The holiday season is here, and many of us will be making a mad dash to our local post office in hopes of mailing off gifts to our loved ones in time.
But this holiday season, there's a perfect storm that's brewing.
A global pandemic, with a worker shortage and now supply chain issues has created longer than usual delivery times, not to mention higher prices at the USPS.
So how will all of this impact you?
The graphic below explains:
A first class stamp for a letter is currently .58 cents, and that increased over the summer.
This holiday season, expect to pay .75 cents more for Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express flat rate boxes and envelopes. Depending on where your package is going and how much it weighs, it will cost you more this year to ship.
For example, it's a .25 cent increase for Zones 1-4, for packages 10 pounds or less and a .75 cent increase for Zones 5-9, for packages 10 pounds or less. If your packages are much heavier, expect to pay $2.50 to $5.00 more this holiday season.
Lastly, expect shipping delays this holiday season. Your packages will take longer to get to their destination mainly because the USPS isn't using many jets to get packages across the country.
Below are the shipping deadlines to ensure your package gets to its destination by Dec. 25., across the Lower 48.
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