New prices and product features for our shipping services product line will become effective Sunday, January 18, 2009. The Postal Service™ will also implement new mailing standards consisting of minor classifications changes to support the price changes. We will only change shipping services prices in January. In February 2009, we will announce price changes for mailing services, including First-Class Mail® stamp prices. The February price changes will be effective in May.
Shipping services consist of:
Appropriate changes to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), and Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) will be available Sunday, January 18, 2009, online at http://pe.usps.com.
POS ONE and IRT equipment will be programmed for these changes. POS offices do not require any action from the users except making sure POS equipment is not turned off for the EDD download. IRT offices should ensure they update their terminals with the appropriate update version disk.
Notice 123, Price List, is available at www.usps.com/prices. A copy of Notice 123 is also published in this Postal Bulletin.
Overall, Express Mail prices will increase 5.7 percent on average. Other than the flat-rate envelope, we continue to base Express Mail prices on weight and distance (zone). We continue to offer reduced commercial base pricing, replacing the current rebate process for high-volume commercial base customers with a separate pricing category — commercial plus. Also, we have individual price lists for all the Express Mail pricing categories. The Express Mail flat-rate envelope retail price will be $17.50 for material mailed in a flat-rate envelope, regardless of the weight or distance traveled. The Sunday/holiday premium price will remain $12.50.
Overall, Priority Mail prices will increase 3.9 percent on average, and retail prices will increase 4.7 percent. The Priority Mail flat-rate envelope retail price and the unzoned 1-pound price will be $4.95. We will also introduce a new Priority Mail small flat-rate box that will be priced the same as the flat-rate envelope at $4.95, regardless of weight or destination. Customers will have four convenient flat-rate box options from which to choose. Below is a table of the new Priority Mail flat-rate pricing. We will continue to offer a $2 reduction in price for the large flat-rate box to APO/FPO destinations.
New Priority Mail Flat-Rate Pricing
Parcel Select combines parcel consolidator expertise and logistics with the vast delivery network of the Postal Service. Parcels are primarily for destination entry, such as Parcel Select–Destination Delivery Unit (DDU), Parcel Select–Destination Sectional Center Facility (DSCF), and Parcel Select–Destination Bulk Mail Center (DBMC). Parcel Select also includes Inter-BMC/ASF parcels prepared and mailed at Origin BMC (OBMC) Presort and BMC Presort, and machinable parcels prepared for barcoded discounts. The average overall price will increase 6.2 percent, but for DDU entry, the increase is only 4.7 percent. We continue to offer Parcel Select destination entry no-fee (electronic) Delivery Confirmation™ service. We also continue to provide the loyalty and growth incentives implemented in May 2008.
Parcel Return Service (PRS) is the companion product for Parcel Select, for merchants who receive a large volume of returns and want to provide their customers with the convenience of a return solution, and for shipping consolidators or reverse logistic providers. PRS features free Carrier Pickup™ service and competitive rates with two pricing options — one for return delivery unit and the other for return bulk mail center. There will be no price increase for the return delivery unit parcels and an average of 7.1 percent increase for the return bulk mail center parcels.
Overall, international shipping services prices will increase 8.5 percent on average. Prices increase for Global Express Guaranteed (GXG), Express Mail International (EMI), Priority Mail International (PMI), and M-bags. We will expand commercial base prices to include qualifying end-user customers that pay postage using an IBI metering system and transmit Customs forms electronically.
For mail destinating to Australia and New Zealand, we will add a new separate price group 10 for EMI and PMI. First-Class Mail International, including Airmail M-bags, will remain the same.
Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) prices will increase 11.2 percent on average. We continue to offer a 10 percent reduction with commercial base prices. We will expand commercial base price availability to include customers that pay postage using information based indicia (IBI) postage metering systems, and customers who use Click-N-Ship® service, or registered end-users of approved PC Postage® systems.
Express Mail International (EMI) prices will increase by 8.5 percent and vary by country price group and weight increments. We will continue to offer an 8 percent reduction with commercial base prices. We will expand commercial base price availability to include customers paying postage through the use of IBI metering systems and customers who use Click-N-Ship® service, or registered end-users of approved PC Postage® systems. Also, customers who pay postage through a permit imprint advanced deposit account and customers who use authorized mail preparation software will continue to receive a price reduction of 8 percent below retail prices.
Express Mail Corporate Account (EMCA) and permit imprint manifest mailing systems customers who also use USPS-provided Global Shipping Software (GSS) for mail preparation and Customs-related functions will continue to be eligible for prices 8, 10, or 12 percent lower than retail prices, depending upon annual volume or postage. A customer will receive commercial base prices during the first postal quarter of mailing. Thereafter, the incentive for each postal quarter is determined by the actual annualized volume or postage paid for EMI mailed in the previous full postal quarter. We will continue to offer additional volume pricing through customized agreements.
Priority Mail International prices will increase 8.5 percent. Price increases will vary based on country price group and weight increments. We continue to offer a 5 percent reduction with commercial base prices. We will expand commercial base price availability to include customers paying postage through the use of IBI metering systems, and customers who use Click-N-Ship service, or registered end-users of approved PC Postage systems. Also, customers who pay postage through a permit imprint advanced deposit account and customers who use authorized mail preparation software will continue to pay 5 percent below retail prices.
The new small flat-rate box will be available for international shipping, and will be the same price and carry the same weight limit (4 pounds), and require the same Customs form (PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22) and content restrictions for each country as the Priority Mail International flat-rate envelope. Registered Mail™ service is available, but insurance is not available. The retail price for the small flat-rate box and the flat-rate envelope will be $10.95 for Canada or Mexico and $12.95 for all other countries, and is eligible for commercial base prices.
International Direct Sacks (Airmail M-bags) are direct sacks of printed matter and non-dutiable merchandise sent to one addressee with weight-based prices. Prices will increase an average of 8 percent.
Carrier Pickup service remains a no fee service, and Pickup On Demand service remains $14.75. Even though Premium Forwarding Service is used with Priority Mail service, there are no price changes at this time. The weekly shipment charge remains $11.95, and the enrollment fee remains $10. There are no changes to any permit or annual fees. However, Merchandise Return Service and Business Reply Mail items returned as Priority Mail items will be subject to new Priority Mail pricing effective January 18, 2009.
