Staff Reports
WASHINGTON – It looks to be another odd year for holiday celebrations. The biggest question likely on most minds is, do we celebrate the holidays in person or virtually? The Postal Service is preparing to handle all special holiday greetings and gifts no matter your plans.
New Pricing
There are plenty of holiday- and winter-themed stamps available to adorn greeting cards this year. They can be found on the online Postal Store or at any one of the more than 34,000 Post Office locations.
As a reminder, on Aug. 29, the cost of a First-Class Forever stamp increased three cents, from 55 cents to 58 cents.
There are also temporary price increases in place through Dec. 26, 12:01 a.m., Central time for both retail and business customers for some of our more popular shipping products, which also includes military shipping — Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Return Service. International products are unaffected.
These temporary rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with the revenue to cover extra costs in anticipation of peak-season volume surges similar to levels experienced in 2020.
Temporary pricing increases for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground and USPS Retail Ground are as follows:
All other retail shipping services:
A zone pricing calculator is can be found online. A complete list of business products and prices is also available online.
The temporary adjustment is part of “Delivering for America,” the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, which calls for appropriate pricing initiatives. Even with the temporary increase, the Postal Service has some of the lowest mail postage rates in the industrialized world and continues to offer great values in shipping.
2021 Holiday Shipping Deadlines
The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery by Dec. 25 to domestic addresses and APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office) addresses*:
Alaska
Hawaii
*Not a guarantee, unless otherwise noted. Dates are for estimated delivery before Dec. 25. Actual delivery date may vary depending on origin, destination, Post Office acceptance date and time, and other conditions. Some restrictions apply. For Priority Mail Express shipments mailed Dec. 22 through Dec. 25, the money-back guarantee applies only if the shipment was not delivered, or delivery was not attempted, within two business days.
Skip the Trip and Ship Online
Consumers don’t even have to leave home to ship their packages, simply visit usps.com. The Postal Service anticipates Dec. 19 will be the Postal Service’s busiest day online with 12.5 million consumers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping that special holiday gift. And usps.com is always open.
It’s estimated nearly 500,000 consumers will use the Click-N-Ship feature and other online services on Dec. 14 to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup.
Busiest Time
The busiest time of the season for the Postal Service begins two weeks before Christmas. It’s expected that customer traffic at all Post Office locations will steadily increase beginning the week of Dec. 6, with the week of Dec. 13-18 anticipated to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week of the season.
More tips for a successful holiday mailing and shipping season:
*Boxes are delivered within the U.S. with your regular mail, usually within 7 to 10 business days. Exclusions apply, or detail and to order, visit https://store.usps.com/store.
Additional news and information, including all domestic, international, and military mailing and shipping deadlines, can be found at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom: usps.com/holidaynews.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.
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