USPS will be increasing their prices on May 31.
Here’s a quick and dirty overview of the changes.
Price increases
For the Market Dominant classes (First-Class Mail, Periodicals, Standard Mail and Periodicals), prices are going up an average of 1.96% per class. However, each of the price cells vary in their increases – from almost no change to 10% or more. This is most visible in First-Class Mail. Because the price of most retail stamps did not increase, the effective price bump for presorted First-Class is 2.2-2.3%. For Periodicals, the bundle charges have increased significantly, with pound rates holding steady. To see how your postage will be affected, we recommend running sample sorts using software that supports the rate change.
Sort Changes
The biggest change, other than the prices themselves, will be the changes to flats in FSS zones. Previously, FSS-prepared pieces would get the same price as their non-FSS counterparts. With this price change, flats in FSS bundles will get an automation or nonautomation FSS rate. The new FSS rate is lower than most automation prices, but higher than many Carrier Route prices. Mailers will be able to exclude Carrier Route High Density and High Density Plus prices from FSS preparation to claim the better prices.
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New Promotions
There will be four incentive programs active for 2015, and each will run longer than previous years. The promotion and incentive programs are a good way for mailers to try out new mail piece designs and gain a postage discount in the process. The incentives for 2015 are:
Earned Value Promotion: Earn a $0.02-0.03 rebate for Business Reply Mail and Courtesy Reply Mail pieces returned to you from May 1 through July 31.
Emerging and Advanced Technology: Get a 2% discount on First-Class and Standard Mail pieces that include advanced technology such as NFC, enhanced augmented reality, special inks, paper or interactive elements. Valid for mailings entered June 1 through November 30.
Color Transpromo: Get a 2% discount on First-Class bills and statements that include dynamic/variable color print for marketing and consumer messages on the statement. Valid for mailings entered June 1 through November 30.
Mail Drives Mobile Engagement: Get a 2% discount on Standard Mail letters and flats that use a barcode or other print/mobile technology to direct the user to a mobile-optimized shopping website. Valid for mailings entered July 1 through December 31.