The Postal Service will implement new postal rates on January 22, 2023. This increase comes just 6 months after the previous increase in July 2022. The new rates include a $0.03 increase in the price of a First-Class Forever stamp – from $0.60 to $0.63 each. According to the Postal Service these ongoing price increases are needed due to rising inflation and increasing operating expenses.
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Postage Increases Keep Coming. The postal rate increases that occurred in August 2021 and July 2022 totaled 13% and were not kind to mailers’ budgets. In addition, the USPS announced that it will raise postage rates twice a year beginning in 2023.
On October 7, the Postal Service filed a price increase which if approved will take effect January 22, 2023. The PRC is expected to approve the filing in November. Because the USPS is filing just six months from the previous increase in July 2022, the rate authority available for January is only 4.2%. Another 2% can also be added for “non-compensatory” (underwater) categories.
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Has your company participated in the USPS Informed Delivery Promotion in the past? If not, definitely consider it for 2022. Running August through September, mailings that participate in the Informed Delivery Promotion receive a 4% postage discount!
To put it in perspective, if you mail 1 million packages at Marketing Mail rates, postage could be a whopping $250,000 at current postal rates. A 4% discount equals approximately $10,000 which equals free postage for 40,000 pieces! In addition, rates are increasing on July 10th.
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The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 was passed by both the House and Senate, and the President signed it into law on April 6. It has been over 15 years since Congress passed a major piece of postal reform legislation. The Postal Service is one of the oldest government institutions, established in 1775 to promote the free exchange of ideas across the colonies. It does not receive taxpayer funding and relies on revenue from stamps, postage, and package deliveries. Congress has also mandated that it deliver to every address in the U.S., including remote, hard to reach areas regardless of the financial consequences.
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The big news is that the Postal Service is raising postage rates on August 29, 2021, not the traditional January once-a-year increase. And it’s a large increase due to additional pricing authority given to the USPS. This increase is more than the five previous price increases combined!
Yearly postage increases have been based on the CPI (Consumer Price Index). The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) also granted additional pricing authority to the Postal Service based on three areas:
As we make our way through January and winter, the annual postal rate increase just took place on January 24, 2021. If there is a positive – for mailers this increase is less than the one in 2020 with Marketing Mail rates seeing an average increase of $.003 per piece.
Key changes include –
Download J&Q’s Postal Rates and Reference Guide for the 2021 postage rates, mailpiece qualification specifications, postal optimization tips and more.
Security Is a Top Priority at Johnson & Quin
Security and privacy are top concerns for all types of businesses due to security breaches at major companies in the United States and around the world, as well as the implementation of an increasing number of privacy regulations. How do we keep sensitive information safe from hackers who are persistently working to infiltrate computer networks to steal identities, social media accounts, financial, health and other valuable personal information? This private data is at a much higher risk of being compromised with millions of us now working from home. Mail service providers like J&Q must be able to prove that data, both their own and their clients’ information, is secure.
Informed Delivery is a Postal Service program that provides a digital preview to consumers of their household’s incoming mail. Grayscale images are displayed of letter sized packages that have been processed and scanned through USPS automated sorting equipment. The images can be viewed via email, an online dashboard or mobile app. Individuals can quickly and easily sign up for the program on the USPS website.
Mailers who run an Interactive Informed Delivery Campaign from September 1 through November 30 can take advantage of the USPS promotion and earn a 2% discount on postage! See more below.
Kay Wilt
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Quintessentials Blog 