Mail carriers will be delivering some good news and some bad news this week.

　　The bad news:　Stamp prices are expected to rise 2 cents in May to 41 cents, the Postal Regulatory Commission announced yesterday. The good news:　With the introduction of a “forever stamp,” it may be the last time Americans have to use annoying 2-or 3-cent stamps to make up postage differences.

　　Beginning in May, people would be able to purchase the stamps in booklets of 20 at the regular rate of a first-class stamp. As the name implies, “forever stamps” will keep their first-class mailing value forever, even when the postage rate goes up.

　　The new “forever stamp” is the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) answer to the complaints about frequent rate increases. The May increase will be the fifth in a decade. Postal rates have risen because of inflation(通货膨胀), competition from online bill paying, and the rising costs of employee benefits, including healthcare, says Mark Saunders, a spokesman for USPS.

　　The USPS expects some financial gain from sales of the “forever stamp” and the savings from not printing as many 2-or 3-cent stamps. “It’s not your grandfather’s stamp,” says Mr. Saunders. “It could be your great-grandchildren’s stamp.”

　　Other countries, including Canada, England, and Finland use similar stamps.

　　Don Schilling, who has collected stamps for 50 years, says he’s interested in the public’s reaction. “This is an entirely new class of stamps,” Mr. Schilling says. He adds that he’ll buy the stamps because he will be able to use them for a long period of time, not because they could make him rich—the volume printed will be too large for collectors. “We won’t be able to send our kids to college on these,” he says, laughing.

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