USPS Rate Changes Effective May 12th 2008

[mandy]

Shipping Services
On May 12 we will adjust prices for our shipping services — Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select, Parcel Return Service, and International Mail. For the first time our pricing includes commercial volume and contract prices, rebates, online price reductions, and other new incentives.

"These innovative pricing incentives will make our products more attractive to all shippers, especially small businesses. We’re pricing our products to sell in today’s competitive shipping market," said Postmaster General John Potter.

Pricing Highlights:

Express Mail is switching to a zone-based pricing system, resulting in customers paying less for nearby destinations. Customers will receive a 3 percent price reduction by purchasing Express Mail online or through corporate accounts. Additional price reductions are available for those who ship quarterly minimums.
Priority Mail will have an average 3.5 percent savings for customers who use electronic postage or meet other requirements.
Parcel Select — our “last mile” delivery to every door — will feature pricing and volume incentives for large- and medium-size shippers.
Parcel Return Service will move entirely to a weight based pricing system, resulting in significant price reductions for many lighter packages.

"Pricing has always been important to the Postal Service. Now, with greater pricing flexibility than ever, our customers have more choices, and we can price quickly in response to customer needs and the marketplace," said Pricing and Classification Vice President Stephen Kearney.
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Mailing Services
On May 12 we will adjust prices for mailing services — First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services, and Special Services. The average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

A First-Class Mail stamp will be 42¢. Customers can continue to use the Forever Stamps that they purchased prior to May 12 at 41¢, even after the price change. We will have 5 billion Forever Stamps in stock to meet increased demand before the price change. Forever Stamps are widely available through Post Offices, Contract Postal Units, consignment locations, Automated Postage Centers, vending, and at The Postal Store®. We also will have a 62¢ stamp available shortly after May 12 for 1-ounce nonmachinable First-Class Mail letters, such as square greeting cards.

Pricing highlights:

No change in the First-Class Mail single-piece additional-ounce price.
Lower additional-ounce price for presorted First-Class Mail letters.
Lower pound price for Standard Mail saturation and high-density flats.
Shape-based pricing for First-Class Mail International letters, flats, and parcels.
First-Class Mail International price groups expand from five to nine groups.

full announcement: http://www.usps.com/prices/
New mailing services prices (.pdf): http://pe.usps.com/2008_RateCase/RateCha...Charts.pdf
New shipping services prices (.pdf): http://www.usps.com/prices/_pdf/Shipping...May_12.pdf

[mandy]

Related:

For the first time ever, the U.S. Postal Service is offering discounts based on volume, as well as other incentives including online discounts, for Express Mail, Priority Mail and other shipping services, effective May 12, according to the USPS. These rate changes are now possible due to a change in federal law, enabling the Postal Service to better compete in the shipping market, said Steve Rifai, director of marketing for Endicia, an Internet postage service and an approved licensed vendor of the USPS.

"Before, you could negotiate rates, say, with FedEx, but you couldn't with the post office because the rates were set by its over-site committee," said Rifai. "Now with the new law, the post office can act as a competitive organization, so it has much more flexibility in setting prices."

With the new rates going into effect May 12, the good news for e-tailers is that the post office is offering discounts for those who use online shipping tools...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/news...hp/3739066

[mandy]

A related article:

First Class Mail International is now on a shape-based pricing format, with three segments: letter, flat and parcel. While some costs go up, Colgate said some will decrease. "This change puts pricing more in line with domestic first class," he said, noting that, for instance, a 3-ounce letter to Canada now costs 11 cents less than before today's rate changes.

He also said there is now a Large Priority Flat Rate Box, sized at 12 x12 x 5.5.

In regard to changes in Priority Mail, using online postage services can reap an average savings of 3.5 percent on all parcels shipped with the new delivery confirmation barcode labels. He used the following example: a 3-pound Priority Mail Package would cost $11.50, plus 65 cents under 2008 retail rates, for a total of $12.15, while Endicia can provide the service for $11.10, a savings of $1.05. For Priority Mail International, the savings is about 99 cents.

To show how much e-tailers can save over time, Colgate cited the following figures for a 3-pound Priority Mail package: if you shipped five per day, you could save $585 a year using online postal services instead of paying counter prices. ...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/news...hp/3746271