I’ve changed my MPD gift-giving to February through September. That’s a win because it’s a less busy time for me to organize sending out gifts. You may need to tweak my ideas if your summer schedule is quite full.

Why You Should Consider Sending Gifts in the Summer

Have you planned for some gift-giving this summer? Your ministry partners may appreciate your gifts more during the off-season. Your package would be one of many in December but stand out during the summer.

You might also be convinced to switch your gift-giving plans if you think about the cost of mailing.

Price Considerations

Thanks to the pandemic, shippers now add holiday surcharges.  You’ll pay more for shipping packages from October through January. This is the new normal. Depending on the shipper, the extra charge might extend into September or February. In 2022, the U. S. Post Office (USPS) added holiday surcharges from October 2nd through January 22nd, 2023. Check online for holiday surcharge dates for other carriers if you prefer to use Amazon, UPS, FedEx, or others.

USPS Price Rate Increase July 9th

The United States Postal Service (USPS) raises postage rates every six months. First-class postage goes up by three cents on July 9th. Other rates are increasing as well, including:

• Letters (1 ounce): 66 cents, up from 63 cents
• Domestic postcards: 51 cents, up from 48 cents
• International letter: $1.50, up from $1.45

Learn more from this Jacksonville.com article. See the official USPS list of all price changes.

When I first alerted you to the planned biannual price hikes, first-class stamps were 55 cents. Expect increases every six months over a ten-year period. Forever stamps will go up at least 2 cents each time.

2023 Potential UPS Strike

It’s still likely UPS workers will strike on August 1st. This USA Today article explains the implications. For one, UPS handles more than 20 million packages daily. USPS handles 23.8 million packages a day, while FedEx handles 16.5 million. Neither the U. S. Post Office nor FedEx could handle an extra 20 million packages.

What You Can Do Before July 9th

Order Stamps Now

I started my summer gift-giving project before remembering the summer rate hike. I’m finishing as much as I can before prices go up. That’s “impossible” for you and me, but here’s a workaround: order stamps now at USPS.com. Make sure your Forever stamps are 63 cents, not 66 cents. Check the issue date.

If you bring your own postage to your post office, you’ll pay with today’s prices over several months of mailing your gifts.

Place Your Online Orders

Different companies will send your gifts through USPS or UPS. You might not know which service they’ll use, so why not place some orders soon?

I enjoyed the book, Sent: Living a Life that Invites Others to Jesus this year. I plan to order these for ministry partners who’ve been giving to our ministry for twenty years. (The authors, Ashley and Heather Holleman, are with Cru.)

What I’m Sending

My experiences will help your project go a little smoother.

• I’m sending Who Are Frontier People Groups to churches that give to us. In my note, I mentioned that we thought this might be a good book for their children’s ministry. This small book is available from Cru’s Indigitous digital ministry. I mailed these as small packages. (See next bullet point.)
• Media Mail rates are best for media over a pound if you send heavier books. Media Mail starts at $3.65 no matter what your book weighs (after July 9th: $3.73). If you’re purchasing stamps, order some $1, $2, or $5 denominations (some odd lower values, like the Fox 40-cent stamp).
• I have a stack of small notepads (under $1 each). I tried sending one in a thank-you note, and the clerk charged me $4.85 to an address only 70 miles away. Yikes! I talked with two clerks at another post office. They reassured me I could send these for $1.27 as nonmachinable (hand-stamped). Of course, the price will go up in July.
  • I’m still a little unclear about when to use the large envelope or small package rate.
• I will do my online orders next week since I don’t know which carrier would deliver my book gifts to our friends.
• I have a variety of stamp denominations in my desk, so I can work on the rest of my gifts over the summer.

Pin Me, Please

NOTES:

• USPS worked with the greeting card industry to provide for mailing oddly-shaped envelopes. If your envelope can’t go through the automated processing system, you can have your letter hand-stamped.
  • Order the Nonmachinable Surcharge stamp.
• MPD is Ministry Partner Development.