USPS Priority Mail increases coming Jan 22nd

[Smoke4320]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service today filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes for Shipping Services products to take effect next year, following the end of the holiday mailing season. The filing does not include any price increase for First-Class Package International Service, Priority Mail Express International and Priority Mail International.
The Postal Service continues to provide excellent value and reliability for the shipping industry, along with convenient choices for consumers. The average Shipping Services price change is 3.9 percent, which results in an average shipping price of less than $5 per shipment across all shipping products.
The new prices, if approved, represent a modest price increase in Priority Mail by 3.9 percent and an average of 3.3 percent in Priority Mail Retail prices.
The Priority Mail Flat Rate Box and Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope prices for these products are:

	Current	New
Small flat-rate box	$6.80	$7.15
Medium flat-rate box	13.45	13.60
Large flat-rate box	18.75	18.85
Large APO/FPO flat-rate box	16.75	17.35
Regular flat-rate envelope	6.45	6.65
Legal flat-rate envelope	6.45	6.95
Padded flat-rate envelope	6.80	7.20

The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect Jan. 22, 2017. The complete Postal Service price filing with the new prices for all Shipping Services products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section: http://www.prc.gov/dockets/daily
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Just got notification On January 22nd, the new 2017 USPS rates will take effect. Below are detailed breakdowns for each service level.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If you ever ordered a NOE mold, you will know that it comes in a USPS box, inside a

Regular flat-rate envelope

6.45

6.65

I have shipped items this same way many times.
I was recently told, they (my post office) will no longer accept a package where a box is put in a Regular flat-rate envelope, but will accept a box inside a padded flat-rate envelope. I have a real good relationship with one of the USPS clerks at my local post office and she is the one that told me this. She told me that was an announcement made via e-mail by upper management to all clerks. She did accept the package I brought that day, but said she'd be inforcing that new rule starting Jan 22.

[Electric88]

Wow, a $.35 price jack on SFRB? I guess we know which one is getting used the most.

[Hardcast416taylor]

That means that I had better do all this years mailing of boxes before next Monday!Robert

[kingstrider]

Well that sucks, most of my shipping is using the small flat rate boxes. Oh well, I'll just stick them in flat rate envelopes instead and save .50 cents.

[Smoke4320]

If the Flat rate envelope is over 3/4" thick they will reject them now
You can send them in a padded envelope but they are NOW (jan 22nd) 5 cents higher than the SRFB

[MUSTANG]

Sooooo we need a 3.9% rate increase, yet the Official Federal inflation rate for 2016 was only 1.7% . Didn't we have a similar large increase about this time last year?

Maybe the President Elect could change focus from Private Industry a few days and address the Post Office and Federal Agencies escalations for a bit.

[jcwit]

Gas went up more than $ .35 in the last few months. BIG DEAL!

[Blackwater]

It used to be that being appointed to a postal job was an honor, an expression of trust. Now, it's just a political reward, and some of the worst potential candidates have been given jobs there. Most are nice enough, but few seem really motivated or dedicated to "efficiency" and getting the job done. They're even unionized, I believe!!! With the developments of electronic communication, the business they used to have now goes over the air waves, mostly. All they carry now is parcels and junk mail to a large extent. It may well be time to turn the postal service over to more efficient people, and take that off the backs of the taxpayers. Some will resent that, if they are supping at the USPS's trough, but I can't help the situation being what it is. It's sad to see anyone lose a job, but even moreso to continue something that just CAN'T really work any more. Or at least cut the inefficient jobs? Something IS going to be done, sooner or later. It's just a matter of time. And having someone willing to admit it's time to DO something.

[dragon813gt]

The flat rate boxes aren't an economical way to send small lightweight items. For lead they're the best deal around. But smaller stuff costs more than other options. You're paying for the convenience.

[Bzcraig]

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Though this is true, it is put out by the letter carriers union and disingenuous.

