Stamps.com Offers New, Lower USPS® Shipping Rates

November 10th, 2023 Comments off
Learn how Stamps.com is now offering the lowest USPS rates in the industry.

Stamps.com today announces the next phase of its decades-long partnership with the United States Post Office (USPS). In a renewed, direct agreement between the USPS and Stamps.com’s parent company, Auctane, we can now offer our customers lower shipping rates than ever before. 

What are the new USPS rates?

Our new agreement with USPS gives our valued customers the lowest USPS rates in the industry. Users can now expect savings of up to 89% off retail rates and up to 15% off Commercial Plus Pricing (CPP) on Priority Mail®. Stamps.com offers all the mail classes and delivery services of USPS right from the convenience of your computer.

When will rates go into effect? 

The new USPS rates have gone into effect as of October 19, 2022. Stamps.com customers automatically have access to these new rates. They do not need to take any steps to access them. 

Holiday Surcharges

In addition to automatically getting discounted rates, customers can (thankfully!) avoid high holiday surcharges this season. One thing to note, these holiday surcharges don’t apply to the weight and zone prices at CPP. But if it’s below CPP, you can avoid these surcharges!

What does this mean for Stamps.com customers?

As a Stamps.com customer, our renewed agreement with USPS gives you more savings on shipping costs than ever before. We want to ensure that our customers can manage their shipping operations efficiently, and our new agreement with USPS is another way we’ll continue to keep your shipping process running smoothly.

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USPS Delivery Service Suspension to China

April 28th, 2023 Comments off
USPS Delivery Suspension to China. January 28, 2022

The U.S. Postal Service has TEMPORARILY suspended Priority Mail International delivery to China as of Friday, January 28, 2022 due to transportation issues.

If your Priority Mail International parcel is already in transit, the USPS will transport the parcel to China and delivery is expected to be delayed. For packages entering the mail stream after January 28, 2022, the USPS will endorse the item as “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender,” returning the parcel to the sender. The USPS will provide a full refund of the shipping costs paid when service to the country of destination is suspended.

Alternate Delivery Options to China
If you have a shipment you need to send to China during this suspension period, we recommend the following options:

UPS International Shipping: Get discounted rates up to 86% off with no peak surcharge

GlobalPost International Standard: Get door-to-door tracking capabilities to over 200 countries

What is GlobalPost International Standard?
GlobalPost International Standard uses a network of postal carriers which provides a similar service to First Class Package International Service at a lower rate. If you don’t see GlobalPost International Standard as an option in your Stamps.com shipping software, contact Customer Care at 1-888-434-0055 (open Monday to Friday, 6 am to 6 pm PT) to request access to GlobalPost carrier services.

USPS Delivery Suspended to Hong Kong

January 19th, 2022 Comments off

The U.S. Postal Service has TEMPORARILY suspended mail and parcel delivery to Hong Kong due to transportation issues with widespread cancellations and restrictions throughout the Hong Kong territory. Delivery service was suspended starting on Friday, January 14, 2022.

The USPS mailing and shipping disruption includes the following services:

If your parcel is already in transit, either the USPS or Hongkong Post will endorse the item as “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender” and then place the package in the mail stream for return. The USPS will provide a full refund of the shipping costs paid when service to the country of destination is suspended.

Alternate Delivery Options to Hong Kong
If you have a shipment you need to send to Hong Kong during this suspension period, we recommend the following options:

What is GlobalPost International Standard?
GlobalPost International Standard uses a network of postal carriers which provides a similar service to First Class Package International Service at a lower rate. If you don’t see GlobalPost International Standard as an option in your Stamps.com shipping software, contact Customer Care at 1-888-434-0055 (open Monday to Friday, 6 am to 6 pm PT) to request access to GlobalPost carrier services.

Categories: USPS News Tags:

Free USPS Priority Mail Boxes To Become Smaller

May 2nd, 2023 Comments off
USPS Makes Free priority mail boxes smalles

The USPS has announced they will be reducing the size of some free Priority Mail boxes and envelopes. Two Priority Mail envelopes and six Priority Mail boxes will be getting smaller, with the reductions ranging from 1/8″ smaller in length on the Priority Mail Tyvek envelope to 2 1/2″ smaller in width on the Priority Mail Regional Rate Box B.

