The United States Postal Service’s 2023 rate and service changes have been approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), and the updates will take effect on January 22, 2023. We’re going to address all of the upcoming changes, so you’ll have time to adjust accordingly and prevent negative shipping experiences for your customers.

Important USPS 2023 rate and service changes

More detailed highlights of the upcoming changes are: 

• Priority Mail® commercial rates will see an increase of 3.6%, keeping them below the rate of inflation
• Priority Mail Express® will see an increase of 6.7%
• First-Class Package Service will see an increase of 7.8%
• Priority Mail service prices will see an increase of around 5.5%
• USPS First Class Package International rates will see an increase of 6.2%
• USPS Priority Mail International® will see an increase of 5.9%
• USPS Priority Mail Express International® will see an increase of 5.9%
• Zone 1, Zone 2, and Local have traditionally seen the same shipping rates. However, Local will now be combined with Zone 1, and Zones 1 and 2 will have individual rates 
• The pricing for Parcel Select Ground won’t see any rate increases
• Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes® will no longer be available
• All Canadian Zones will be combined into one pricing zone for USPS Priority Mail International
• Commercial Base and Commercial Plus will be merged into one entity

Flat Rate Priority Mail changes

Flat Rate envelopes and boxes will be included in the 3.6% increase for Priority Mail services. USPS will continue offering Priority Mail Flat Rate envelopes and boxes through their website. Also, you’ll be able to order some of these supplies directly from your Stamps.com account. A comparison of the 2022 and 2023 rates can be found below. 

Local Zone changes

Previously, Local, Zone 1, and Zone 2 all had the same shipping rates. Moving forward, there will no longer be a Local Zone, and Zones 1 and 2 will have two different shipping rates. If your business ships to customers who live close by or in the same state, you’ll see the impact of this change. The changes will be more noticeable when you’re shipping to customers in Zone 2, which is a 51-150 mile radius. 

Regional Rate Boxes are being retired 

Regional Rate A & B Boxes, used for 15-20 pound shipments traveling a short distance, will be discontinued. If your business uses Regional Rate Boxes after January 23, 2023, USPS will accept your shipment, but the cost won’t be calculated in the same way Regional Rate Boxes were. For this reason, USPS recommends using these materials by January 22. Additionally, check the automation rules currently running on your Stamps.com Online account to ensure this service isn’t applied to any of your shipments. 

Priority Mail® Cubic will still be an option for shippers, as it has seen a rise in popularity, and sometimes even offers a lower rate than what was seen with Regional Rate Boxes. The biggest difference with Priority Mail Cubic is that supplies aren’t free. For merchants who want to explore alternatives beyond USPS Cubic, Parcel Select Ground offers shippers a great value, so it’s worth looking into as a substitute for smaller and heavier domestic shipments. Parcel Select Ground offers: 

• An estimated delivery window of 2-5 days 
• A service for shipments up to 20 pounds 
• Uses the Commerical rates with your Stamps.com account 

How will the 2023 changes impact international shipping?

The biggest change to international shipments will involve your Canadian packages. Similar to the US Zones, Canada was previously broken down into 8 different pricing groups. Now, all of Canada will fall under Pricing Group 1. Also, USPS will change Turkey to Turkiye, so don’t be alarmed if the spelling of the country is updated on your labels to reflect this update. 

How can Stamps.com help?

In our recent study, 30.3% of customers stated that delivery costs were the most important factor in deciding whether or not they’d purchase from a business; the second most important factor was the speed of delivery. Rising USPS costs could mean raising shipping costs for your customers. However, you can still enjoy the discounted shipping rates included with your Stamps.com account to help offset these costs. 

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