Harte-Hanks has several resources available online to help you navigate the upcoming postal regulations.
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Postal issues are understandably top of mind for today’s direct mailers and keeping up with changes is important to being compliant and getting the most for postal dollars. In an effort to continually improve our service, Harte-Hanks provides the Postology Report. This monthly report is designed to keep you informed of the latest postal happenings and the impact of these changes on your business.
If you'd like to see a specific topic covered, or want to express an opinion on something shared here, please contact Charley Howard, Vice President of Postal Affairs, at charley_howard@harte-hanks.com.
Thanks for your continued interest!
In this Issue:
USPS Offering 2010 Standard Mail Summer Sale
The USPS announced in mid February that they will offer for one last time another rebate program for Standard Mail.
The sale period runs from July through September, 2010 (with June and October being "control" months*).
The rebate will be based on you firm's quantities mailed June-September, 2009, plus 5%. The rebate will be 30% and will be applied to permits in December 2010/January 2011 period.
The USPS will send invitations to participate in March after filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission in late February.
"The 2009 Summer Sale was a success" said Thomas J. Foti, Manager Integration & Planning, USPS. The Postal Service received positive feedback from the industry but found that of the 3,500 customers that qualified for the sale only 950 actually participated.
Don't miss your chance to potentially save big!
Watch for your invitation from the USPS and call Harte-Hanks to discuss ways we can help!
*June and October will be used to adjust the earned rebate to assure mailings are not shifted from those months into the sale period months.
Did You Know...
A 5-Day Delivery Plan in the Works
USPS will file for 5-day delivery with the Postal Regulatory Commission this spring. They expect the PRC to take six to nine months to review and will hold public hearings on the request. This will run concurrent with Congressional Appropriations Bill work where the USPS hopes the 6-day mandate will be removed. The USPS has made several concessions to continue some Saturday operations.
Ultimately if all is approved mailers could see 5-day delivery, and processing, sometime in the February-May, 2011, timeframe.
Harte-Hanks…keeping you on top of postal regulations that affect your mailings!
Move Update Assessments Initiated 1/4/2010
Move Update assessments have been initiated. Starting January 4, 2010, the new assessment charge of $0.07 per piece on the applicable noncompliance percentage of either a First-Class or Standard Mail mailing claiming automation rates are in effect. The February 1st Domestic Mail Manual spells out the new requirements as approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
...If a mailer does not identify a Move Update method and certify compliance, then the Postal Service can reject the mailing, unless the mailer agrees to pay the First-Class Mail single-piece price. This is a very costly action...
Change in Flat Mail Deflection Rules (Droop)
Another restrictive postal rules that had been scheduled for implementation on January 4, 2010 limits the amount of droop for flat mail – that is, the loss of an inch of droop for pieces longer than ten inches. Despite the amount of time the USPS has allowed for this change, the industry still cannot understand the reason for it. What’s more, the paper costs are potentially prohibitive. For all appearances and lack of eMIR reports (electronic mail irregularity report from the USPS), droopy flats within the 4-inch allowance do process well on flat sorting equipment...
IMb and Postage
Starting in March 2010, the USPS will stop “round stamping” postage statements. The reason is cost. Often a single mailing may have thirty or more statements and the time required to validate and stamp them is simply too much in today’s financial environment. However, contrary to postal belief, mail owners rarely, if ever, access PostalOne...
Here is a sampling of industry news from across the nation:
According to the USPS' Steve Kearney, "Today, we mailed 3,000 letters to eligible customers announcing our plans for a Standard Mail Summer Sale. To be eligible to participate, a company must have mailed a minimum of 350,000 pieces of Standard Mail letter or flat volume between July 1 and September 30, 2009.
According to U.S. News, "Postmaster General John Potter, in the midst of a huge effort to keep his agency private, has a new warning for the feds and the public: Unless Congress breaks ties with the U.S. Postal Service or at least lets it implement major cost-savings plans, taxpayers will be stuck funding the mail."
The Courier, Express, and Postal Observer has reported that "In the upcoming months, Congress, stakeholders, and Obama administration officials will complete a comprehensive evaluation of the package of changes that the Postal Service proposed in its action plan. While many stakeholders will focus on what the changes mean for them, Congress and the Obama administration need to focus on what the plan means for the United States postal market and the impact of a financially failing Postal Service...
