TallTayl Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2022/1110-usps-announces-new-competitive-prices-for-2023.htm https://goshippo.com/blog/how-the-2023-usps-shipping-rates-will-affect-your-e-commerce-business/ Highlights: 1) Retirement of Regional rate services 2) new shipping rates 3) Change to shipping zones (which may increase shipping rates) Retirement of Regional Rate: This is part of a larger effort to simplify the Priority Mail rate structure and eliminate any redundancy between Regional Rate Boxes (RRB) and Priority Mail Cubic (PMC) shipments. PMC has proven to be the more popular option, offers the lowest possible rates for USPS shipping, and serves the same needs as RRBs. The only difference is that Regional Rate Boxes were free while cubic boxes are not. The Postal Service does not expect this to impact any shippers negatively. Furthermore, you can continue to use your Regional Rate Boxes until you run out. New Rates: No price increase for Parcel Select Ground which, coupled with our recently improved service standard to 2-5 days from 2-8 days, offers a reliable and economical option for shippers No price increase for USPS Connect Local, which gives businesses of all sizes the ability to reach local customers at affordable rates Reduced pricing for some Retail Priority Mail Flat-Rate products below the temporary price currently in place Priority Mail Commercial rate to increase by 3.6 percent, well below the rate of inflation Changes to Shipping Zones: Splitting Local, Zone 1, and Zone 2 into Three Different Zones In the past, the USPS has lumped all three of these shipping zones into a single column and has charged the same rate for each. Zone 1 is a 50-mile radius from the point of origin of a package being delivered, and Zone 2 stretches as far as a 51-150 mile radius. Because of this, you may see a particularly notable difference in shipping cost for packages that have to travel to Zone 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 My thoughts.: While I will miss the convenience of Regional Rate A & B boxes, usps had already worked the cost of the “free” boxes into the postage prices in recent years. The total cost to ship was very nearly to the penny the cost of the cubic rates for typical purchased boxes of the same size. Ebay and PackagingPrice.com had many sizes to choose from which gave us lots to fully test. I’m thrilled with some that are available as they can really elevate a brand with little effort. - Published “counter rates” are always shocking. Using services like Pirate Ship and Go Shippo have saves many of us small businesses enough to remain strong and competitive. - UPS rates through pirate ship and go shippo were surprisingly competitive in 2022 for parcels over 1 lb, giving a nice option to customers. - FedEx prices soared in 2022, causing many of us to choose other services to keep overall costs to customers affordable. I wonder how FedEx will respond to the new usps and ups changes in 2023? Some things that helped save a little more shipping $ in 2022 included testing light weight folding type boxes. Many ECT 32 and similar thinner material folding boxes weigh less than typical corrugated “heavy” wall and provide enough protection for my typical shipments. The overlapping folds really added to the structure for smaller items. On average the shipping savings more than covered the cost of the box for items weighing < 16oz that qualified for first class rates. That savings increased profitability of individual transactions noticeably. changing dimensions of my products allows for more flexible shipping boxes. I continually evaluate molds and packaging to pack more efficiently. Clam shells, for instance, take a considerable amount of space in shipping cartons. Changing from clams to something smaller makes shipping much simpler. Ditching plastic clams also got me one step closer to packaging independence while reducing single use plastic. Since I don’t have a physical shop to worry about, the hanging portion of the clam was not needed anyway which gave so much more flexibility. does the shipping news change anything you will do in 2023? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franu61 Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Won't really change anything. Still gonna rely on pirate ship! Remember to try the box in a bag option to see if it saves anything. When you do box in a bag ( or any bag) it does not take height measurements into account, so usually saves. Easy enough to "make" a bag out of a couple grocery bags, heat gunned closed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 53 minutes ago, franu61 said: Won't really change anything. Still gonna rely on pirate ship! Remember to try the box in a bag option to see if it saves anything. When you do box in a bag ( or any bag) it does not take height measurements into account, so usually saves. Easy enough to "make" a bag out of a couple grocery bags, heat gunned closed. I think some of the success of this trick depends on your particular post office. I've had them reject things with some postal reps but not others. It's worth a shot if you have a good relationship with your local PO! As long as the bag is sturdy enough to not get ripped off in the machines along the way it sounds like an interesting application of their rules. I rely on Etsy and Shippo, which will both see the elimination of some classes of service, and re-zoning rates. It will be a hit but it seems they're working with those "temporary rate increases" from the holiday season. We got no relief last year, so the pennies this year look good by comparison =D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailC Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I always use Regional Rate A and B boxes to ship candles. I print my labels through USPS and I've never seen the option for Priority Mail cubic. In fact, I've never heard of it. I guess I will have to look into Pirate Ship. But I like using USPS, and scheduling a pick up, and the free A and B boxes. I remember when they had Regional Rate C boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, GailC said: I always use Regional Rate A and B boxes to ship candles. I print my labels through USPS and I've never seen the option for Priority Mail cubic. In fact, I've never heard of it. I guess I will have to look into Pirate Ship. But I like using USPS, and scheduling a pick up, and the free A and B boxes. I remember when they had Regional Rate C boxes. I would probably stock up on a&b boxes til they’re gone. They will be calculated as dimensional boxes after the switch. You can still schedule pickups through usps.com without purchasing labels there if I recall? just checked shippo and you can easily schedule a pickup in their system. Phew! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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