First Class International Mail
The United States Postal Service is planning to change First Class International Mail features and classifications in 2018. Above all the changes would implement a restriction on the contents of First Class International Mail to documents only. This is in an effort to comply with standards of the Universal Postal Union.
First Class International Changes
We anticipate that in 2018 merchandise of any kind will not be permitted in USPS First Class International Mail letters and flats. Anything classified merchandise mails as commercial mail via the USPS’s International Priority Airmail (IPA) service or International Surface Air Lift (ISAL.) Electronic documents such as CDs, DVDs, and flash drives will not be considered documents for mailing purposes. Also excluded will be artwork, books, magazines, printed music, educational material, commercial blueprints, commercial photos, commercial engineering drawings, and X-rays. There is no price change for the service. In contrast many USPS customers will be forced to use the more costly IPA, ISAL, Global Express, Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail International, and First-Class Package International Services. This will increase mailing costs. The rates for some of these services have gone up twice already in 2017. Also these rates increase again in 2018.
USPS International Mail Alternatives
Atlas International Mail has alternatives in place to bypass the USPS altogether. Our Priority Standard International (PSI) and Priority Lettermail International (PLI) services offer comparable delivery speeds at a fraction of the cost of international USPS Airmail. We strategically enter your mailings into the national postal systems of well-developed countries. As a result, you get unique postage savings opportunities from each foreign postal administration. We can help you avoid the wholesale USPS international rates hikes. For comparative price quotes, please let us know the size and weight of your mail pieces and provide a breakdown of quantities by country. In many cases we are able to save customers as much as 50% off the standard USPS international rates. There are never any contracts to sign or hidden fees to pay.
Visit us at atlasintlmail.com to learn more.
Also, you can follow the links above, and learn more about Atlas’s services. Atlas International Mail has been in business since 1990 and have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. We offer low-cost mailing services to over 180 countries across the globe. Best of all, we can do this for up to 50% less than the post office.