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MailPro
News for Mailing Professionals

Go online to usps.com/prices.

Will all international mail prices be adjusted?

Yes.

What are the new Express Mail International Flat Rate Envelope prices?

The Express Mail International Flat Rate Envelope retail price will be $23.95 for Canada and Mexico and $25.95 for all other countries. Commercial base prices will be 8 percent below retail prices.

Are there any changes to Express Mail International pricing?

Yes. Customers using Click-N-Ship or PC Postage will continue to get a commercial base price 8 percent lower than the comparable retail price. We are expanding availability of the commercial prices to include customers who pay postage using an Express Mail Corporate Account and who use approved software for mail preparation and customs-related functions.

In addition, we’re adding commercial volume prices in the form of quarterly rebates based on annualized volume or postage for customers who pay postage through an Express Mail Corporate Account.

Are there any changes to Priority Mail International pricing?

Yes. Customers using Click-N-Ship or PC Postage will continue to get a commercial base price 5 percent lower than the comparable retail price. We are expanding availability of the commercial prices to commercial customers who pay postage using a permit imprint and approved software for mail preparation and customs-related functions.

What are the new Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope prices?

The Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope retail price will be $9.95 for Canada and Mexico and $11.95 for all other countries. Commercial base prices will be 5 percent below retail prices. The weight limit for the Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope remains 4 pounds.

What are the new prices for the Priority Mail International Flat Rate Boxes?

The retail prices for the regular flat-rate boxes (both shapes) will be $23.95 for Canada and Mexico and $38.95 for all other countries. The price of the large flat-rate box introduced March 3 remains $29.95 for Canada and Mexico and $49.95 for all other countries. Commercial base prices will be 5 percent below retail. The weight limit for all flat-rate boxes remains 20 pounds.

Other than the prices, are there any other changes to IPA and ISAL?

Yes. Published prices for ISAL direct shipment are eliminated and only available through customized agreements.

Are International Reply Coupons (IRCs) still available?

Yes, the selling price will be $2.10 each. IRCs are exchangeable in any other Universal Postal Union member country for stamps equal to the minimum postage for an air letter.

Are there any significant changes to international mail extra services?

The structure of extra services is unchanged.

Proposed New Standards for Intelligent Mail Barcodes Available

An advance copy of the Federal Register notice proposing the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes on automation mailings of letters and flats was released April 16, and is available on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com). This notice includes revised mailing standards for the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes effective May 2009 concurrent with the date that we implement the mailing services price change.

The comment period will extend 30 days from the date the notice appears in the Federal Register. When this issue of MailPro went to press, the notice still had not appeared in the Federal Register. We encourage mailers to review and comment on our proposal as soon as possible. Mailers may submit additional comments any time within the comment period.

On Jan. 7, 2008, we published in the Federal Register (Volume 73, Number 4) an advance notice of our intention to require the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes on all letters and flats mailed at automation prices as of January 2009. We presented our Intelligent Mail vision and asked for your comments. We described two options for using Intelligent Mail barcodes: the basic option and the full-service option. In this proposed rule, we have summarized comments received in response to the Jan. 7, notice and published our revised mailing standards for the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes.