USPS rate increase of 1/22/2017

ScramMan2

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Info from the USPS said only First Class forever stamps were going up to $0.49.

I was at my local PO this morning getting a Media Mail shipment out. The 1 pound rate went up to $2.63 from $2.61.

Anyone else have other categories go up? Such as FCM package rate? I printed and mailed three of these before the rate increase so I don't know for sure if they went up.
 
All I know is it is too expensive to ship stuff anymore. We just sent a 3.4lb package to Norway with $25 worth of stuff in it. It cost me $49.50 to send it. I am also trying to sell a stupid xmas clock on CL and they want close to $25 to send it to Jersey from PA, I am selling the clock for $10.
 
Part of the problem with postal rates is that they have no airplanes to transport mail. Congress decided years ago that the USPS having their own planes would hurt the commercial airlines business. Then they deregulated the airlines and the airlines jacked up the cargo prices. The post office has worked out deals with UPS and FedEx to obtain space on their planes for mail, but it still hamstrings the P.O. by not letting them transport the mail themselves.

I still consider the rates a bargain considering how much prices have risen over the past decade. I've mailed several thousand packages through the post office over the last 17 years and only a small amount of those had trouble, most of them going overseas.
 
Priority Mail small flat rate box and envelope also went up. Seems like it's across the board.

I only do domestic. No international. Too many problems and too expensive.
 
Just saw the rate jump on eBay.

USPS was nuts high.
Now, ????

But it's weird.
Just sent a large box to Alaska and it was cheap!?!?!

The govt really needs an overhaul. The whole USPS thing is screwy. I know the details of how USPS is mandated. It's going to get killed when Amazon starts direct delivery.
 
Part of the problem with postal rates is that they have no airplanes to transport mail. Congress decided years ago that the USPS having their own planes would hurt the commercial airlines business. Then they deregulated the airlines and the airlines jacked up the cargo prices. The post office has worked out deals with UPS and FedEx to obtain space on their planes for mail, but it still hamstrings the P.O. by not letting them transport the mail themselves.

I still consider the rates a bargain considering how much prices have risen over the past decade. I've mailed several thousand packages through the post office over the last 17 years and only a small amount of those had trouble, most of them going overseas.

Postal rates are cheaper now than they were 125 years ago!
 
Not only USPS. Fed ex rates have doubled. Back in August 2016 I sent a 70# package which consisted of a Pelican 1640 case and a Sony STR 7055 receiver and that came to $53.
To send that same case with NO receiver is $55. The case weighs 38#. What happened?
It's getting prohibitive to get things repaired now or at the very least you'll think twice about sending that $150 receiver to be fixed.
 
you should try the rates to Canada, Priority Mail medium flat rate is triple the US rate.

1 ounce package to Canada is $9.50.

the best way to ship to Canada is to have the recipient check the closest US PO across the border
that will take "General Delivery" and ship using US methods. that $45 PM flat rate drop to the $13+
rate.

Bob
 
It's called "dimensional weight"... essentially, as the package gets larger physically at some point the cost to ship it is determined more by the size than the weight. Not new, has been that way for quite awhile now. Freight carriers value space over weight, for ground shipments anyway.

Pelican case is more than big enough to trigger dimensional weight. Look at it this way, you got the receiver shipped for free... but the cost to send the case itself was $53 and now it's $55 so not a huge increase.

John

Not only USPS. Fed ex rates have doubled. Back in August 2016 I sent a 70# package which consisted of a Pelican 1640 case and a Sony STR 7055 receiver and that came to $53.
To send that same case with NO receiver is $55. The case weighs 38#. What happened?
It's getting prohibitive to get things repaired now or at the very least you'll think twice about sending that $150 receiver to be fixed.
 
Not only USPS. Fed ex rates have doubled. Back in August 2016 I sent a 70# package which consisted of a Pelican 1640 case and a Sony STR 7055 receiver and that came to $53.
To send that same case with NO receiver is $55. The case weighs 38#. What happened?
It's getting prohibitive to get things repaired now or at the very least you'll think twice about sending that $150 receiver to be fixed.

Fedex Ground used to be the go to shipper for me. They got rid of oversize 1 and 2 and went to dimensional weight for all packages regardless of weight. That means cost varies by size as well as weight. Ebay rate calculator does not accurately reflect this so I have lost money on Fedex Ground shipments. USPS has a dimension limit but does not charge by dimension. They charge by weight only which is very handy for light but bulky items. I have found USPS rates in Ebay to be accurate as well. Interestingly enough, USPS Priority is competitive with Fedex Ground and often within a few dollars to the East Coast.
 
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