The USPS has scheduled postage rates to go up across the board on Monday, January 27th, 2014.
As of April 10, 2016, new rates are in effect. For details about the new rates, see our blog post here.
Each year, the USPS is allowed to raise rates. As long as the proposed rate increase falls within the rate of inflation, there’s no need for approval from the US Congress or any other entity.
However, this year, the USPS sought and received approval for a rate increase that exceeds the rate of inflation. This means that these rate increases are even more dramatic than what you would experience in a typical year. This is supposedly a temporary increase for a 2-year trial period, but I’d be shocked to see rates come back down in 2 years.
The purpose of this short article is to break down how the rate increase impacts the different classes of postage.
Every Door Direct Mail
This year marks another substantial rate increase for EDDM. Price is going up from 16 cents apiece to 17.5 cents apiece (Update: Current price is 18.3 cents apiece as of 06/01/15). This is a 9.4% increase. This program has been a win/win for both business marketers and the USPS, and it’s unfortunate that there’s such a dramatic increase.
First-class letters & postcards
Rate changes to first-class mail always seem to get the most attention because at some point or another, everyone has to purchase a stamp and mail a letter. Here’s the impact:
1st class letter from 46 cents to 49 cents
postcards from 33 cents to 34 cents
If you want to avoid having to think about the postage increase for individual mail pieces, it’s probably a smart idea to stock up on forever stamps. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as forever stamps for bulk mail.
1 cent savings when using a postage meter machine
Perhaps the most dramatic news outside of the substantial size of this increase is that the USPS will offer a 1 cent apiece discount for mail that is metered instead of stamped. They have never done anything like this in the past.
Before running out and leasing a metering machine for your home or office, please be sure to investigate the monthly costs. While it is a convenience to have a metering machine in a busy office, the costs associated with these machines will be well above the 1 cent apiece savings in postage.
If you have questions about which bulk mail options make the most sense for your organization, I hope that you’ll please contact us for help.
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The post How Will the January 2014 USPS Postage Hike Impact You? appeared first on The Direct Mail Man.