New rates effective January 21, 2024
It’s been less than 6 months since the USPS raised postage rates on July 9, 2023, and they are back with another postage increase. Last year, postage rates were increased twice by the USPS, and it looks like we’re on track to experience another round of double increases this year.
In addition to increasing postage rates for bulk mail letters & flats, they are also increasing rates for packages. The letter & flat-sized increase is estimated to be about a 2% increase.
Why is the USPS now allowed to raise rates twice per year?
In 2020 the Postal Regulatory Commission, in charge of reviewing pricing and service, approved a change in just how much the USPS could increase rates. No longer limited to the annual January hikes we’re used to, solely based on the rate of inflation, the organization can now bump prices to begin paying down debts and cover costs. Additionally, as of July 2022, the USPS is permitted to increase First Class Mail letter prices twice a year.
Here are how the postage increases will impact you:
- First-class postage
o Letter-sized First-Class Single Piece letters weighing 1 ounce or less are increasing from 66¢ to 68¢
o Postcards will increase from 51¢ to 53¢ apiece.
o Flat-sized First-Class postage will increase from $1.35 to $1.39 apiece. - Foreign postage
o International First-Class postage will increase from $1.50 to $1.55 apiece for letter-sized mail that’s 1 ounce or less. - EDDM postage
o Every Door Direct Mail Retail postage will increase from 19.8¢ apiece to 20.3¢
With the 2% overall increase, we don’t expect to see dramatic increases in bulk mail rates. The USPS has disproportionally raised rates for 1st class bulk mail more than that marketing mail/presort standard bulk mail over the course of the last few years.
For bulk mail postage, actual rates are impacted by the distribution of the addresses on your mailing list. A list with all local addresses will require lower postage than a list with addresses broadly distributed across the US.
In our experience, for letter-sized, first-class presort mail, you can anticipate a postage rate of approximately 55¢ apiece. For letter-sized, presort standard/marketing mail, you can anticipate postage will hover around 35¢ apiece. For approved nonprofit letter-sized, you can anticipate postage of about 18¢ apiece.
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