As your e-commerce business springs forward with the season, it’s essential not to overlook the new upcoming USPS fees. While the 2022 USPS rate changes went into effect on January 9 of this year, the additional fees approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission were delayed until Sunday, April 3, 2022. These fees include a Dimensional Noncompliance fee and a USPS Non-Standard Fee.
These fees and surcharges could significantly impact your shipping costs. We’ll explain how these new fees affect those who ShipRush and in general, but if you’d like to read more on what precisely the PRC approved in terms of new USPS costs, visit here.
USPS Dimensional Noncompliance Fee
Of the new USPS shipping fees, the Dimensional Noncompliance fee is easier to understand.
A fee of $1.50 will be applied to any packages when manifested dimensions are either incorrect or are not provided, and the captured dimensions (length, width, height) have a length greater than 22 inches or volume greater than one cubic foot.
The length is the longest side of the box and should be provided out to two decimal places. Be accurate since the rounding does not apply to non-standard Fees for package length.
Then rounding rules apply when calculating package volume. The package dimensions (length, width, and height) should be rounded off to the following whole number, then multiplied to calculate the package cubic volume. If the computed package cubic volume exceeds 3,456 inches, the Nonstandard Fee applies for exceeding two cubic feet.
To avoid this fee, you’ll want to live by the philosophy of “measure twice, ship once.” Just be sure you’re measuring the exterior of the box your product is going to be shipped in since that is what USPS will be measuring.
USPS Non-Standard Fee
The USPS Non-Standard Fee has a few more layers to unpack. Essentially, packages that exceed a certain dimensional threshold will incur an additional fee in addition to the postage.
- Parcels that are longer than 22 inches but less than 30 inches will see a $4.00 surcharge.
- Parcels that exceed 30 inches in length will incur a $15.00 surcharge.
- Parcels that measure greater than two cubic (3456 cubic inches) feet will also add a $15.00 fee.
These fees are placed on shipments using USPS Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, and Parcel Select. Shipments using Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail Flat Rate packaging, Priority Cubic Tiered product, or Priority Mail Regional Rate packages won’t have to worry about these surcharges. For those Flat Rates, USPS provided packages; you have to remember to not overstuff the boxes to the point you put your product in danger. For the Cubic Rate, you will need to provide accurate rates rounded to ¼.”
What’s also important to understand is that your package could incur multiple non-standard fees simultaneously.
Say, for example, you’re sending out a Priority Mail shipment that measures 25” long, 12” high, and 12” wide. You’d see a $4.00 surcharge for your package is longer than 22” plus you’d see another $15.00 for your package measuring greater than two cubic feet. You’d then be paying $19.00 on top of the postage cost.
In a different example, your package was 35” long, 10” high, and 10” wide. You’d pay $15 for your package being longer than 30 inches, plus another $15 for greater than two cubic feet. Let’s also say you didn’t measure it correctly or didn’t measure it at all. That could result in a $31.50 fee to go along with the cost of postage.
Why New USPS Fees Are Being Added
The USPS is implementing these added costs for a couple of different reasons.
In terms of the Dimensional Noncompliance fee, the added time it takes to correct or add correct measurements to a package affects the efficiency of the USPS’s supply chain. Providing correct dimensions allows USPS to properly plan and assign transportation for those items within their operation.
Similarly, when it comes to the Non-Standard Fee, the USPS utilizes state-of-the-art equipment to sort and process packages. When packages fall outside the capacity of that equipment, those items have to be processed through a semi-manual process which adds cost to the process. In addition, to create efficiencies, USPS tries to maximize the logistical process by maximizing transportation assigned to packages in the system, whether ground transportation or air.
How The New USPS Fees Affect Your E-commerce Business
The new USPS Non-standard fees will affect e-commerce businesses differently as it will all depend on what size products you usually ship. However, the Dimensional Noncompliance fee will be the same for online stores.
The USPS is cracking down on merchants who put the incorrect measurements for their packages. They’re also cracking down on parcels that slow down or limit their ability to ship as many parcels as possible.
You and your fulfillment team must be aware of these surcharges and do your best to comply with them to avoid any USPS surcharges. Some additional options you can take are
- Use different packaging to meet the size requirements of USPS.
- Use different USPS services such as USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate, Regional Rate, or First-Class Package Service.
- Consider shipping with UPS with more significant dimensional requirements before adding surcharges or choosing a different carrier.
With the new USPS fees coming soon, the need to compare different shipping rates from multiple carriers all in one place is paramount to keeping shipping costs as low as possible. ShipRush can help you with that.
You’ll also be able to find deep discounts with the nation’s top carriers, such as USPS and UPS, and compare rates with regional carriers and international carriers.
To find out how much you can save on USPS shipping, sign up for free today!