US Postal Service Files Notice for Postage Rate Increases – August 2021


The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) is requesting price changes to take effect August 29, 2021. The percent increase is quite substantial — so you should budget accordingly. As fulfillment experts, we suggest you complete any promotional campaigns you can do prior to the rate increase, whether it’s direct mail or packages. It would certainly save your business money going into the fall advertising season.

Why are postage rate increases happening now?

The USPS is implementing a 10 year plan called Delivery for America to achieve financial sustainability and service excellence. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 capped price increases for mailing services at the Consumer Price Index. In November 2020, the existing rate-setting system was deemed inadequate by the postal rate commission. The new ruling provides the USPS more rate authority when establishing prices for mailing services, providing the ability to adjust prices based on declining mail volumes and growing logistics costs. With full implementation, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan is designed to reverse a projected $160 billion in operating losses over the next 10 years.

In 2020, The Postal Service delivered approximately 129.2 billion pieces of mail and packages to customers located in every state and territory, county, city, town, and rural area in the nation.

The proposed mailing services price changes include:

Mailing Services Price Changes
Product Current Proposed
Stamps $0.55 $0.58
Flats Single Piece $1.00 $1.16
Package Services Price Changes
Product Current Proposed
Media Mail $3.71 $4.11
BPM Parcels and Flats $0.96 $1.03

Trust Fulco Fulfillment for all of your shipping and postage questions

Fulco Fulfillment advises clients on the most efficient ways to minimize shipping costs through smart packaging and streamlined order fulfillment operations. We know that shipping is one of the biggest costs in your budget, so we work closely with you to determine the most cost-effective shipping methods and rates. We are here to help you alleviate the impacts of the impending rate increases from the USPS as best as possible. Call us at 973-361-1700 or fill out or contact form — we’d love to answer your fulfillment questions.


Are USPS Postage Rates Going Up in 2020?


The United States Postal Service announced its proposed new price changes to take effect Jan. 26, 2020. While the price of a first-class stamp isn’t changing, the prices of flat-rate Priority Mail packages are going up across the board. The proposed prices, approved by the governors of the Postal Service, would raise the following rates 1.9%:

  • Overall 1st Class Postage
  • USPS Marketing Mail
  • Periodicals

The price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp will not be increasing, it will remain at 55 cents. The single-piece letter additional ounce price would remain at 15 cents. Also unchanged would be the prices of postcard stamps at 35 cents and 1-ounce flats at $1.

Overall, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express will increase 4.1% and 3.5% respectively, but those increases vary by Retail/Commercial, zone and weight.

This rate change for shipping products is timed similar to UPS® and FedEx®, who historically adjust prices each January. On January 6, 2020, FedEx raised prices an average of 4.9%.

The Postal Service, unlike some other shippers, does not add surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or regular Saturday or holiday season delivery.

The proposed Mailing Services price changes include:

Mailing Services Price Changes

Product Current Proposed
Letters (1 oz.) 55 cents 55 cents
Letters additional ounces 15 cents 15 cents
Letters (metered 1 oz.) 50 cents 50 cents
Flats (1 oz.) $1 $1
Outbound International Letters (1 oz.) $1.15 $1.20
Domestic Postcards 35 cents 35 cents

Domestic Priority Mail Flat Rate Retail Price Changes

Product Current Proposed
Small Flat-Rate Box $7.90 $8.30
Medium Flat-Rate Box $14.35 $15.05
Large Flat-Rate Box $19.95 $21.10
APO/FPO Large Flat-Rate Box $18.45 $19.60
Regular Flat-Rate Envelope $7.35 $7.75
Legal Flat-Rate Envelope $7.65 $8.05
Padded Flat-Rate Envelope $8 $8.40

The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect Jan. 26, 2020. The complete Postal Service price filings with prices for all products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section at prc.gov/dockets/daily. For the Mailing Services filing see Docket No. R2020-1. For the Shipping Services filing see Docket No. CP2020-5. The price change tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index

Trust Fulco Fulfillment for all of your shipping and postage questions

Fulco Fulfillment advises clients on the most efficient ways to minimize shipping costs through smart packaging and streamlined order fulfillment operations. Call us at 973-361-1700, we’d love to answer your fulfillment questions.


Why You Need a Fulfillment Company with Direct Mail Capabilities


Email lists are considered gold by many marketers. But are they really? Especially when they are compared to direct mail marketing lists? When you consider that as many as 78 percent of people will unsubscribe from company email lists if contacted too frequently*, one can argue that the value of all of those names falls far short of the expense that was required to collect them.

Direct mail, while often overlooked in this increasingly digital world, still holds a lofty place in the minds of marketers who know how to use direct mail to their advantage.

