U.S. Postal Service Rate Increase Cheatsheet

Proposed changes, effective July 10, 2022

Avoid price hikes and reduce the impact on your budget!

Stamps will increase 2 cents

The retail price of a stamp will increase 2 cents to $0.60 from $0.58. If your small business uses stamps or purchases postage directly at the Post Office, this price hike will significantly impact your bottom line.

• New Stamp Price: 60¢

• New Discounted Meter Price: 57¢

TIP: Using a meter gets you the 5% discount on postage, which really adds up annually. Going to the post office is costing you time and money. 

 

Metered rate will increase 4 cents

• Previous Meter Price: 53¢

• New Meter Price: 57¢

• New Postcard Price: 44¢

TIP: It's more important than ever to make sure all of your postage is updated regularly. Rates can change once or twice each year, and even seasonally.

 

Certified Mail® with Return Receipt gets more expensive

The Certified Mail fee increased an additional 25 cents per mail piece, while Return Receipt increased by 20 cents. The cost of a hard-copy receipt will also cost a lot more now. The silver lining: With an electronic Return Receipt, you’ll save $1.25 on every Certified Mail piece.

• Certified Mail fee: from $3.75 to $4.00

• Return Receipt (hard copy) cost: from $3.05 to $3.25

• Return Receipt (electronic) cost: from $1.85 to $2.00

TIP: You can upgrade your entire process with a digital workflow and save nearly 48% on all Certified Mail costs immediately with an online solution like e-Certify.

 

It's time to think about presort prices

With the right mail volume, you can take advantage of the USPS presort discounts and pay only 55 cents for postage. First-Class presorted postage increased nearly 3 cents, but sorting invoices, bills and statements by zip code is still advantageous and cost-effective. Now might be the time to make it part of your mail prep process.

• Presort pricing: 55¢

• Meter price: 57¢

TIP: You can get access to postage discounts with presort prices!

 

Big picture price adjustments on popular products and special services

Most of the popular, or market dominant, mail products will likely see a price adjustment starting July 10. The Postal Service is also seeking pricing changes on Special Services, including increases to Certified Mail®, as well as additional ounces on First-Class letters and International Mail.

• First-Class Mail: 6.5%

• USPS Marketing Mail: 6.5%

• Periodicals: 8.5%

• Package Services: 8.5%

• Special Services: 6.4%

TIP: Find out where price adjustments may impact your overall mailroom budget. There's usually an area or two where you can reclaim some budget or improve the process to reduce postage costs.

 

Shipping Rate Hikes Are Still In Effect!

Let's not forget! Earlier this year there were rate increases on important shipping services that impact your mailroom budget. Here's a list of the percent increases that impact shipments in 2022:

• Priority Mail Express: +3.1%

• Priority Mail®: +3.1%

• First-Class Package Service: +8.8%

• Parcel Select: +5.5%

• Parcel Return Service: +4.9%

• USPS Retail Ground: -7.4% (decreased!)

TIP: Shipping rates are on the rise, and then there's price increases during the peak seasons to watch out for!

 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at 812-334-8189. 

Best Regards, 

Mark Leggio
Baugh Fine Print & Mailing