ARrrr matey, there's some good news this year!
USPS is actually decreasing lots of rates, so most USPS shipments are going to get a lot cheaper compared to the 2021 Holiday Rates that are in effect now!
Head to your Rates page in Pirate Ship to download the 2022 USPS Rates Forecast, and read on for a summary 👍
Summary of the 2022 USPS Rate Changes
Here's a breakdown of how each service is changing on January 9th:
Parcel Select Ground: Parcel Select Ground is getting cheaper across the board, and is becoming the most competitive it's ever been, with up to 58% decreases compared to the current rates! If you're okay with 2-8+ day delivery speed estimates, you now have an opportunity to save up to 79% compared to Priority Mail. Check out more details at the bottom of this page.
First Class Package: All prices are staying the same as the current rates, except the first weight tier of 1-4 ounces is increasing by only 6-7 cents.
Weight-based Priority Mail: Weight-based Priority Mail is becoming much more competitive, with decreases of up to $16.95 when shipping in the 1-25 lb range.
Priority Mail Cubic: Dimension-based Cubic has become even more competitive for the smallest package sizes especially, decreasing by up to 9%. While the cost of shipments going to farther zones will increase dramatically, the national average prices aren't going up much! And with Priority Mail Cubic on Pirate Ship, you'll still save up to 89% off what you'd pay at the Post Office 🎉
Priority Mail Flat Rate: All Flat Rate services are getting cheaper, with 25 to 85-cent decreases compared to the 2021 holiday rates. Prices will decrease between 2-5%, depending on the type of Flat Rate service you're using.
Priority Mail Regional Rate: Regional Rate isn't set to change much, with Box A increasing by 1% on average, and Box B decreasing by 1%. However, due to price decreases for Priority Mail Cubic, Regional Rate will now ALWAYS be more expensive than using your own similarly-sized packaging.
Media Mail: Rates will remain unchanged!
Priority Mail Express: Only small increases of 2-6%. PME Flat Rate Envelopes will increase by 5 cents, while the Padded Flat Rate Envelopes will decrease by 5 cents.
Simple Export Rate®: New rates will be announced by the end of December. It will still be the cheapest international service available 😃 Learn about Simple Export Rate here.
First Class Package International: 7-17% increases, depending on the country. Simple Export Rate will always be cheaper!
Priority Mail International: Every country is set to increase by 4% on average, except for Canada. PMI shipments going to Canada will now decrease by 2-18%.
Priority Mail Express International: Shipments to all countries will increase by 3-6%.
Parcel Select Ground now offers amazing savings
By far, the biggest change in the 2022 price increase is that Parcel Select Ground now offers a unique opportunity to save way more money than before, with rates cut by more than half in a lot of cases! Due to this change, it will now beat Priority Mail by up to 79% 💸
Depending on the size and weight of your shipments, Parcel Select Ground will also beat Priority Mail Cubic rates. Generally speaking, Cubic will only be cheaper than Parcel Select Ground when your package is small and heavy. But don't worry... just enter your package details and Pirate Ship will always let you know what your options are!
Parcel Select Ground vs. Priority Mail
Historically, prices for Parcel Select Ground have always been pretty much the same as weight-based Priority Mail, so it didn't make sense to choose Parcel Select Ground over Priority Mail unless you were shipping hazardous materials with USPS. But with the new 2022 USPS rates, you can save DOLLARS with Parcel Select Ground.
That said, Parcel Select Ground offers no built-in insurance from USPS, and delivery is estimated at 2-8 days. On the other hand, Priority Mail comes with $100 of USPS insurance, and delivery is only estimated at 1-3 days. So, if you're okay with saving more money in exchange for slower service and no built-in insurance, then Parcel Select Ground is now a super competitive option 😉
Pro Tip: If you do decide to save with Parcel Select Ground, we recommend adding extra insurance for your package, just in case. Learn more about how to add insurance on Pirate Ship.
Always use the Rates Calculator for the best info for your shipments
As always, every situation is different, and how much money you'll save depends on how much your package weighs, how far it's traveling, and how big (or small) it is. For instance, a package traveling to a further zone may now show weight-based Priority Mail as the cheaper option instead of Priority Mail Cubic.
We've done our best to outline the broad changes above, but the best source of information is still to plug your package information into our Rates calculator, which will have the new 2022 USPS rates loaded into it on January 9th.
No matter what you're shipping, our Rates calculator will always show you the cheapest service available, as well as all your other options for both USPS and UPS 🙌
Any questions? Click the blue chat button to get in touch with our Support Crew - we're always happy to lend a helping hook 😃