The USPS states these changes are being made to help process Priority Mail boxes and envelopes more efficiently on their sorting equipment, reducing the need for manual package sortation.

Priority Mail Box Size Changes

ItemServiceUSPS Store SKUOLD Outside DimensionsNEW Outside DimensionsSummary of Change
EnvelopePriority Mail Tyvek EnvelopeEP1411-5/8” (W) x 15-1/8” (L)  11-5/8” (W) x 15” (L)  Length of envelope is getting smaller by 1/8"
EnvelopePriority Mail APO/FPO Tyvek Envelope (Mili-Pac)MILIPAC11-5/8” (W) x 15-1/8” (L)  11-5/8” (W) x 15” (L)  Length of envelope is getting smaller by 1/8"
BoxPriority Mail Large Flat Rate BoxLFRB6” (H) x 12-1/4” (W) x 12-1/4” (L)  6” (H) x 12” (W) x 12-1/4” (L)Width of box is getting 1/4" smaller
BoxPriority Mail APO/FPO Large Flat Rate BoxMILIFRB6” (H) x 12-1/4” (W) x 12-1/4” (L) 6” (H) x 12” (W) x 12-1/4” (L)Width of box is getting 1/4" smaller
BoxPriority Mail0-1092 Box 2-7/8” (H) x 12-1/4” (W) x 13-11/16” (L)2-7/8” (H) x 12” (W) x 13-11/16” (L)Width of box is getting 1/4" smaller
BoxPriority Mail0-1095 Box3-1/8” (H) x 12-1/2” (W) x 15-5/8” (L)3-1/8” (H) x 12’ (W) x 15” (L)Width of box is getting 1/2" smaller, length getting 5/8" smaler
BoxPriority Mail Regional Rate Box BRRB-B23” (H) x 14-1/2” (W) x 16-1/4” (L)3” (H) x 12” (W) x 15” (L)Width of box is getting 2 1/2" smaller, length is getting 1 1/4" smaler
BoxPriority MailBox 78-1/2” (H) x 12-1/4” (W) x 12-1/4” (L) 8-1/2” (H) x 12” (W) x12-1/4” (L) Width of box is getting 1/4" smaller

Online retailers who have extra stock of the older box sizes will still be able to use the USPS free shipping supplies until their boxes and envelopes are exhausted. The new box sizes started shipping from the USPS.com site in late September 2021.

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USPS Service Suspension to Australia

May 2nd, 2023 Comments off
USPS Suspends delivery to australia for certain mail classes

9/15/2021 Update: The USPS has temporarily suspended Priority Mail International shipments to Australia as of September 17, 2021. To avoid disruption, use GlobalPost Standard or Priority Mail Express International to ship your packages to Australia. Get more info on GlobalPost Standard

The U.S. Postal Service has TEMPORARILY suspended First Class Package International Service (as of September 3, 2021) and Priority Mail International (as of September 17, 2021) delivery to Australia due to carrier issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Priority Mail Express International delivery is not being impacted and mailpieces will continue to be delivered.

If your First Class Package International Service parcel is already in transit, the international carriers will endorse the items as “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender” and then place the package in the mail stream for return. The USPS will provide a full refund of the shipping costs paid when service to the country of destination is suspended.

Alternate Delivery Options to Australia
If you have a shipment you need to send to Australia during this suspension period, we recommend the following options:

UPS International Shipping – get discounted rates up to 76% off with no peak surcharge

USPS Priority Mail Express International – get discounted rates up to 7% off Post Office rates

GlobalPost International Standard – Get door-to-door tracking capabilities to over 200 countries

What is GlobalPost International Standard?
GlobalPost International Standard uses a network of postal carriers which provides a similar service to First Class Package International Service at a lower rate.  If you don’t see GlobalPost International Standard as an option in your Stamps.com shipping software, contact Customer Care at 1-888-434-0055 (open Monday to Friday, 6 am to 6 pm PT) to request access to GlobalPost carrier services. 

Call us toll-free at 1-888-434-0055

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