The time has come, and the rates are in.
On October 9th the United States Postal Service (USPS) filed their proposed price changes with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). These proposed rates are set to take place at midnight on January 26, 2020.
The best news is that First-Class rates are staying pretty much the same. A First-Class stamp will continue to be only 55 cents.
Like clockwork, extra services are increasing in the Certified Mail fees area, with Certified Mail base fees going up a nickel.
And with each proposed rate increase, there is always a twist of some sort. This year, USPS is separating out extra ounces of flats from extra ounces of letters. These two have historically been tied at the hip with “extra ounces” simply being the same rate for any type of First-Class letter regardless of size. Now, any First-Class letter with physical dimensions larger than 11 ½ inches by 6 1/8 inches (11.5” X 6.125”), known as a Large Envelope, or Flat will see a $0.20 per additional ounce.
Here’s the list of items unchanged by the 2020 rates:
- First-Class stamps staying at $0.55
- First-Class Postcard Rate staying at $0.35
- Extra Ounces staying at $0.15 (for letters, not flats)
- Flat base rate staying at $1.00
And some items that are experiencing an increase, such as:
- International Rates going up from $1.15 to $1.20
- Certified Mail going up from $3.40 to $3.55
- Return Receipt going up from $2.80 to $2.85
- Electronic Return Receipt going up from $1.60 to $1.70
- Registered Mail going up from $12.40 to $12.60
- Flats Extra Ounces going up from $0.15 to $0.20
Sorry, this year we didn’t find any fees that went down for the products that we offer.
Click here to review the USPS 2020 postage rate press release.
Click here to download the complete list of 2020 USPS postage rate changes. Keep in mind, the Notice 123 for 2020 is still in review by the RPC and subject to change, but the USPS generally gets the rates they ask for.
We should remind you that LetterStream seldom ever raises our base rates, instead, we just increase prices by the amount of the USPS rate increase so you can expect the same this year as well. LetterStream will be implementing these changes on January 24th, 2020 by 5 PM, so plan ahead and get your jobs in our system before the 24th to get the past prices.