The Post Office is going to slow down delivery of mail.
This is good information to know for charities, CPA firms, and those few of us who still use first-class mail to pay bills.
Before 10/1/21 the goal for USPS was three-day delivery anywhere in the country. This pushed USPS into sending a large volume of mail by air, which is far more expensive than ground transportation.
The new goal is five-day delivery anywhere in the country. This will allow sending most mail by USPS-owned trucks. Reading between the lines of official statements there will also be increased use of rail.
The local delivery goal, defined as within 139 miles or a three-hour drive, will remain at two days.
Yeah, right.
Currently it is taking anywhere from three days up to a week for a first class envelope to go across the Los Angeles metropolitan area, based on my personal observations over the last few years and limited conversations with other people.
So plan on it taking an extra one or two days for mail to reach its destination if you are sending something outside your metropolitan area. Add that on to whatever your current experience is.
Premium pricing for holidays
Did you know that October 3, 2021 is the first day of the holiday shipping season? Well, it is.
Starting 10/3/21 USPS will start holiday pricing. Increases on packages will be anywhere from $.75 up to $5.00, depending on distance and weight.
Online bill pay, UPS, and FedEx keep looking better and better. By the way, I have one client that won’t send large checks by mail because of frequent problems with first class mail. Paying twice as much is cheaper in the long term than using priority mail.
For more information:
- The NonProfit Times – 9/21/21 – Direct Mail To Get Slower – Just In Time For The Holidays
- MarketWatch – 9/29/21 – Starting in October, sending mail is getting slower and more expensive – just in time for the holidays