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Cost to Ship a Blade Going Up: USPS Hike Largest in Years

January 12, 2016

Dogs may growl at them, but only because the mailman is the knife person’s real best friend. The sight of a postal worker signals one of the most anticipated moments of the week, an end to every knife person’s impatient anxiety. Starting this Sunday, January 17th that welcome visit will become a little more expensive. The U.S. Postal Service will be increasing the cost of postage for nearly every shipping service it offers, including flat rate. Dealers who use private couriers like UPS or FedEx will not be affected. The hike will be noticed by anyone who relies on the USPS to send knives through the mail – including the vast majority of private sellers.

The exact rate increase will depend on a number of factors such as shipping class and distance traveled. However, customers can expect to see an average price increase of at least 10%. To ship a small priority flat rate box will cost you $5.25 today. After the 16th, be prepared to pay $6.10, a 16% increase – a far greater rise than the reported rate of inflation. This is USPS’ largest across-the-board price increase in several years. In fact, the cost of Priority mail and Priority mail express services has not risen since a more modest increase in 2014.

For small-volume dealers or collectors who rely on the secondary market, this is expected to impact the economics of buying and selling lower cost knives the most. An extra dollar to ship a $300 knife is easier to overlook than a $30 one. According to a KnifeNews survey taken in the spring, 55% of knife people reported that they don’t need to hold a knife before buying it. Why are so many people comfortable buying knives online without handling them first? It may be because they expect to be able to resell the knife if it can’t find a place in the carrying rotation. Private internet sales between collectors can also be a great way to find a deal, but starting on Sunday these transactions will take a bigger bite out of your wallet.

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