Your USPS plans get more expensive tomorrow, just in time for the holidays. What there is to know

Planning to send vacation packages this year? You may want to allow a bit more to cover shipping costs if you are using the US Postal Service. This is because the postal service is increasing the price of shipping packages during the holiday season.

The rise in prices goes hand in hand with delivery delays from October 1, which are part of a decade-long plan to stabilize the Postal Service’s difficult finances. The USPS has already raised prices this summer on stamps, flat envelopes, media mail and more. And prices could continue to rise – prices will likely be adjusted twice a year for years to come.

Here’s what to know about the temporary price increases on parcel shipments, including what type of mail the new rules apply to and what to expect next year.

How much will it cost to send a package with the seasonal price increases?

From October 3 to December 25, the U.S. Postal Service will increase the cost of shipping packages from 25 cents to $ 5 depending on the delivery service you choose and how far the package has to travel. Note that this price increase is not for letters – the post office just increased the cost of stamps in August (see below for more information).

The postal service defines a “parcel” as anything that is not a postcard, a letter or a dish (a large envelope, a bulletin or a magazine). A box of cookies, for example, would be a package.

Here are the temporary price increases for shipping packages based on distance the package travels and weight for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground, and USPS Retail Ground. Basically, the distance traveled through Zone 4 is 600 miles, from, say, Boston to Richmond, Virginia:

• $ 0.75 increase for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express flat rate boxes and envelopes.
• Increase of $ 0.25 for zones 1 to 4, 0 to 10 pounds
• Increase of $ 1.50 for zones 1 to 4, 11 to 20 pounds
• Increase of $ 2.50 for zones 1 to 4, 21 to 70 pounds
• Increase of $ 0.75 for zones 5 to 9, 0 to 10 pounds
• Increase of $ 3.00 for zones 5 to 9, 11 to 20 pounds
• $ 5.00 increase for zones 5 to 9, 21 to 70 pounds

Do the new postal rates affect Amazon, UPS and FedEx deliveries?

The current rate increase applies only to packages sent by the US Postal Service. UPS and FedEx are separate from the postal service. Some Amazon packages may arrive via the postal service, but Amazon sets these rates. here’s how track when a parcel will arrive at your doorstep.

Why is the USPS increasing postage rates for vacations?

To help fill a budget deficit, the service has been running since 2007, the US Postal Service is taking a series of measures overseen by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy – some more controversial than others – to put his financial house in order.

The temporary rate hike is intended to cover additional processing costs that the Postal Service said it expects to begin the first week of October with the increase in holiday-related shipments.

Hasn’t La Poste just increased its prices?

Yes. In August, the Postal Service increased the price of a first-class stamp to 58 cents from 55 cents. Before that, the last increase was in 2019, when the Postal Service lowered the price from 50 cents to 55 cents. Taking inflation into account, you can see that the price of a stamp hasn’t changed much over the past hundred years.

Could La Poste increase prices again?

Although the Postal Service calls this price increase during the holiday season, it is the Postal Regulatory Commission that sets the prices. According to a September 15 filing on USPS rate adjustments, there will be no further increase until July 2022. However, the announcement also predicts that starting in 2023, the Postal Service will apply changes in rate each year. prices twice a year, in January and July. .

For more information, here is an overview of the postal service’s policy for slow down some first class couriers. Here is also what we know about the rest payment of the child tax credit and which states send dunning checks now.