The Postal Rate Commission (PRC) yesterday approved postage increases for the holiday season, as expected, which will impact nonprofits that use packages for shipping items from website sales and large premiums for donors. The general nonprofit rate was not impacted.
The U.S. Postal Service this past August proposed a “temporary price adjustment” in rates for certain domestic products that are considered “competitive.” The changes are scheduled to become effective October 2, and will roll back to current levels on Jan. 22, 2023.
The peak-season pricing, which was approved by the governors of the U.S. Postal Service on Aug. 9, would affect fees on commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels including Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select and USPS Retail Ground. International products would be unaffected.
According to data from the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers in Washington, D.C., the USPS reported a profit in the third quarter ending June 30 but noted that it resulted from a “one-time, non-cash benefit of $59.6 billion” that was received from the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. With the benefit, USPS earned a profit of $59.7 billion in the third quarter, and a $57.5 billion profit for the first nine months of the fiscal year, which ends September 30.
“Anyone who mails USPS packages (Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select Ground, and USPS Retail Ground) between October 2 and January 22 will have to pay more than regular pricing,” explained Stephen Kearney, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers.
Kearney explained that items that are small and are of low value, like calendars and t-shirts, can be shipped by nonprofit marketing mail.
The price changes include:
Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express:
Commercial:
- $0.75 increase for PM and PME Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes.
- $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.80 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.75 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
- $2.80 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
- $3.00 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
- $6.50 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.
Retail:
- $0.95 increase for PM and PME Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes.
- $0.30 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
- $1.00 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.95 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
- $3.20 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
- $3.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
- $6.45 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.
First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select Ground, and USPS Retail Ground:
Commercial:
- $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.40 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.75 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
- $1.60 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
- $3.00 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
- $5.50 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.
Retail:
- $0.30 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.60 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
- $0.95 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-25 lbs.
- $2.70 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-25 lbs.
- $3.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 26-70 lbs.
- $5.85 increase for Zones 5-9, 26-70 lbs.
A list of commercial and retail pricing can be found on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm
