emphasis on shape.

The bottom line is that people and businesses need to consider whether they can stuff the items they’re sending into a smaller envelope.

If all this is confusing you, you can find more details on the new rates at www.usps.com.

Here are a few examples that might save you a visit to the postal service Web site: