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First-Class Mail in the U.S. includes postcards, letters, large envelopes (flats), and small packages, providing each piece weighs 13 ounces (370 g) or less. Delivery is given priority over second-class ( newspapers and magazines ), third class (bulk advertisements), and fourth-class mail (books and media packages).
First-class mail volume peaked in 2001 to 103.65 billion declining to 52.62 billion by 2020 [53] due to the increasing use of email and the World Wide Web for correspondence and business transactions. [54] Private courier services, such as FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS), directly compete with USPS for the delivery of packages.
On September 25, 2013, the USPS announced a 3-cent increase in the First Class postal rate, effective January 26, 2014, increasing the price of a stamp to 49 cents. Bulk mail, periodicals, and package service rates were also increased by 6 percent. A loss of US$5 billion during the 2013 fiscal year was the reason given for the increase. [30]
In 2007, the USPS introduced shape-based pricing which offered more significant postal discounts for mailers who sorted flat-sized mailpieces. In response to this postal change, the market responded with new low-cost systems designed specifically to support flat mail sorting for mailers who process between 500 and 10,000 first class flats per day.
Small packet, also called packages, is a postal term that is internationally defined as mails less than 2 kg. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Commonly, small items that are not flat enough to be sent as ordinary letter would be sent as small packets.
[1] The first Special delivery stamp was printed by the American Bank Note Company and issued on October 1, 1885. It could not be used to prepay postage or any other service. The stamp bears the words "Secures immediate delivery at a special delivery office,". In 1886 the Special Delivery service was expanded to all post offices and a new stamp ...
A Belgian railway parcel stamp used in 1881 at Verviers. The international parcel service, which allowed the orderly shipment of mailed packages and parcels from one country to another according to predetermined rates, was established by the Universal Postal Union on 1 October 1881 (Great Britain, India, The Netherlands and Persia, 1 April 1882), following the agreement of 1880 in Paris during ...
To fit the definition a flat must: Have one dimension that is greater than 6-1/8 inches high OR 11-½ inches long (the side parallel to the address as read) OR ¼ inch thick. Be no more than 12 inches high x 15 inches long x ¾ inch thick. Weigh no more than 13 ounces.