Cents of Frustration

Kerry Caramanis of Westlake Village wanted to add his two cents to the debate on the 1-cent stamp increase.

“It’s just a nuisance,” said the 67-year-old as he furled 100 1-cent stamps. “I don’t think you’ll find anybody that thinks it’s a good idea.”

Ventura County post offices were jammed Monday on the first work day of the new stamp increase that took effect Sunday.

“It’s been a very busy day,” said John Kramer, customer service manager at the Ventura post office on Main Street. “Everybody is trying to get their 1-cent stamps.”

In Thousand Oaks, lines inside the post office stretched almost out the door while the parking lot was jammed as letter senders sought a rare and much coveted spot.

Surprised by the long lines, the wait and the general post office confusion, Shirley Blackman described the rate increase as just plain “bad.”

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, everybody else is doing the same thing,’ ” said the Thousand Oaks resident when she saw the jammed parking lot. “What a mess.”

Picking up new stamps for her office, Tami Urtheil looked quizzically at the vending machine Monday afternoon as she tried to figure out how to buy 100 1-centers. Because the machine would only spit out 10 at a time, she had to enter the code that many times.

“I think for one penny it’s stupid to make us go through all this,” said the 36-year-old.

Despite the longer lines, many said they didn’t mind that much.

Woody Kim of Thousand Oaks added 1-cent stamps to the 50 letters he was sending out for his mail-order business.

“A penny is no big deal to me,” said Kim, 42. “It’s still cheaper than any other country. And we get the mail pretty promptly.”

Charles Walder of Oak Park said he understands why prices were upped a cent.

“They have to increase their rates or they won’t be able to continue their level of service,” said the 73-year-old, holding three books of 33-cent H stamps.

The new rate is the first since Jan. 1, 1995. Prices were increased in June, and 10 billion H stamps went on sale in early November.

That should be plenty, officials said. The Elvis stamp--the highest selling in history--barely sold a billion.

The 1-cent hike is aimed at reducing the U.S. Postal Service’s $6.4-billion debt and continuing the high service level, said spokeswoman Terri Bouffiou.

The new rate increase is the smallest in postal history, she said.

“The average household will spend less than a quarter more each month to mail cards, letters and bill payments,” Bouffiou said. “We don’t expect that there will be a huge impact.”

For those who mailed letters Monday without the extra cent, postal officials said there is a good chance it won’t be returned. Or maybe it will.

“There is no official grace period. At some point we will start sending them back,” Bouffiou said. “Some of them will go through, a few of them might be sent back.”

Times staff writer Tracy Wilson contributed to this story.

STAMP-EDE: The supply of stamps quickly ran short as customers flocked to post offices. A1