All three of the major shippers operating within the US are passing along pricing increases for the 2019 calendar year even though the price of oil has fallen over the past year. The USPS, which is the only service we currently use, are making two important changes which will have a major impact on the way we ship out products across North America. The first, which goes into effect on January 27th, is as follows:

USPS First Class packages are increasing an average of 11.9%. Note that USPS First Class Package Service pricing will change from a flat rate per ounce to zone-based pricing per ounce

USPS Priority Mail increases an average of 5.9%

Moreover, changes in weight distribution of packages will affect pricing on USPS packages starting in June.

Effective June 23, the USPS is planning to change the way they calculate dimension weight on Parcel Select Ground, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express. They currently apply dimensional weight (DIM Weight) pricing on medium to large packages with lower weights to take into consideration the amount of space taken up on a truck rather than a package’s physical weight.  As pricing changes take effect, the rate charged will be the higher cost of either Dim Weight or physical weight of a package.

As a result, shipping larger items, such as the upcoming 1:32 scale Forces of Valor vehicles and several of the larger 1:72 scale aircraft offered by a variety of manufacturers, will cost us dearly to ship out, particularly if the item(s) must be mailed to the West Coast, northwest and even the midwest. As a result, we will likely have to dispense with our flat rate shipping model on January 27th and determine shipping costs based upon what the USPS will assess us for each shipment. We regret having to make this decision but hope you recognize that we simply cannot afford to sell at a loss in order to make a sale.