I have a PO Box that I use to receive mail for my business. I got it because I thought the PO Box address would look more professional than my home addresss (with an apartment number) and because it would be more secure–I don’t have a locking mailbox so anyone walking by could easily go through my mail looking for checks.

Every six months, on or arround the first of the month, I get an envelope in my PO Box in which I can send my renewal. I had a payment due this month, so the process was no different: I got the envelope saying that I owed $35 and that I had until January 31 to pay.

Normally I pay the renewal fee within a day or two of receiving the envelope, but because I had a lot of other things going on this time, my payment got delayed. I payed it sometime around the 15th—well before the deadline. A few days later I was quite shocked to see that, instead of a receipt in my box, the post office had returned my check, along with a new payment envelope that contained a hand written note “Your box rental rate is now $37. Thank you.” You see, on January 8 the post office raised the price of postage and, evidently, the price of PO Boxes as well—but they didn’t bother to tell me this. At minimum, they should have attached a note saying that the price would go up if I didn’t pay by the 8th.

Maybe I should try this approach–charge my clients one price and then, when they pay, say “oh sorry, I just raised my rates.” How long would I stay in business, then?