Tips & Solutions
New Surcharges From USPS Coming April 3
USPS are introducing some additional fees for parcels that exceed certain sizes on April 3. Get in the know so you don't get caught unaware.
Late last year, USPS announced some pricing updates which mostly came into effect on 9th January 2022. Included in these price updates, they also announced some new fees that will come into effect on 3rd April 2022 which we feel it is important that we draw your attention to.
Manual sorting fees
USPS applies a lot of automations in their sorting facilities in order to serve the population more efficiently and deliver parcels faster. However, they have now made the decision to apply additional fees when the dimensions of a package dimensions exceed the specifications and therefore require manual sorting. These fees will apply to popular services such as First Class Package, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and Parcel Select services.
- Shipments that exceed 22 inches but are not greater than 30 inches in length: Add $4.00 per package
- Shipments that exceed 30 inches in length: Add $15.00 per package
- Shipments that exceed 2 cubic feet (3,456 cubic inches): Add $15.00 per package
A maximum of two non-standard fees may be applied to each shipment.
When shipping with Easyship account, these prices will automatically be applied to applicable shipments when rates are calculated. If you hover over a courier quote in your Easyship account, if these fees are applied you will see them labelled as 'Oversize Surcharge'.
Dimensional non-compliance fees
An additional $1.50 fee will apply to packages greater than 1 cubic foot (1,728 cubic inches) or 22 inches in length for all popular USPS services when dimensions provided at time of shipment creation are inaccurate.
If we're billed this fee by USPS for some of your shipments, these fees will passed to your account balance through adjustments. Learn more about adjustments.
What can you do to save?
These fees can add up quickly and really impede your profitability. Here are some actions you can take to help minimize the impact of these changes:
- Check your box sizes
The key to avoiding these surcharges is ensuring your - Setup our box and products feature
If you have all your commonly used boxes and complete product details saved in your Easyship account, our box algorithm will automatically select the box which best fits your order. That means we'll pick the smallest box, which is also the box most likely to avoid these additional fees. - Consider using alternative couriers
There's no getting around the fact that USPS offers an excellent service at a great price, especially for domestic shipments. However, with these new fees, perhaps it makes sense to more closely evaluate the pricing of couriers such as UPS. You may be surprised by the savings!
Is USPS still the best choice for my larger parcels?
As long as your parcels are still under 2 cubic feet or 22 inches in length, these new fees won't hurt your bottom line.
If you ship larger parcels though, our shipping rate calculator in your Easyship account is your best resource to gain full visibility on your shipping costs.
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