USPS Price Increase - Jan 27, 2013

It was recently brought to my attention that the post office is increasing prices for... everything. For someone that loves to send snail mail, I'm getting more and more discouraged. I guess I'll be stocking up on Forever Stamps over the next few days! The biggest deal, for Mark and I, is that the flat rate boxes are increasing. When that's the way that we send Christmas and other gifts home, a few dollars makes a big difference.

Photo: here

Here's the breakdown:

Domestic Flat Rate Boxes:

• Small: $5.80
• Medium: $12.35
• Large: $16.85
• Large FPO/APO: $14.85
• Flat Rate Envelope: $5.60
• Legal Size Envelope: $5.75
• Padded Envelope: $5.95

This increase is, apparently, because they are including tracking "at no charge." However, I find raising the prices overall to be a charge, right?! Oh man... the post office...

Photo: here

This article has a lot of good price information if you have an Etsy Shop, have a business where you might ship internationally, or if you just have a lot of friends in other countries. I can't believe that Priority Mail Small Flat Rate boxes are going from $16.95 to $23.95! This is going to impact a lot of people that will now have to increase their shipping costs, which will cause a lot of customers not to purchase from their online store or a lot of business owners to stop shipping outside of the US altogether.

How to save:

Photo: here

If you're planning on shipping a lot of flat rates within the year, buy the Prepaid Forever Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes. They come with postage already on them and you pay today's rate. It says that they're available for FPO/APO, but they are still more expensive than actual FPO/APO shipping costs will be after the increase.

Buy your stamps on Ebay. People auction off EVERYTHING, including stamps. This blog post gives you the tips and tricks of buying on Ebay to save some money!

I don't know a ton about these services, but I think with the right research money could be saved by using FedEx SmartPost, UPS Mail Innovations, or services like Global Mail. Basically, research and exhaust all of your options. If you really want to save money, there's always a way!