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USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

Effective January 22, 2023 (and subject to approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission), Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes A and B will be discontinued, and the current pricing for these boxes will no longer be applicable. Customers with Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes A and B in their inventory can still use them for shipping, but they will be processed as weight and rate packages.

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

     I checked a couple of my drafts this morning and indeed the regional boxes are no longer an option when selecting a shipping method. I also checked Pirate Ship which I often use to ship items I sell on eBay since they offer some services eBay does not like Priority mail cubic. The regional boxes are still available as a shipping option on Pirate Ship but I suspect those will go away after 22 January 2023. 

     There are alternatives to using the regional boxes and depending on the weight and where it is shipping to I have found that the USPS flat rate boxes can be a cheaper alternative to the regional boxes which have lower weight limits than the 70 pounds for a flat rate box. The A box is limited to 15 pounds for domestic and 10 pounds for international and the B box is limited to 20 pounds. USPS recommends that shippers look at Priority Mail Cubic pricing, usually reserved for high-volume shippers, but it is available on many shipping platforms.

     There are a number of other proposed USPS changes for 2023 none of which have been approved yet. They include: 

 

  • The size (dimension) limitations for First-Class Package Service will be updated to align with the product consolidation.
  • $100 of insurance will be included in the enhanced First-Class Package Service product.
  • Cubic pricing tiers will be added to the enhanced First-Class Package Service product, along with Oversized, Dimensional Weight, and Nonstandard Fees.
  • The Parcel Select Ground price category will be eliminated from the Parcel Select product to avoid redundancy. Both Parcel Select Ground and USPS Retail Ground will be subsumed under the newly enhanced First-Class Package Service product.
  • The Limited Overland Routes price category will be retained and shifted under First-Class Package Service.
  • Separate Nonstandard Fees for Expedited and Ground Products
  • Collapse Commercial Base and Commercial Plus for Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail
  • Zone Modernization Phase 2
  • Deliver Return and Outbound Labels to Residential and Business Addresses for a Fee
  • Eliminate Certificate of Mailing and Signature Confirmation Services for Returns
  • Eliminate Multiple Canada Rate Zones for PMI in Notice 123
  • Eliminate Balloon Pricing for Parcel Return Service
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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX


@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     I checked a couple of my drafts this morning and indeed the regional boxes are no longer an option when selecting a shipping method. I also checked Pirate Ship which I often use to ship items I sell on eBay since they offer some services eBay does not like Priority mail cubic. The regional boxes are still available as a shipping option on Pirate Ship but I suspect those will go away after 22 January 2023. ...


eBay programmers have really jumped the gun on this since the current Regional rates will be in effect for 3 more weeks.

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX


@caldreamer wrote: .... Customers with Priority Mail Regional Rate Boxes A and B in their inventory can still use them for shipping, but they will be processed as weight and rate packages.


 The discontinuing of the Regional rates was announced in October, and there have been several discussions since then regarding whether the Regional boxes will then be used at regular Priority rates (as the Regional C boxes were, after they were discontinued) which of course is the logical approach.  It would be great to have a link to the official word about this.

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

I just checked one of my pending sales on bulk shipping and the REgional Priority box options are still available .

 

 

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

Well, I guess my cardboard recycler will be getting my Region A & B boxes.

 

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX


@rhiggsbear wrote:

Well, I guess my cardboard recycler will be getting my Region A & B boxes.

 


I wouldn’t do that if we can use them as regular weight boxes.

Message 7 of 11
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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

No.  Use them as regular priority mail boxes. Some of those sizes are better than the regular priority mail box. I love the one that is the size of a kid's shoe box.

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

I want to add that whenever you have postal supplies that you no longer need, just take them to your local post office and leave them on the counter and believe me  they will be picked up quickly by others. 

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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

Me too. Stocked up on them.

Message 10 of 11
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Re: USPS Discontinuing A & B PRIORITY BOX

On the C boxes the local p.o. had me black out the C rate line.

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