July 2023 Postage Rate Increases

The United States Postal Service (USPS) will be moving forward with another round of
rate increases for all services on July 9th, 2023 (with the exception of Priority Mail
Express & Priority Mail Commercial). This means that First-Class, Standard/Marketing,
& Non-Profit mail will see per-piece rates increase.

SELECT RATES FOR FIRST-CLASS MAIL®			July 2023 RATES
Single Piece Letter	Stamps	First Ounce	$ 0.66
Single Piece Letter	Metered	First Ounce	$ 0.63
Single Piece Letter	Stamps or Metered	Each Additional Ounce	$ 0.24
Presorted Letter		up to 3.5 ounces	$0.561
Non-Machinable Letters	Surcharge		$ 0.40
Single Piece Flat	Stamps or Metered	First Ounce	$ 1.27
Single Piece Flat	Stamps or Metered	Each Additional Ounce (up to 13)	$ 0.24
Postcards, Full Pay	4.25” x 6.00” Max		$ 0.51
Postcards, Presorted	up to 6.00″ x 9.00″		$0.40
First Class Package Service	Zone 1	Up to 4 Ounces	$ 4.75
SELECT RATES FOR USPS MARKETING MAIL® (Formerly Standard Mail®)			July 2023 RATES
The following are for Marketing Mail Letters up to 3.5 ounces:
Automation Letters	Commercial	M-AADC	$0.381
Automation Letters	Commercial	5-Digit	$0.326
Automation Letters	Non-Profit	M-AADC	$0.226
Automation Letters	Non-Profit	5-Digit	$0.171

Ways to Save

But even though prices are going up, there are still ways you can save money on postage for monthly statements, direct mail campaigns, and annual fundraising mailings. Here are five great ways to save despite postage rate increases.

Buy Forever Stamps now, before they go up in price.

No matter when you buy them, a Forever Stamp covers the price of postage for a 1 oz. First-Class letter … FOREVER! As their name suggests, Forever Stamps can be used regardless of future postage rate increases. Buy them now at the current price and use them after July 9th for no extra cost.

Add Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMBs) to your
First-Class letters to get automation rates.

IMBs represent delivery addresses, ZIP codes, and ZIP+4 codes. And they aren’t just for tracking letters throughout the mail stream. They also enable the USPS to automate sorting and they return the favor by enabling you to earn automation discounts on postage. Less work for the USPS = less cost for you!

Have EYR presort your mail.

Give us your mailing list, and we’ll take care of from there. First, we check it against the USPS National Change of Address (NCOA) registry. Then we use USPS-approved software to presort your mailing digitally, so the USPS doesn’t have to physically. Depending on the saturation of your mailing in individual areas, you could save big compared to the cost of a First-Class stamp.

Send a postcard instead.

Last year, the USPS increased the maximum size of postcards from 4.25” x 6” to 6” x 9” — for the same postcard rate. That’s double the surface area! As long as your mailing doesn’t include private information for individual recipients, a 6” x 9” postcard could net you significant savings when compared to a First-Class stamp. EYR’s creative team would be happy to talk with you about converting your mailing to a postcard.

Consider sending non-personal or non-confidential
letters as Marketing (Standard) Mail.

If you can plan far enough in advance, Marketing Mail could be for you. Planning is important because Marketing Mail doesn’t have a guaranteed delivery time. It could take up to 13 days for national delivery, but typically takes about 5 business days locally. If your timeline is flexible, you could save significantly over the cost of First-Class mail.

NOTE: Marketing Mail isn’t for statements or invoices. It’s only for promotional messaging and generic information.

And a special tip for nonprofit organizations.

If your nonprofit organization is authorized by the USPS, you can save up to 70% off the cost of First-Class mail by sending your communications at Non-Profit Standard Mail. Again, planning is important because Non-Profit Standard Mail follows the same delivery schedule as Marketing Mail.