The postage rate for mailing a regular first-class letter in the United States starting May 12, 2008 is $0.42 for the first ounce and $0.17 for additional ounces up to 3.5 ounces. After that, you must use the rate for large envelopes, called flats, which start at $0.83 and also add $0.17 for additional ounces. Suppose that you only have 42-cent stamps. What should you do? You could affix one stamp for each ounce. However, two first-ounce stamps covers three ounces. The following table shows the cost for up to 13 ounces, the value when only first-ounce stamps are applied and how many ounces are covered by using only these stamps.
| Ounces | Cost | One-Ounce Stamps | Covers |
| 1 | 0.42 | 0.42 | 1 |
| 2 | 0.59 | 0.84 | 3 |
| 3 | 0.76 | 1.26 | 3.5 |
| 3.5 | 0.93 | ||
| 4 | 1.34 | 1.68 | 6 |
| 5 | 1.51 | 2.10 | 8 |
| 6 | 1.68 | 2.52 | 10 |
| 7 | 1.85 | 2.94 | 13 |
| 8 | 2.02 | ||
| 9 | 2.19 | ||
| 10 | 2.36 | ||
| 11 | 2.53 | ||
| 12 | 2.70 | ||
| 13 | 2.87 | ||
Following are the size requirements on letters. If any of the maximum dimension are exceeded, then the rates for large envelopes (flats) apply.
| Dimension | Minimum (inches) | Maximum (inches) |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 5 | 11.5 |
| Width | 3.5 | 6.125 |
| Thickness | 0.007 | 0.25 |
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