Do You Qualify for the Postal Service's New High Volume Price?

The US Postal Service is rolling out some changes in the coming days. One: new price incentives for high-volume shippers.

My first question was what is a high-volume shipper? Well,  about 25 pieces a day.  Here's what they say in their release:

"To qualify for Commercial Plus savings, customers must ship 6,000 or more pieces of Express Mail per year � about 25 pieces a day � or 100,000 or more pieces of Priority Mail per year � about 420 a day. Customers also must use a USPS-approved payment method, including an Express Mail Corporate Account, Endicia.com, Stamps.com, Pitney Bowes or other USPS-authorized online postage provider."

 (25 a day...I'm not quite at that point. Not yet, anyway. Though, I think I'd rather make more money on fewer packages!).

Here's more about  the change from the USPS:

"...Commercial Plus pricing launches Jan. 18, with up-front price incentives for qualifying shippers using USPS overnight and 2- to 3-day expedited services.

The incentives will be available for domestic Express Mail and Priority Mail users who meet established volume requirements. On average, Commercial Plus prices for Express Mail will be 14.5 percent less than USPS retail prices; Priority Mail Commercial Plus prices will average 7 percent less."

"...Reblin says customers benefit from the competitive price position of Express Mail and Priority Mail in the market, especially for packages weighing 5 pounds or less. �Even before the new incentives, Express Mail and Priority Mail services are the best values in shipping,� he said. �Commercial Plus prices are the icing on the cake.�

As an example of the savings available, Commercial Plus customers will pay $14.96 for an Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope, compared to the $17.50 retail price. Commercial Plus Priority Mail flat-rate savings compared to retail prices are shown in the accompanying table.

Flat-Rate Envelopes and Boxes	Retail	Commercial Plus
Priority Mail
Envelope	$4.95	$4.75
Small box	$4.95	$4.75
Regular box	$10.35	$9.67
Large box	$13.95	$13.27
Large box (APO/FPO)	$11.95	$11.30