As part of their annual rate assessment, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced increases to shipping costs effective January 21st, 2018. On average, First Class Mail and Priority Mail rates are expected to rise by approximately 24%, as the Service continues to grapple with huge financial losses and the crippling effects of lower letter volume.
As a result, we may have to increase our flat rate shipping rate later this month once we get a better sense of how these rate hikes will affect our own costs, particularly for larger parcels that need to be shipped to the Midwest, Northwest, Southwest and West Coast regions. As you know, many of the soon-to-be-released Forces of Valor 1:32 scale military vehicles will be heavier than their counterparts from years ago, due to the fact that they will incorporate more metal as well as contain a bonus engine and stronger packaging. This means that we may need to change their shipping costs, particularly if an order calls for multiple vehicles. We are sorry to have to implement these changes and hope that you understand that increased shipping costs have a serious effect on our business model.