Merchants to Be Squeezed by Postage Rate Increase in January

Online merchants are increasingly feeling the pressure to offer free shipping, but, as they're fond of saying, there's no such thing as free shipping. That point is being driven home this week after the U.S. Postal Service announced it would raise postage rates on Jan. 27, 2013, pending review by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The popular Priority Mail service will increase overall an average of 6.3 percent. Retail prices will increase an average of 9 percent, but approximately 3 percent of the increase is for free tracking visibility which will now be included at no charge.