The USPS postage rate increase goes into effect on January 27, 2013. Stamps.com is hosting a free webinar for small business owners and e-commerce sellers to discuss how the USPS postage rate increase will affect mailing and shipping costs in 2013.

What: Free webinar on 2013 USPS Postage Rate Increase

When: Monday, January 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. ET

Where: Register for FREE at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/568309578

Topics Covered:

• Information on all USPS mail class rate increases
• Compare the new USPS rates to private carrier increases
• Learn about the new USPS products for 2013 including Standard Post and First Class Package International Service
• Find out about international changes to USPS Flat Rate service
• Learn how you can lower costs using exclusive online postage discounts

FedEx and UPS recently raised their shipping rates by an overall average of 5.9% for 2013.  But an article written by Ken Wood of LJM Freight Auditing & Consulting that was recently published in Multi-Channel Merchant magazine shows the average rate increase can be much higher for commonly shipped packages.

Ken dissects how the private carriers use the word “average” to their benefit and how the majority of packages (shipments under 30 lbs.) have much higher annual rate increases for 2013.

“For example, a 3 lb. UPS Ground package going to zone 3 increased by 8.94% while a 74 lb. package going to zone 3 increased by 1.69%. Shipments weighing between 1lb. and 10 lbs. increased on average 8% while shipments weighing between 71 lbs. and 150 lbs. increased on average 4.7%. This is why the carriers can continue to quote an average increase of 4.9%. Your actual increase will be closer to 7.5% and that doesn’t include the ever increasing “Surcharges and Accessorial Fees”.

The article also discusses how additional fees for items such as address corrections, residential surcharges, dimensional weight charges and delivery area surcharges (to name a few) have been increasing at a higher percentage than the base rates and 2013 is no different.

Read the entire article at MultiChannelMerchant.com

Did the package ship? With the U.S. Postal Service’s SCAN Form (Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice), you and your customers will always know the answer.

What is a SCAN Form?
The SCAN Form is a piece of paper that contains a master barcode that includes all the packages associated in a shipment.  The SCAN Form saves the USPS employee time by allowing them to scan only one barcode (the SCAN Form) to enter all of the associated packages into the USPS’s Track & Confirm database rather than scanning each package individually. Once scanned, both you and the package recipient can see the date the package entered mailstream.

Steps to Print a SCAN form in Stamps.com

#1  Print shipping labels for all your packages for the day, and label and seal your packages.

#2  Click “SCAN form” under the View History menu, which is located in the left navigation bar when using the software or in the top navigation bar for the website.

#3  In the table, select the check box that corresponds to each of the day’s packages that you want to include on the SCAN form.  Click “Print SCAN Form.” The SCAN Confirmation dialog box opens.

#4  If desired, select “Also print instructions & details.” With this option, the SCAN form is printed with a list of the packages that are associated with it, to help you organize your packages. This list is not part of the SCAN form, and should not be presented to a USPS clerk or carrier.

#5  Click “Print SCAN Form.” Your browsers Print window will open.

#6  Select your printer and click “Print” to print the SCAN form.

#7  If the print was successful then click “Close” on the SCAN Confirmation dialog, otherwise click “Print SCAN Form” again to reprint.

After you print the SCAN form, gather the packages together, and bring them and the SCAN form to the Post Office (or leave them with the SCAN form for your carrier to pick up). The clerk or carrier will scan the barcode on the SCAN form. The SCAN form will be returned to you for your records.

Note: For best results, finish printing your postage for the day and print your SCAN form by 9:00 p.m. (local time). After that time, Stamps.com starts electronically submitting information about your packages to the USPS, and any items submitted this way cannot be included on a SCAN form.