If you wish to read the entire article: http://www.politifact.com/georgia/st...-fully-target/

There’s been a lot of conversation lately about proposed cuts to the U.S. Postal Service, particularly the idea of ending Saturday delivery.
PolitiFact Georgia reader Wallace Cooper said he was skeptical about a specific claim in a recent television ad about the taxpayer cost of delivering the mail and asked us to do some fact-checking.
"Members of the American Postal Workers Union handle more than 165 billion letters and packages a year. That’s about 34 million pounds every day. Ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? Millions? Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions?" a voice says in the 30-second ad.
The answer: "Not a single cent."
Deliveries are solely funded by stamps and postage, the voice says.
The ad was put together by the American Postal Workers Union. The union writes on its website that the ad was created to combat "detrimental legislation."
The Postal Service boasts that nothing will keep its mail carriers from their appointed rounds. We at PolitiFact Georgia share a similar intrepid ethic regarding getting to the bottom of a claim. So what did we find?
The Postal Service says on the facts page of its website that it does not receive tax dollars for its operations, but some context is necessary here.
First, let’s look at its current situation.
Before 1971, the Postal Service received annual appropriations from the federal government. Since then, it has operated independently, with revenues generated through the sales of postage stamps and services.
But Congress does give the Postal Service $100 million a year to compensate the agency for revenue loss by providing, at congressional direction, free mailing privileges to blind people and overseas voters, a congressional report noted. The $100 million is less than 1 percent of the Postal Service’s annual budget.
In 2012, the Postal Service pulled in about $65 billion in revenue, it says on its website. That’s $10 billion less than what collected in 2008, the year the Great Recession took hold. By some reports, the Postal Service is losing $25 million a day. The volume of mail the Postal Service handles has declined by nearly 27 percent since 2008, as Americans rely more on email communications instead of letters.
The Postal Service’s debt rose from nothing to $10.2 billion between federal fiscal years 2005 and 2009, according to a congressional report. The federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and concludes Sept. 30.
Another congressional report found Postal Service operating costs may be the largest reason for its financial troubles. In 2006, Congress passed legislation requiring the Postal Service to pre-fund its future retirees’ health benefits at a cost of approximately $5.6 billion per year.
The Postal Service has cut expenses through a hiring freeze, offering early retirement to longtime employees and closing some district offices. It’s also increased revenue in recent years through several increases in the price of a postage stamp.
In 2009, the Postal Service began borrowing money from the U.S. Treasury Department to deal with its troubles. Some news accounts report the service reached its borrowing limit of $15 billion in September 2012.

[GRUMPA]

The more I read about this, and research a bit, they have any and all loop-holes closed.

[frkelly74]

Guess I'll try a regional A Flat rate box. The envelopes were a great thing but may have been to good to be true for long.

[Sam Casey]

There are some boxes at my PO that are about same size as Medium box, but size is not printed on box. Seems like cost varies depending on destination. Short distance seem to cost less? Is there a way to know cost to use this box in advance? Thanks.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Our local postmaster has been telling me, in confidence, a lot of the petty things coming down on his office from higher up. The latest one was that his delivery people need to cut 2 hours off of their route delivery times and no overtime after 40 hours. A former job he had as a underwater welder and salvage operator was easy compared to this!Robert

[frkelly74]

When I was shipping more stuff and using Clik-n-ship There was a table you could call up and punch in dimensions and weight to compare rates. there were also all flat rate options listed and you could see if there was a savings between regular flat rate and regional flat rate. I do not know if this still exists, since it is no longer cheaper to use Clik-N-Ship I do not use it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

There are some boxes at my PO that are about same size as Medium box, but size is not printed on box. Seems like cost varies depending on destination. Short distance seem to cost less? Is there a way to know cost to use this box in advance? Thanks.

I've found it a bit tough to decipher the regional box rates, but the info is on the USPS website. Usually the numbers listed, are for commercial account rates, which are about 10% cheaper than residential rates. I don't even try to figure them out anymore. With that said, I frequently use the regional A box (just a bit smaller than a MFRB), if the recipient is within 1000 miles of me, and it's almost always $6 or $7.

[frkelly74]

There is also a regional B box which is almost the same capacity as the medium FRB which has been several dollars cheaper than Med FRB going from Florida to Michigan. But the weight limit is not the 70 lbs on those. I think it is 30 lbs but that might not be accurate any more. We need a shipping consultant on here , looks like.

[GRUMPA]

I looked into those regional boxes some time ago, and here's what I found out about those at the time. Yes they are cheaper, but....you have to have an account with the USPS and pay them for shipping then print out your own label.

Correct me if I'm wrong with that.

[Jeff Michel]

Still cheaper than me personally delivering/receiving an item on the other side of the country. Prices are bound to increase, with electronic communication, sending mail (letters) which was their primary revenue source is just about a thing of the past.