New Products and Innovations

New Metered Mail Price

With the price change effective January 26, 2014, the Postal Service™ implemented a new “meter price” for sin­gle-piece non-presorted First-Class Mail® letters. The meter price is available for any single-piece First-Class Mail letters with postage paid by meter, permit imprint, pre-can­celled stamps, business reply mail permit (BRM), or PC Postage®, including customized postage. It is available for single-piece First-Class Mail letter mail whether it is mailed at retail (dropped off at a retail counter or dropped into a blue USPS® collection box) or as a residual piece in a com­mercial mailing. The price for up to one ounce is 48 cents.

All existing requirements for single-piece mail remain unchanged. For Permit Imprint mailings, the minimum piece requirement of at least 200 pieces per mailing contin­ues to apply.

As shown in the table below, the new price category is based on incremental weights up to 3.5 ounces and is one cent lower than the single-piece stamped machinable First-Class Mail letter price. Postal Service employees should not mark these pieces as postage due when they are one cent below the stamped price.

Note:  

n The one cent difference between stamp and meter pricing is for First-Class Mail letters only; metered First-Class Mail cards and flats continue to have the same price as stamped First-Class Mail cards and flats.

n CPUs are required to charge the “stamp price” start­ing at 49 cents per piece when they meter pieces at a CPU.

 

Weight Not Over (ounces)

First-Class Mail Letter STAMP Price

First-Class Mail Letter METER Price

1

0.49

0.48

2

0.70

0.69

3

0.91

0.90

3.5

1.12

1.11

The new metered mail price was presented in the December 18, 2013 Federal Register Notice and the December 26, 2013 issue of the Postal Bulletin.