Managing your ecommerce store is a balancing act. It’s hard to balance the cost of goods and services you buy to sell your products. Shipping is especially tricky, and can easily cut into your profits. And, of course, the cost you spend to ship items to your end customers can change without warning. That is what’s happening now with the US Postal Service.
USPS New Fees and Surcharges
Shipping fees change from year to year based on the price of gasoline and other costs. USPS came out with their regular rate changes on January 9, 2022, and they now have approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission to add new fees which went into effect on April 3, 2022. These new fees are no April Fool’s joke, and you need to be aware of where they may affect your business. These two fees are a Dimensional Noncompliance fee and a Non-Standard Fee.
Why is USPS Adding New Fees to Their Shipping Charges?
If you’re wondering why USPS is adding these two new fees in addition to your regular rates, here’s why:
Dimensional Noncompliance Fee
When shipping packages based on their measurements, it’s important to measure carefully. When ecommerce companies don’t measure correctly, USPS has to correct the measurements before a package ships out. This extra work slows down the USPS supply chain. If you supply the correct dimensions, you won’t have to worry about this fee. With correct measurements, your package doesn’t have to be pulled out of line to be remeasured.
Non-Standard Fee
The USPS has specialized equipment to process and sort packages, and this determines their standard sizes. When you ship packages outside the standard, then USPS has to add manual processing to the equation. Adding this manual handling increases the cost of USPS processing. It takes workers away from the standard process and increases the time it takes to process.
Another reason for the Non-Standard Fee is that USPS maximizes their logistics, including how items will ship (by air or ground), and that calculation is based on transportation assigned to packages in the system, and non-standard packages unbalance that calculation.
Let’s break down these fees for you.
USPS Dimensional Non-Compliance Fee (APV)
A non-compliance fee of $1.50 may be levied via the USPS Automated Package Verification System (APV) as a short pay when:
- Dimensions are inaccurately provided for packages that have an LP parcel type and have a length greater than 22 inches or cubic volume greater than one cubic foot.
- Dimensions aren’t provided or are incorrectly provided for packages that have a PKG parcel type and have a length greater than 22 inches or cubic volume greater than one cubic foot.
What Services does the Dimensional Non-Compliance Fee Apply to?
The new Dimensional Non-Compliance fee applies to the following:
- Retail
- Commercial
- NSA competitive domestic packages
- USPS Retail Ground, PME, PM, PS/PSLW, Retail Ground LOR)
- This excludes PMOD and USPS Flat Rate packaging, and Regional Rate packaging supplied by the Postal Service.
Real-Life Example of the Dimensional Non-Compliance Fee
- You accidentally enter the incorrect dimensions of your parcel and as a result, the package is measured to be larger than 22 inches. This will incur a fee of $1.50 on top of postage.
To avoid paying the added $1.50 fee, follow the measure twice, ship once approach. Make sure you measure the exterior of the final outside box that your products are shipping in. This is the measurement USPS wants.
Rounding Rules Regarding Measurements
To make sure you understand the rounding rules when measuring, read questions 19, 20, and 27 on the USPS website.
USPS Non-Standard Dimension and Volume Fees
The Non-Standard Dimension and Volume Fees will be added to the postage if they exceed a standard dimension and/or volume measurement.
- A fee of $4.00 will be added to your shipment if the length is greater than 22 inches and less than or equal to 30 inches.
- A fee of $15.00 will be added to your shipment if the length is greater than 30 inches.
- A fee of $15.00 will be added to your shipment if the volume is greater than 2 cubic feet.
What Services Do these Non-Standard Fees Apply to?
These Non-Standard Fees apply to the following:
- First-Class Package Service Retail Only
- USPS Retail Ground
- USPS Priority Mail
- This excludes Flat-Rate packaging, Regional Rate packaging, Cubic-Tiered products, and Open or Distribute products
- USPS Priority Mail Express
- This excludes Flat-Rate packaging, Regional Rate packaging, Cubic-Tiered products, and Open or Distribute products
- Parcel Select
- This doesn’t apply to returns.
You Can Accrue More than One Fee on the Same Package!
Real-Life Examples of the Non-Standard Fees
- You’re shipping a 28-inch-long, 12-inch-high, and 12-inch-wide Priority Mail package.
- Your package would be subject to a $4.00 surcharge since it’s longer than 22 inches.
- Your package would also be charged $15.00 because the volume (4032 cubic inches) is larger than 2 cubic feet (3456 inches).
- This totals $19.00 that’s added to your postage.
- You’re shipping a box that’s 40 inches long, 10 inches tall, and 10 inches wide.
- Your package would be charged $15.00 because it’s longer than 30 inches.
- Your package would also be charged another $15.00 since your volume (4000 cubic inches) is larger than 2 cubic feet (3456 cubic inches).
- You didn’t measure this package correctly, or not at all. This adds the Dimensional Non-Compliance Fee as well.
- This results in a total of $31.50 added to your postage.
How Do You Dispute a USPS Adjustment or Surcharge?
You can dispute these fees if you think they’ve been applied to your shipment incorrectly. This is something that you have to do with USPS directly.
Contact the USPS Automated Package Verification Department directly by:
- Email: VerifyPostageHelp@USPS.gov
- Phone: 1-844-819-5187
Before contacting them, you need to make sure you have this information:
- Adjustment ID from your USPS postage account
- Last 4 digits of the tracking number
- Explanation for the dispute with as much detail as possible
How Can Ordoro Help You Save Money on Shipping?
Ordoro is designed to help you save money on shipping to keep your costs as low as possible. Here’s how:
1. Compare Shipping Rates
- Use Ordoro to comparison shop for the best shipping rates. View shipping rates from multiple carriers including USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and Canada Post.
- Ordoro is part of an exclusive program with UPS that allows our customers to access fast onboarding with UPS and obtain optimal discounts instantly. Book a Virtual Consultation with a UPS Solutions Expert.
- Get the most out of your UPS account by meeting with a UPS logistics expert. They can analyze your supply chain, let you know about any new programs, and may be able to offer you even better rates for your account.
2. Reduce APV Errors
You can reduce human errors when entering parcel dimensions if you let Ordoro automate your workflow with shipping presets, automation rules, and tags.
Accelerate your process by configuring Shipping Presets that autofill shipping parameters when creating labels. You can go even further with Automation Rules that act on orders as soon as they arrive.
As you import your orders into Ordoro, you can automatically or manually assign filterable tags, then search to view the status and activity of every shipment within a single interface. The Ordoro app also auto-audits your orders, documenting actions and showing a timeline for each order.
3. Available Shipping Discounts
Although these new fees and surcharges that are being applied as of April 3, 2022, are unavoidable for packages exceeding these standards, Ordoro can still help your business save money on all your packages with up to 67% discounts on USPS rates.
4. Avoid Surprises
Another fee that carriers may add is up to $4.00 for residential delivery. The Ordoro app will verify whether an address is commercial or residential to keep billing surprises at a minimum.
Would You Like to Learn More about USPS Shipping Rates?
If you’re looking for a way to save on your shipping rates through USPS and other carriers, talk to our sales team today. Or visit our USPS Shipping Guide for more information regarding USPS postage rates, USPS shipping calculator, USPS international shipping rates, USPS shipping rates by weight chart, free shipping software, and so much more!
