How Will USPS Holiday Changes Affect Your Client Gifts This Year?

We just got word that there are two USPS changes coming right as holiday gifting season starts:

• Higher prices. From October 4 through January 17, USPS is temporarily raising rates on almost everything.

• Slower delivery to some places. As of October 1, packages to and from Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories are taking longer.

For most client gifts, the extra cost is under a dollar a box. The bigger risk, however, is timing.

Here's what changed and how to plan around it.

What's Changing With USPS Delivery Times?

Starting October 1, USPS updated delivery expectations for packages going to or from noncontiguous states and territories.

USPS Ground Advantage

• Packages between the lower 48 and affected areas now have an expected delivery time of 10 days or more. Some routes may take a lot longer.

• Packages under 1 pound now mostly travel by truck or boat instead of by air, the same as heavier packages.

Priority Mail

• Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa: 2 to 4 days

• Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau: 2 to 6 days

• Priority Mail Express isn't affected.

If all your clients are in the lower 48, this part doesn't change much for you. If you have even a few in Alaska, Hawaii, or a territory, plan to ship their items first.

How Much More Will Holiday Shipping Cost?

From October 4 through January 17, USPS is adding a peak-season increase to everything except international shipping and Media Mail. It applies everywhere you buy USPS postage, so there's no way around it.

Here's the increase per package. Zones are based on distance, so Zones 1 to 4 are closer and Zones 5 to 9 are farther away.

Ground Advantage

Priority Mail

Priority Mail Flat Rate

• Large Flat Rate Boxes: +$1.75

• All other Flat Rate products: +$0.85

Cubic pricing goes up too, by the same amounts as the lightest weight tiers.

What Does This Mean for Your Client Gifts?

Most client gifts we ship weigh under 3 pounds which is right in that first tier.

That means:

• Ground Advantage: about 40 to 55 cents more per box

• Priority Mail: about 40 to 85 cents more per box

For 100 clients spread across the country, that's roughly $50 to $85 extra in total. That's something to keep in mind.

The bigger issue is time: slower routes and holiday volume mean you don't want to bet on last minute shipping.

How Should You Plan Around the USPS Changes?

• Ship early. Have custom gifts ordered by the end of November and everything moving by the first week of December.

• Send to Alaska, Hawaii, and territory clients first. Ground Advantage can take 10 days or more, so ship those first or upgrade them to Priority Mail.

• Use Priority Mail Express for anything urgent. Its delivery times didn't change, though it costs more.

• Budget a little extra. Add about a dollar per box to cover the increase.

• Consider a New Year's send. Gifts that land the first week of January skip the December rush. They still fall inside the higher-rate window, which runs through January 17, but you won't be competing with every other vendor.

Want Someone Else to Handle the Shipping Headaches?

We source, personalize, pack, and ship client gifts with handwritten cards, and we plan around carrier delays so your gifts land on time.

Send us your count and we'll get to work.