USPS Postage Increase Rumor

Fred Bear

Fred Bear

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So, I happened by the post office earlier this week to mail out some packages to Canada and was informed that there is speculation that the 'discount' to international shipping for Mexico and Canada (!) will be disappearing sometime near the end of January or beginning of February 2013. This may be on top of other 'standard' postage increases (i.e. the cost of a letter may go up too).

Currently, I pay $3.45 to ship a 3.5 oz package by First Class International Mail. A similar package overseas costs $5.34. Based on what I was told the other evening, the cost to Canada by next spring will likely be over $5.34 for a First Class package (bubble mailer).

As I said, it's a rumor. It did come from a postal employee who I believe to be reliable. If its true, I, for the first time, am a little concerned that trading/selling into Canada may become severely more difficult. I already get dinged on eBay charging $3.50 shipping to Canada with the actual postage being at least $3.45. Something's gotta give...

Has anyone else heard anything similar?
 
The increased rates for small packets has not been released....

However if it follows last years increase, expect the HUGE price increases to come in International Mailings and 'Extra' services like Priority Mail and Confirmations. This is how the Post Office gets around the relatively small increases in letter rates. Last year the cost of Mailing from US to Canada for a small packet weighing 2ounces went from $1.97 to $3.15. Expect similar increases again!
 
BtoBonline.com (on-line magazine for marketing) ran this story:

Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Postal Service will increase postal rates effective Jan. 27 by an average 2.57%.

First-class postage will increase by one cent, to 46 cents; standard mail of various sorts and sizes—used most often by commercial mailers—will see a 2.72% average increase. Priority Mail flat rates will see much higher increases: Small-box postage will rise 8.41%, medium boxes will increase 8.81%, large boxes will cost 9.06% more, and overseas military mail will cost an additional 10.41%.

Parcel Post, moving into the “competitive packages” category, will see a 21% average postage increase. International shippers will face double-digit increases, including a 59% rise in the First Class Package International category.
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A 59% increase in an International Packet ( ie: bubble mailer), would take the base rate of 1 ounce from $3.00 to $4.77!!!

That will make Ebay selling almost impossible.
 
It seems strange that the USPS doesn't have different rates for mailing to Canada and then mailing to "actual" international destinations. It always seems odd to read US eBay sellers that say "International shipping" is X amount and that Canada is included in that. I guess that's just the disparity to how the US is viewed in Canada compared to how Canada is viewed in the US.

For a lot of my packages at the post office I use, they charge me the same (right or wrong) for a lot of bubble mailers regardless if it's to Canada or to the US.
 
foley2k said:
I heard on a TTM auto forum I am on, that mailing a letter to canada will now cost $1.10
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Hey you must be on the same forum as me as I posted that. ;)

Quick story I called to order 85 cent stamps and I asked if they would be going up next year and I was told they would jump to $1.10
 
Fleury14 ,

US Post Office does have different rates for mailing to different countries. It is just too hard to list a different price for each country. Germany is different than Czech Rep is different than Sweden and that is different than mailing to Finland!!! I can't tell you how many times I have undercharged for sending from US to Finland!!!
 
Fleury14 said:
It seems strange that the USPS doesn't have different rates for mailing to Canada and then mailing to "actual" international destinations. It always seems odd to read US eBay sellers that say "International shipping" is X amount and that Canada is included in that. I guess that's just the disparity to how the US is viewed in Canada compared to how Canada is viewed in the US.

For a lot of my packages at the post office I use, they charge me the same (right or wrong) for a lot of bubble mailers regardless if it's to Canada or to the US.
Click to expand...

Shipping from the US - Canada is an international destination - not sure how else to explain that other than the cost is about double to Canada for a 2oz bubbler and you do not get delivery confirmation. So twice the price with no protection.

I have no idea about Canada Post and their shipping charges.

If the priced do go up to the degree mentioned above, clearly there will be changed made that will benefit Canadian sellers and hurt American sellers of hockey cards.

I also wonder if eBay, Amazon, etc will see a significant drop in traffic and purchases. I don't blame the USPS for raising rates but there are going to be a significant amount of repercussions to online selling and such.
 
Fleury14 said:
It seems strange that the USPS doesn't have different rates for mailing to Canada and then mailing to "actual" international destinations. It always seems odd to read US eBay sellers that say "International shipping" is X amount and that Canada is included in that. I guess that's just the disparity to how the US is viewed in Canada compared to how Canada is viewed in the US.

For a lot of my packages at the post office I use, they charge me the same (right or wrong) for a lot of bubble mailers regardless if it's to Canada or to the US.
Click to expand...

As mentioned by someone else, mailing from US to Cananda is international shipping, it's going between two different countries. Not sure why that's so hard to understand lol. And it is more expensive to mail from the US to Canada, hence people charing more to ship to Canada. With prices going up recently and the fact that they will continue to rise, I barely trade or buy/sell anymore unless it's really rare PC pick ups. I use to trade and buy/sell in large volumes but not anymore it's not worth it, I will put my money towards bills or entertainment.
 
gobuffalo2331 said:
As mentioned by someone else, mailing from US to Cananda is international shipping, it's going between two different countries. Not sure why that's so hard to understand lol.
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I think what he was trying to get at is Canada and the US are right next to each other, with a huge land border, it's not the same as having to fly something over an ocean. Canada Post has a separate rate for the US compared to the rest of the world, would make sense for the USPS to do the same.
 
timber09 said:
I have no idea about Canada Post and their shipping charges.
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All I heard was what is posted on canada posts website for mailing within canada.

"The domestic Standard (S/L) Lettermail (up to 30g) price increases over the next three years have been approved as follows: $0.61 in 2012, $0.63 in 2013 and $0.65 in 2014."
 
hederman said:
I think what he was trying to get at is Canada and the US are right next to each other, with a huge land border, it's not the same as having to fly something over an ocean. Canada Post has a separate rate for the US compared to the rest of the world, would make sense for the USPS to do the same.
Click to expand...

Oh ok thats makes more sense, maybe I'm the one that didn't understand:duh:
 
What's the discount to ship to Canada & Mexico? A 1oz package costs $3.00 anywhere in the world (outside of domestic shipments of course).

The only difference is that each additional ounce to Canada is 15cents as opposed to the 70-something cents it costs anywhere else
 
I do not sell to Canada frequently but the last batch of auctions I ran I had a heavy amount go international including Canada and I even undercharged severely in several cases. It will be realllly hard to sell overseas with these increases. Makes it almost impossible to sell smaller items, about half of my profit I made was from selling smaller items not high dollar cards or sets.
 
Ebay only gives one listing menu option for a international postage price , so even though 2 oz is cheaper to Canada than Germany (example), you'll likely see the same charge for all non-US locations.
 
rhcardinals3 said:
Looks like it is finally USPS (and not Canada Post) that is hurting the hobby.
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Anyone else disagree with this? It costs almost $5 to ship a single card to Europe. Considering that's a large proportion of where I sell, that's a major deterrent for my potential buyers. I wouldn't mind selling exclusively in Canada, but the market here is not nearly as strong as it used to be.

Anyone else experiencing slooooow shipping from Canada Post?
 

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