Turning direct mail marketing into a powerful revenue generator

An effective direct mail strategy is among the most important assets you have when it comes to building and managing a business in which goods and services are sold. Corporate marketing directors in NY, NJ, PA and CT know, when done correctly, direct mail marketing can be an invaluable tool in helping them achieve their sales goals. With Fulco Fulfillment, Inc.’s help, we can do the same for you.

Identify your potential direct mail audience

Like anything else, before you begin your marketing campaign your team should be laser focused on your target audience’s needs and preferences. What is the main priority of those who would most likely benefit from your product? Knowing your audiences and their needs is crucial when you are planning your direct mail sales pieces.

The Major Keys to Direct Mail Marketing Success:

Tracking your direct mail campaigns

Are you using an automated marketing solution to track your typical inbound efforts? Make the most of your direct mail campaigns by tracking your responses and results so you can evaluate which offers are working well and which are not. Fulco Fulfillment, Inc. can set-up your direct mail campaigns to be scheduled for automatic release weekly, monthly, quarterly, or whatever suits your business needs so you can channel your mail piece recipients to your call center or your online presence, whether that includes your website, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

Keep it visual, make it powerful

Do you recall the main message of the last overly narrative brochure you read? Probably not. That’s why it’s important to include relevant imagery in your pieces that convey the benefits of the products, services or events your company is offering.

But an image alone won’t necessarily make the sale. To ensure greater readability when it comes to copy, make sure you stay away from long sentences and big blocks of text. Your readers’ eyes want to scan your direct mail piece quickly. Keeping copy brief and focused on the offer is what grabs attention best and leads to more conversions.

Your readers’ eyes want to scan your direct mail piece quickly. Keeping copy brief and focused on the offer is what grabs attention best and leads to more conversions.

Ultimately, the goal is to create something that makes your competition pale in comparison. A creative, smartly designed direct mail campaign will help you stand out from the boring mailings that your prospects automatically ignore. Presenting something different and unique in comparison to your competitors will help set you apart and deliver your sales pitch effectively and economically.

Target those who check their mail and are not addicted to online platforms

No matter how interesting or compelling the images and messages are in your mailings, it means nothing if your audience won’t ever see them in the first place. Let Fulco Fulfillment, Inc. put direct mail marketing automation to work for you. We can help you send your mailers to audience members and increase interest in your company’s products and services.

Capture the data and put it to work for your business

You will never know how effective your direct mail services are if you don’t track how well your mailings are performing. Give your direct mail campaign a unique identifier (such as an offer code or specific phone number with a unique extension) that will enable you to track the responses when they arrive back at your website or connect via a special customer service phone number. This will help you keep track of those customers who are interested in your offer.

Most importantly, you want your audience to arrive at the destination you set for them so you can take the next step in your automated marketing or sales process. If you are not doing the proper planning up front to capture the data you need you will have acquired little value moving forward as you plan your next direct mail marketing campaign.

Direct Mail Marketing and Fulfillment services: A powerful combination

If you’re serious about direct mail, you need a partner who can meet your needs every step of the way. From warehousing and fulfillment services to storage solutions and inventory tracking, Fulco Fulfillment, Inc. consistently tops 99% performance accuracy and on-time shipment. Moreover, we closely monitor all the metrics involved to ensure your direct mail marketing programs deliver the goods whether their ultimate destination is your sales force or direct to your customers and prospects.

And we don’t stop there.

We have the expertise and the resources to handle all of your printing, folding, finishing and distribution needs as well, whether you’re mailing to a nationwide or regional audience, or a more localized market. If you’re part of a corporate marketing department or just getting your start-up off the ground, our highly efficient solutions and low storage and fulfillment costs will help get your mailing off on the right foot from the very beginning with services such as:

  • inkjet addressing
  • folding
  • insertion
  • tabbing/wafer-sealing
  • stamping and labeling
  • match mailing
  • shrink wrapping
  • co-mingling
  • mail preparation and sorting
  • heat sealing
  • hand assembly
  • spot gluing

For nearly 20 years we’ve provided our clients with the knowledge and expertise required to successfully execute and deliver direct mail campaigns to the post office on time and with everything in proper order.

Count on us for cost-effective, complete direct mail services and distribution

When done right, direct mail can be a powerful revenue generator—and the experienced pros at Fulco Fulfillment, Inc. know what it takes. We’ve helped our clients make the most of cost-effective direct mail through 99+% performance and distribution accuracy and superior tracking capabilities. Whether your next mailing is a stand-alone or needs to work hand-in-hand with your multimedia campaigns, our technology and reporting capabilities makes us the smartest choice for direct mail services and distribution.

To learn more, fill out our contact form for a free quote or give us a call at 973-361-1700. We can help you reach your target audience quickly and efficiently.

* Source: https://emailmonks.com/blog/email-marketing/email-marketing-statistics/