WASHINGTON, DC Beginning next week, customers will be able to take advantage of some of the best bargains in the shipping market when the U.S. Postal Service launches new prices for its expedited mail products:  Express Mail and Priority Mail.

Effective May 12, prices for Express Mail, the Postal Services premier overnight service, will be lower at the weights and in the delivery zones used by most customers. Also, the Postal Service will offer price incentives for both Express Mail and Priority Mail, its two- to three-day shipping service. Online users and commercial Priority Mail customers will see lower prices, while high-volume Express Mail shippers will get quarterly rebates and price reductions. These savings are now possible due to a recent change in federal law.

We are excited to offer our customers these price incentives -- a first for the Postal Service, said Gary Reblin, vice president, Expedited Mail. We already have world-class products and first-rate service, and our new prices make us the best value in the market.

All Express Mail and Priority Mail customers can save money simply by going online to purchase postage, including customers using Click-N-Ship at usps.com. Express Mail customers will receive 3 percent off the published retail prices and Priority Mail customers will save an average 3.5 percent. Customized contract pricing will also soon be available for large commercial customers.

Also on May 12, guaranteed overnight delivery through Express Mail will be available to thousands of additional locations.

One thing wont change next week. As always, the Postal Service does not impose fuel surcharges, hidden surcharges or surcharges for residential delivery, Saturday delivery or address correction.

New pricing highlights:

Express Mail

·         Retail prices start at $12.60 for a half-pound package.

·         The retail price for an Express Mail Flat-Rate Envelope is $16.50 regardless of weight or destination.

·         Online purchasers and those that have an Express Mail Corporate Account save 3 percent.

·         Quarterly volume rebates are available for users averaging just two packages a day.

·         Contract pricing will be available for large customers.

Priority Mail

·         Retail prices start at $4.80 for a one-pound package.

·         Online purchasers save from 1 to 11 percent.

·         The retail price for a Priority Mail Flat-Rate Envelope is also just $4.80 regardless of weight or destination.

·         The retail price for a Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box is $9.80, and a Large Flat-Rate Box is $12.95 regardless of weight or destination.

·         The retail price for a Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box sent to an APO/FPO destination is $10.95, a $2.00 savings.

·         Users of Click-N-Ship and PC Postage and customers using permit imprint with electronic confirmation services save an average 3.5 percent.

·         Contract pricing will be available for large customers.

More information, including full price and fee information, is available at usps.com/express, usps.com/priority and www.usps.com/pricing.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation,

146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products

and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the worlds mail.