I got a shock when I shipped off some packages to Europe, USPS international First Class rate went up 61%!!!
Some media mainstreamers had been reporting a 5-10% increase, but that’s for domestic postage. Even the Postal clerks at the Clark Street office, in Pocatello, Idaho, told me they were surprised by how high the international rate went up.
People who supplement their meager incomes (or maybe it’s become their only source of income) on internet selling sites like ebay, Etsy, Scoomer, etc, and who sell a lot outside the United States are going to see a drop in business (I know many internet sellers attribute at least 50% of their sales to international buyers).
On 17 January 2013 I sent a measly 2 ounce package to Australia, it cost $3.78 USD, online price. On 29 January 2013 I sent another 2 ounce package, but this time it cost $6.16 online. Do the math, that’s a 61% increase!
Here’s another example: On 27 December 2012 I sent a 1 pound 14 ounce package to Canada, it cost $9.15 online. Today that same package now cost $16.15 online, a 56% increase!
Here’s yet another example: On 18 January 2013 I sent a 3 ounce package to Italy, at an online U.S. Postal Service rate of $4.56. Now that same package has an online cost of $8.88 (the in USPS store cost is $9.45). That’s a 51% increase!
There were some media sources, like StudentNews, that reported that the First Class International rate would go up 60%, for items weighing up to one pound (that’s questionable as you can see in my Canadian example the package weighed almost 2 pounds!). Apparently someone at the USPS realized they were charging far less than UPS or FedEx, and decided to make their First Class International rate “more competitive” with the competition.
Making your prices more competitive with your competition is now code for jacking up your rates to meet your competitors higher prices. A kind of price fixing if you ask me. I remember when being more competitive meant you tried to have lower prices than your competitors.
Is this yet another attempt by the Congressionaly controlled Postal Commission to intentionally destroy the U.S. Postal Service? Remember, it’s Congress that sets the Postal rates, not the USPS!