December 29, 2008

TRIM YOUR SHIPPING COSTS

No Hidden Surcharges With USPS

Editor’s note: Ahead of Postal Service price changes for shipping services on Jan. 18, we’re providing you with pricing information in a series of special editions.  

Are surcharges straining your shipping budget? Make a resolution to slim down your back-end costs in 2009.

Previously we showed you how net minimums can impact your costs by reducing the amount of discount you receive when you ship with our competitors. In addition to net minimums, surcharges — added to your invoice after the fact — can more than double your cost of shipping. Surcharges are rarely discounted, and almost all of the surcharge fees have increased steadily over the years — including this January.

Here are a few of the most common surcharge examples:

  • Fuel
  • Residential delivery
  • Delivery area surcharges (DAS)
  • Saturday delivery and pickup
  • Address correction

Unless you use the Postal Service, up to 100 percent of your shipments will receive a fuel surcharge. Fuel surcharges fluctuate monthly and are assessed on both the base price and delivery surcharges. Make sure to look at your invoice to see how much extra you are paying for fuel surcharges.

Approximately 80 percent of domestic addresses are subjected to a residential surcharge by our competitors. USPS goes to every address, six days a week — including Saturday — with no additional cost to you.

Address change charges with our competitors also can add up. On average, 14 percent of the U.S. population moves every year. That’s more than 46 million address changes. USPS address correction is included in the price for expedited shipments and is offered as a low-cost option on other shipping products.

USPS international shipping is another great way to slim down your costs in 2009. International shipments with our competitors can incur additional charges like fuel, residential and declared customs value. These changes are on top of our competitors’ regular published rates, which are significantly higher than USPS international prices.

In our next article, we’ll explain how delivery area surcharges will impact your bottom line in 2009. For additional information on surcharges and comparative shipping costs, write to us at: PackageServices@usps.com.

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U.S. Postal Service: usps.com

National PCC Network: usps.com/pcc

Rapid Information Bulletin Board System: ribbs.usps.gov

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