Tags
Italian Postage, Italian Postage Increase, Italian Postal Rates, Italian stamps, Mail in Italy, Mailing a Letter in Italy, Posta Priorita, Stamps in Italy
Last November when we left Italy it was possible to put one of these on an envelope and know that sometime in the next five to ten days the letter would arrive in the U.S. of A.
Last week the nice tabaccaio (the man in the cigarette, salt and stamp store) told me I would have to put this on a similar letter to the same destination:
That’s right. Postage to zone 2, which includes the United States, increased from .85 to 1.60 in December (the patient tabaccaio had to show me the official notice before I was able to believe him). Factor in the exchange rate and that’s about $2.25. Can you imagine what would happen if the U.S. Postal Service almost doubled rates from one day to the next? There would be Congressional hearings at the very least, and quite possibly the streets would be filled with rioting junk-mailers.
So to all dear friends and family who are accustomed to receiving snail mail from me, you’ll be getting only half as much in the future. Which will still be pretty much the ‘none’ you’re already used to.
Hi, Jay!
An Ex-Expatriate 
Ah – that might explain why it took two months for your last post (about which I e-mailed you) to reach me – or not….
It was when I went to mail you that letter that I made the ugly discovery about rate increases… It couldn’t have taken two months for my letter to reach you – we’ve been back only one month! Surely it was just a couple of weeks at the most?
I have an Etsy store and my shipment prices doubled in January. It’s killing my sales! I feel you lady. It’s now 25 euros to ship a package under 1 kilo to Japan and Australia. At least 14 to 20 euros to ship a package to the US under 1 kilo! Good post. How about that rain in Rapallo today, or should I say thunder?!
Rain and thunder atrocious! Also postal rates. I’d never heard of Etsy, but it’s very cool. I wonder if it’s any cheaper to ship from France? If you had enough packages you could just slip over the border… E 14-20 for a 1-kilo package to the States is highway robbery. Now excuse me, I have to go read your post on pizza!
that’s why we have embraced e-mail (and faxes before) so eagerly!
Good point, Agostino. I’m not sure I mentioned in the blog that domestic rates weren’t raised… but still. E-mail it is!
Italian post offices are a law unto themselves. It is outrageous – and as well as that you usually have to wait for ever to be served.
That’s for sure – over an hour is not uncommon here. We take our number and then usually go out and do errands, like everyone else!