Are USPS January shipping rate increases on Etsy in addition to holiday surcharges?

Hi! In general, USPS’s mid‑January “new rates” don’t stack on top of the temporary holiday/peak surcharges—what happens is the holiday peak pricing runs through its end date, and then it stops, and the new published base rates become the “normal” rates going forward.

Here’s the practical way to think about it for your Etsy shipping prices:

• Through the peak period: you’re paying the temporarily higher holiday/peak rates (for services like USPS Ground Advantage and Priority Mail).
• When the peak period ends (mid‑January): the peak surcharge goes away, and at the same time USPS’s new permanent rates kick in. So you may see a change right around that date, but it’s not usually “holiday + January increase” added together—it’s a swap from “holiday pricing” to “new standard pricing.”

A couple of gotchas that cause confusion:

• Same weekend switch: USPS often ends peak pricing and starts new base rates on the same effective date (for 2026, USPS announced the peak pricing ends January 18, 2026, and USPS also filed/recommended new 2026 competitive shipping prices to take effect January 18, 2026). Depending on time zone and when your label platform updates, it can feel like one “big jump,” even though part of it is the peak surcharge disappearing and part is the new base rates taking over.
• Your label provider may update at a specific time: Etsy labels vs. third‑party shipping services can flip rates at slightly different times on the effective date, so you might see differences for a few hours.

What you should do on Etsy:

• If you use calculated shipping, Etsy typically adjusts what buyers see automatically based on the carrier rates, but you should still spot-check a few listings right after the change.
• If you use fixed shipping prices (shipping profiles with set amounts), plan to review and adjust them around January 18–19, 2026, because your actual label cost will likely change even though the holiday surcharge ends.

If you tell me whether you charge calculated shipping or fixed rates (and whether you mostly ship Ground Advantage or Priority Mail), I can suggest the simplest way to adjust your Etsy shipping profiles without over- or under-charging.