On average, Express Mail prices increase by 4.6 percent. Express Mail flat-rate pricing is one flat rate regardless of the actual weight (up to 70 pounds) or domestic destination. The Sunday/holiday premium remains at $12.50 for a second year. No other fuel surcharges, Saturday delivery, or residential delivery charges apply. A new Express Mail Legal Flat Rate Envelope has been added and is priced the same as the Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope. Express Mail prices can be found on Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
Retail prices increase on average 5 percent. Other than the Flat Rate Envelope, retail prices continue to be based on distance (zone) and weight. The Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope retail price remains unchanged at $18.30. Other retail prices start at $13.25.
Commercial base prices will not increase in January 2011. The Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope will remain priced at $17.40. Customers who print postage using an information-based indicia (IBI) postage meter must print the IBI with the appropriate price marking, electronically transmit transactional data to the Postal Service, and use a USPS®-approved Express Mail shipping label in order to be eligible for commercial base prices.
Commercial plus prices are reduced on average by 5 percent. The Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope will be priced at $12.72. Commercial plus prices are available to new and existing customers who have account volume exceeding a minimum threshold of 5,000 Express Mail pieces mailed in the previous four quarters (reduced from last year’s threshold of 6,000 pieces), or who have a customer commitment agreement with USPS and use an approved payment method. New with this price change is the additional option of using an IBI postage meter to pay for Express Mail commercial plus postage. Customers must print the IBI with the appropriate price marking, electronically transmit transactional data daily to USPS for all mailpieces and all categories, and use a USPS-approved Express Mail shipping label.
On average, Priority Mail prices increase by 3.5 percent. Priority Mail flat-rate pricing is one flat rate regardless of the actual weight (up to 70 pounds) or domestic destination. The Postal Service is increasing the convenience of using Priority Mail — all domestic USPS-produced Priority Mail envelopes smaller than 12.5" x 9.5" will be priced the same as the regular Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope, whether or not the envelope includes the wording “Flat Rate Envelope.” This new option includes flat-rate pricing for the USPS-produced gift card envelopes, small envelopes, and window envelopes.
Additional new Priority Mail Flat Rate offerings include the Priority Mail Legal Flat Rate Envelope and Priority Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelope (formerly available only to commercial plus customers), which are offered for the same price at retail as the Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope.
Hold For Pickup service, which allows mailpieces to be held at a designated Post Office™ location for pickup by a specified addressee or designee, is now available for all online and commercial Priority Mail items except Critical Mail items. Packages must bear the Hold For Pickup label and Intelligent Mail® package barcode.
Retail prices increase an average of 3.9 percent. Other than flat-rate items, Priority Mail retail prices, starting at $5.10, continue to be priced based on distance (zone) and weight. We continue to offer the Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box to APO/FPO/DPO destination addresses at $2 less than retail prices.
Commercial base prices increase an average of 3.2 percent and are 6.6 percent lower on average than retail prices. Commercial base prices are available to customers who pay postage with USPS-approved IBI postage meters; to qualify for commercial base prices, they must print the IBI with the appropriate price marking for commercial plus items and electronically transmit transactional data to the Postal Service.
Commercial plus prices increase an average of 2 percent and are 13.6 percent lower on average than retail prices. Commercial plus prices are available to new and existing customers who qualify for commercial base prices and whose cumulative account volume is more than a combined total of 5,000 letter-size and flat-size pieces (including Flat Rate Envelopes and Critical Mail but excluding Padded Flat Rate Envelopes) or 75,000 total pieces (letters, flats, and parcels, including Critical Mail, but excluding Priority Mail Open and Distribute) in the previous calendar year or who have a customer agreement with the Postal Service. Priority Mail commercial plus pricing is now available to customers who use USPS-approved IBI postage meters that print the IBI with the appropriate price marking, electronically transmit transactional data daily to USPS for all mailpieces and mail categories, and meet the cumulative account volumes listed above.
Commercial plus cubic pricing was introduced in January 2010, and the account volume threshold remains at 250,000 Priority Mail pieces for the previous calendar year. Cubic pricing consists of five price tiers. Commercial plus cubic prices are based on zone and the package size (cubic volume) rather than its weight. Packages can range in size up to one-half cubic foot and weigh up to 20 pounds. For 2011, the commercial plus cubic standards were revised as follows:
n Longest dimension cannot exceed 18 inches.
n Rolls and tubes are not allowed.
n As a new postage payment option, Merchandise Return Service (MRS) is allowed for pieces returned at Priority Mail prices.
n When measuring pieces to calculate pricing tiers, any fraction of a measurement is now rounded down to the nearest 1/4 inch instead of rounding off each measurement to the nearest whole inch; all other measurement steps remain the same.
Note: Commercial base and commercial plus prices apply to postage only, and do not include extra services such as insurance and Pickup on Demand service.
* Packaging for the USPS-produced Priority Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelope and Legal Flat Rate Envelope is not available at Post Office retail locations but may be ordered online at www.usps.com/shop.
The Priority Mail Regional Rate Box is a new offering (for domestic use only) available for Priority Mail commercial base and commercial plus customers. All approved Priority Mail commercial base and commercial plus postage payment methods apply excluding Priority Mail Open and Distribute. Regional Rate Boxes can also be used with MRS parcels returned at Priority Mail prices.
Regional Rate Box prices are based on which box is used and the zone:
n Regional Rate Box A has a 15-pound maximum weight limit and prices start at $4.97.
n Regional Rate Box B has a 20-pound maximum weight limit and prices start at $5.81.
USPS-produced packaging is required, and top-loaded and side-loaded options are available for Regional Rate Box A and Regional Rate Box B. Customers may order these boxes only online at www.usps.com/shop. (See the article “DMM Revision: Domestic Shipping Services Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes” on pages 1–24 for more information about Regional Rate Box.)
Critical Mail is a new category of domestic Priority Mail for commercial plus customers who mail more than 5,000 total pieces of barcoded, automation-compatible letters and flats (including Flat Rate Envelopes but not the Padded Flat Rate Envelope). Critical Mail is available as a letter, priced at $3.50, or as a flat, priced at $4.25.
Mailers must use USPS-produced Critical Mail packaging; authorized customers may order these envelopes only by calling Expedited Packaging Supplies at 800-610-8734. These envelopes are not available online or at retail Post Office locations. Critical Mail includes optional free electronic Delivery Confirmation™ service and will travel in the automation mail processing stream. (See the article “DMM Revision: Domestic Shipping Services Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes” on pages 1–24 for more information about Critical Mail.)
On average, Parcel Select prices will increase by 4.4 percent. Parcel Select is a bulk ground shipping method.
The average price increase for Parcel Select is:
We also are revising Parcel Select mailing standards as follows:
n Parcel Select Hold For Pickup service will now be limited to barcoded, nonpresorted parcels.
n The price for a 1-pound nondestination entry Parcel Select parcel, which is currently the same across all destination zones, will now be priced according to weight and the applicable zone.
Parcel Return Service is a companion product for Parcel Select and a convenient way for merchants who receive a large volume of returns to provide a label to their customers for return of merchandise. The merchant guarantees the return postage of these items.
On average, Parcel Return Service prices increase 3.1 percent as follows:
n Return network distribution center (RNDC) — 0.9%.
n Return delivery unit (RDU) — 8.0%.
