USPS Shipping Calculator for 2015

on May 24th, 2015 | in Etsy Tips, Tools | 40 Comments

The U.S. Postal Service changed shipping rates on May 31, 2015. Many Etsy sellers came to rely on my shipping calculator for 2014, so I’ve once again taken the near-indecipherable USPS rate charts and turned them into an easy to use tool for updating your shipping profiles and listings.

Notable for 2015 is Canada switching to zone-based pricing for Priority Mail International, with 7 zones rather than a single rate for the whole country. Priority Mail International (Canada) is now a separate option in the shipping types. Take a look at my domestic shipping article if you need a crash course in weighing and packaging.

The rates shown below are commercial base pricing offered by Etsy, PayPal and other online vendors. Be sure to check the prices against your vendor to make sure they’re using commercial prices. Expect to pay more if you show up at the post office without postage. Pricing for flat rate items is included in the table below.

The USPS updated shipping rates on January 17th, 2016. I’ve posted a new shipping calculator with the updated rates; the rates shown below are no longer valid.

USPS Shipping Calculator

USPS Flat Rates

Rate
First Class Mail 0.49
Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope 5.05
Priority Mail Legal Flat Rate Envelope 5.25
Priority Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelope 5.70
Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box 5.25
Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box 11.30
Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box 15.80
Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope
(Canada)
20.85
Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope
(Other countries)
25.25
Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box
(Canada)
20.85
Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box
(Other countries)
25.25
Priority Mail International Medium Flat Rate Box
(Canada)
42.95
Priority Mail International Medium Flat Rate Box
(Other countries)
62.95
Priority Mail International Large Flat Rate Box
(Canada)
56.75
Priority Mail International Large Flat Rate Box
(Other countries)
81.95
Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope 18.11
Express Mail Flat Rate Box 44.95

Disclaimer: This tool is intended to help Etsy sellers, but is unlikely to cover the needs of every shop and business owner. Please use the calculator as a tool in your tool box and not the sole source for your pricing decision. Shipping is complex and we hope to ease the pain a bit. Please keep in mind that extra services, insurance, etc. are not taken into account with this calculator.

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40 Responses

  1. Jason says:

    Will there be a calculator for the 2016 rates?

  2. Lisa Braun says:

    Oh Brittany, will you be doing this for the new 2016 postal rates?

    FINGERS CROSSED!!

  3. Bunny says:

    Thanks very much for this updated shipping calculator.
    Every time I attempt to use the USPS website I feel like I’m nearing The Cliffs of Insanity!
    Glad I’m not the only one. 🙂

  4. Sue says:

    Most of my Etsy items are jewelry, and I use a small bubble mailing envelope (6×9) Maybe a silly question, but is there a way to find out the costs for that? It is usually just over $2.00 to mail one. I’d like to offer international mailings, but cannot imagine having to go through and weigh and measure everything!

    • Brittany says:

      Sue, packages that aren’t USPS flat rate are always charged by weight. It may be that most of your items weigh about the same, which is why the cost seems consistent. You could weigh a few items with the packing material and come up with an upper bound for weight that you’re comfortable with, and use that for calculating shipping.

      I find that most of my items fit into a few weight categories, so I’ve created shipping profiles on Etsy with appropriate shipping costs for each category.

  5. Kyria says:

    Thank you so much!!! I think this is the smartest information I’ve found online about shipping 🙂

  6. Martha says:

    Thank you!! From me, on the ‘otherside’ of the ocean! 🙂 I’ve just proposed your tool to a couple of teams that I’m in, because I’m seeing so many shops still not offering Intl. shipping. I like to participate in BNR’s but have a hard time when shops don’t ship out of the US.
    Super thankful you’ve made it easier for everyone to calculate costs, and find the more affordable ones too! Btw, your TreasuryBox is a Fabulous thing as well! Thank you for everything you do here!
    Martha

  7. Kelly T says:

    Thanks Brittany!

  8. Tofa says:

    Thank you so much. It is very important. I hope you will come up with oz one day. It is really great.

    Tofa

  9. Onyi says:

    Thank you so much for this. I was hesitating listing things online because I have to ship on my own instead of through the websites and I didn’t have any idea how much to add onto their prices for shipping.

    • Brittany says:

      Onyi, if by shipping on your own you mean shipping using USPS retail prices paid at the Post Office, you would be better off using the Postage Price Calculator from the USPS site. This calculator’s rates are based on commercial based prices offered by Etsy, PayPal and others.

  10. I’m so grateful for you! If this resource wasn’t available, I don’t know what I’d do! Been using this since 2013, and couldn’t imagine business without! Thanks for putting this together 🙂

  11. nicole says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting this together! You’re the best!!!

  12. Thanks so much! This made my life a lot easier!

  13. Karin says:

    Thank you so much for making this chart. You’ve just saved me at least an hour of what would have been mind numbing calculating. Cheers!

  14. Debora says:

    Brittany, thank you! There is lots of information on the web but nothing to compare to your information, which is clear, concise and written for a seller to understand. I have used your info since my shops began and will continue to do so, again thank you!

  15. Carol says:

    Thank you so much! You provide such a wonderful resource for my etsy shop!

  16. Dee says:

    Seriously, thank you so much for doing this! Really kind and generous!

  17. Thank you for putting this tool together! It’s very helpful.

  18. Chrissy says:

    Thank you! This is an amazing resource for sellers. 🙂

    • Brittany says:

      That is so nice to hear – thanks!

    • marsha says:

      How do you know the zones?

      • Brittany says:

        Marsha, zones differ depending on where you’re shipping from, so unfortunately there’s not a simple map of zones. The USPS has a zone chart for U.S. shipping that will give you a zone for a given origin and destination zip code.

        For the new Canada zones, Pitney Bowes has a similar US-Canada zone chart that will give you a zone for a zip/postal code combination. Hope that helps!

        • Steve says:

          It would be helpful to put the zone map link at the top in the post so that your readers can easily decipher this method you’ve devised. Some people are new and don’t know how this work. Thanks for the help.

          • Brittany says:

            Thanks Steve, great suggestion! I added the zone map link after the rates for any shipping method that involves zones.

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