April 17, 2011 saw a postage rate increase from the U.S. Postal Service for a number of mail classes. Here is a quick overview of changes that might affect you:
Postage Rate Increases
- While First Class Letters (single piece, one ounce) remain at $0.44, the cost of additional ounces increased from $0.17 to $0.20.
- Postcard rates rose by one cent from $0.28 to $0.29.
- Charges increased for special services like Signature Confirmation, Certified Mail and Registered Mail.
- Business Mailers will see increases and changes to Standard Mail, Periodicals and Package Services.
Express Mail and Priority Mail prices remained the same (they were increased just this past January). Increases, by law, are limited to the Consumer Price Index cap of 1.7 percent, and come in response to decreased mail volumes and reported losses of $8.5 billion in the fiscal year 2010 for the USPS. A current price schedule can be found at the USPS website – or for a fast estimate of your mail costs check out the Postage Calculator on our website.
Mailing rules and pricing from the USPS are complex and intricate. Call on ImageSmith at 828.684.4512 for any advice or questions you may have about our mailing services and how we can save you time, hassle and money! It’s one of the ways we earn our stripes!
