US Postage Savings: Slash Your Postage Costs in Half

There are a number of variables that determine the ultimate cost of any item you mail through the US Postal Service. The speed at which you desire ultimate delivery is important but so are the weight, content and size of the item. These variables create confusion over its ultimate cost. As a result, it's easy to overpay or miss out on significant savings. I've observed three specific actions that can be taken to cut mailing costs.

Tip # 1: Size Matters

Have you ever received a greeting card with postage due? Many of the more expensive cards are bigger and exceed the postal service guidelines for first class letters which is no more than 6 1/8 inches high and 11 ½ inches in length. The weight for a first class letter can be up to 3 ½ ounces which usually isn't a problem unless you're including heavier items such as coins. It also can't be more than ¼ inch thick. If the length/height, thickness and/or weight exceed the maximum, it is no longer considered a letter for postage calculation purposes. It's deemed to be a flat.

A flat is still considered first class mail as long as it doesn't exceed ¾ of an inch thick and the envelope doesn't exceed 12 inches by 15 inches long. However, a flat costs one heck of a lot more to send than a first class letter at the same weight. If you exceed the flat maximums you move into priority mail or parcel post rate territory.

The difference in rates for a letter vs. a flat is dramatic. For example, a regular letter below one ounce costs 41 cents but a flat with the same weight costs 80 cents. Almost double the price! A two ounce letter costs 58 cents while a flat is 97 cents. You get the idea. A letter costs a lot less.

Here is where the savings come in. A 9 inch by 12 inch envelope is commonly used to send multiple letter sized pieces of paper. Because of the size it's considered a flat. If the paper is folded in half and placed in a 6 x 9 inch envelope the weight doesn't change but now it's judged to be a letter at the much lower price. A little knowledge goes a long way towards saving money.

Tip # 2: Content Matters

The postal service used to have a special low rate for shipping books called the book rate. It was simple and cheap. We don't have the book rate any longer. What we have now is called Media Mail.

A broad definition of what can be shipped by media mail includes books, film, manuscripts, printed music, sound recordings, video tapes, computer disks and much more. It's worth checking into before shipping anything heavy and the postal clerk doesn't always mention the media mail option. If you are shipping media and super speedy delivery isn't critical media mail is the way to go.

It costs $8.59 to ship a 20 pound box of media across the country with an estimated speed of 8 days. For the same estimated delivery time it costs $23.98 to ship by parcel post. If you need faster shipping, use priority mail. The estimated ship time is 3 days but you'll pay a whopping $34.40 for this service.

Tip #3: Where You Buy Your Postage Matters

I think this is the most fun way to save money on postage. Some, however, will find this method of saving a bit quirky.

Over the years stamp collectors have accumulated massive quantities of pre-gummed unused stamps for their collections. When its time to dispose of the collection, dealers will pay around 70 to 80 cents on the dollar for the more common stamp varieties. Dealers resell these stamps as regular postage at around 90 cents on the dollar. The buyer ends up buying usable postage at a 10% discount to face value! Dealers sell to regular customers as well as through online venues such as Ebay. It's perfectly legal.

When you buy postage through dealers they will give you various denominations separated into glassine envelopes. I purchased $500 of face value of stamps for $440 through a dealer. I use Christmas stamps (some dating back 40 years) all year long. Some of the stamps date all the way back to the 1930's! Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of buying discounted postage is that you have to place a number of stamps on the envelope in order to satisfy the current postage rate. I feel that this inconvenience is more than offset by the cost savings and the historical artistic presentation of each stamped envelope. Let's face it; a person is more likely to recognize an envelope with multiple stamps as important or significant vs. an envelope with one lonely stamp on it.