New Postage Rates Begin Monday

Mailers will have the opportunity to obtain lower prices if they find ways to configure the mail into shapes that reduce handling costs for the Postal Service.

Salem-News.com

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - New postage prices and fees go into effect on Monday, including an increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp to 41 cents. But not all prices are going up.

Starting Monday, the price to mail a two-ounce First-Class Mail letter (wedding invitations sometimes weigh two ounces) will drop from the current 63 cents to 58 cents.

Under a new pricing strategy, as mailpieces become heavier, the prices do not increase as much.

The charts below list some of the more common new prices and fees.

Selected Prices Effective on Monday:

• First-Class Letter (1 oz.) 41¢
• First-Class Letter (2 oz.) 58¢ (down from 63¢)
• Postcard 26¢
• Priority Mail (1 lb.) $4.60
• Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box $8.95
• Express Mail (1/2 lb) $16.25
• NEW Express Mail (1 lb) $19.50
• Express Mail (2 lb) $21.40
• Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamp 55¢

Extra Services and Fees Effective on Monday:

• Certified Mail $2.65
• Delivery Confirmation (Priority) 65¢
• Delivery Confirmation (First-Class Mail parcels) 75¢
• Return Receipt (Original Signature) $2.15
• Return Receipt (Electronic) 85¢
• Money Orders (up to $500) $1.05

Individual and business mailers can save money beginning Monday by taking advantage of shaped-based pricing; a new pricing system that recognizes the different costs for handling letters, large envelopes and packages.

Mailers will have the opportunity to obtain lower prices if they find ways to configure the mail into shapes that reduce handling costs for the Postal Service.

For example, if the contents of a First Class Mail large envelope are folded and placed in a letter-sized envelope, customers can reduce postage by as much as 39 cents per piece. If the contents of a First-Class Mail package are reconfigured to fit into a large envelope, customers can save 33 cents per piece.

Customers also have the opportunity to save money on future mailings by buying Forever Stamps at the new 41-cent First-Class Mail letter price. The value on these stamps will always be the one-ounce letter price and can be used for any future one-ounce letter mailing without extra postage.

The Forever Stamp, other 41-cent stamps, and one- and two-cent stamps are available at post offices nationwide, online at www.usps.com, and available by telephone at (800) STAMP-24. The 41-cent stamps will also be available at Automated Postal Centers and ATMs nationwide beginning Monday.

In addition to the new domestic rates, changes will take effect Monday for customers sending international mail. USPS has simplified its eight main international products into four: Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Mail International. New packaging will allow mailers to use the same Priority Mail and Express Mail packaging for shipping within the United States and to other countries.

Additional information on the new prices is available at www.usps.com/prices.