National Change of Address
Summer Postage Sale – well, sort of a sale, no, more like a small rebate
summer sale
To those that are excited about the impending summer postage sale, there are a few details you need to know, first, did you receive a letter from the USPS recently?
Here is what it looks like: summer-sale-electronic-letter
Here are the details:
The USPS has made it official (almost) that they are going forward with the proposed ‘Summer Sale’ event. The PRC must still weigh in with their decision, which is expected in late May, to make this program official. This program would provide a 30% postage credit on mailings submitted between July 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009. This incentive program is designed to increase mailing activity during the usually dormant summer months, when the USPS has their most excess capacity available.
Unlike most sales however, there are a multitude of qualifiers that apply to the Summer Sale.
Who and what qualifies?
For the most part, the USPS has already determined what mailers qualify. Letters were sent out on 5/7/09 to approximately 3,200 mailers whom they determined will be eligible for this program by utilizing the mail volume data that exists within their internal system.
1. This program only applies to Presorted Standard letters and flats.
2. The next qualifier is that you must have mailed a minimum of 1,000,000 pieces during the time period of October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. Total volume is calculated by mailer, so even if you utilize multiple permits, your total volume will be calculated across all permits that are associated to your organization. This also applies to “Ghost Numbersâ€, which are created if your mail is sent through a Mail Service Provider. If you feel you are eligible, but have not received a letter, then you can request a contact by emailing your information to summersale@usps.gov.
If you have met the criteria above, you are ready to begin to calculate the ‘Sale’ portion of the program. The 30% postage credit will be given only on the number of mail pieces that exceed your mailing threshold for the time period of July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009. The caveat to this all is that your mail volume in October must not fall below your mailing threshold for that month. If this occurs; the total credit accrued from mailings between 7/1/09 to 9/30/09 will be deducted by the amount of pieces that fell below the threshold in October and that will be the final credit. The credit will be issued at some point in December of 2009 once the USPS has completed the above calculations.
How to calculate your potential savings:
Below is an example of how to calculate the savings that you as a mailer may receive through this program. Listed in this example is the all important Threshold, which will be the key to planning your mailings to take advantage of this program.
1. Base volume (7/1/08 – 9/30/08): 500,000 pieces
2. Trend:
a. Volume 10/1/08 – 3/31/09 = 1,800,000 pieces
b. Volume 10/1/07 – 3/31/08 = 2,000,000 pieces
c. a/b = (1,800,000 / 2,000,000) = .90 or 90%
3. Base x trend = Threshold:
500,000 x .90 = 450,000
4. Rebate = (Actual volume – threshold) x (actual postage cost / actual volume) x 30%
a. Actual volume for 7/1/09 – 9/30/09 – threshold =
475,000 – 450,000 = 25,000 pieces
b. Actual postage cost / actual volume =
$103,075 / 475,000 = $0.217
c. Rebate =
25,000 x $0.217 x .3 = $1627.50
The October Effect:
It is important to keep your mailing volume for October in mind when factoring the potential savings. If your volume falls below the calculated threshold, then your overall credit will be impacted. Below is an example of how to calculate this effect.
a. October 2008 volume x trend (in #2 above) = October threshold:
300,000 x .90 = 270,000 pieces
b. If October 2009 (260,000 pieces) < October threshold:
Threshold – actual = adjustment
270,000 – 260,000 = 10,000
Rebate adjustment
a. Actual volume – summer sale threshold – rebate adjustment:
475,000 – 450,000 – 10,000 = 15,000
b. New rebate:
15,000 x $.217 x .3 = $976.50
For those of you that have received a letter; be sure to certify the volume that the USPS has provided to you since this will be a binding once you have agreed to enroll in the program. Also be sure to have your response in by August 1st, 2009.
This program is a great way to potentially reach more customers at a lower cost and therefore enhance your business’ ROI. The system is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction for the USPS to utilize their new found pricing freedom to help mailers.
From the Federal Register today:
Federal Register Notices
DATE: Pending publication in the Federal Register.
Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program (aka Summer Sale)
AGENCY: Postal Serviceâ„¢.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), to add section 709.2 which introduces new standards for a special volume incentive program for mailers of Standard Mail® letters and flats with mail volume exceeding their individual USPS™-determined threshold levels. The program period will be from July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Gunther at 202-268-7208.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Postal Service is implementing a volume incentive program for qualified high-volume mailers of commercial or Nonprofit Standard Mail letters and flats, for volume mailed between July 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009, above their USPS-determined threshold level. This program encourages mailers to provide new volume and to take advantage of our current excess capacity to process and deliver additional volume.
Big Brother is Watching-direct mailers beware, you are not safe even when postage is paid
PostCom’s general counsel has communicated the following to the association:
The United States Postal Service, which appears headed for a multi-billion dollar loss this year, has quietly launched a major new initiative to collect more postage from mail that already has been paid for and delivered.
The primary targets of the initiative are business mailers—the mailers that use large volumes of First-Class and Standard Mail for marketing, billing, account statements, and other customer communications and the mail service providers that help prepare these mailings.
The Postal Service’s strategy is to investigate recent mailings for violations of the complex and arcane mail preparation requirements for discounted postage rates. Evidence of violation can lead to demands for additional postage, or enforcement actions under the False Claims Act. The potential financial exposure for big national mailers can be seven or eight figures.
The Postal Service seems to be looking for violations of Move Update (address updating) requirements, other addressing requirements, and other mail preparation and content requirements that could lead to large revenue deficiencies. In some cases, the investigators seek evidence that the mailer entered improper mailings knowingly or intentionally, states of mind that can support a claim under the False Claims Act.
Violation of the False Claims Act can expose a mailer to double or treble damages—i.e., liability equal to two or three times the amount of the underlying revenue deficiency—as well as civil penalties of approximately $11,000 per violation. The Postal Service typically rules that each mailing statement constitutes a separate violation; hence, total civil penalties sometimes can be ten or more times the underlying revenue deficiency. Criminal liability under the False Claims Act is also possible, but unlikely except in extreme cases. The firm has provided tips on how to deal with postal inspectors.
postage increase goes into effect on Monday, May 11th
I would be remiss if I did not remind you that the postage increase goes into effect on Monday, May 11th. Here is a link to the new rates!
http://www.usps.com/prices/pricechanges.htm?from=prices&page=NewMay09Prices
Chinese postal worker sentenced to death for $265m embezzlement
I guess that would be a deterrent to further crime…
April 26, 2009
From the Sydney Morning Herald
A POSTAL bank official in southern China was sentenced to death for siphoning more than 1.3 billion yuan ($265 million) to pay her gambling debts.
State media reported yesterday that He Liqiong, 45, was given the death penalty by a court in Guangdong province. She was convicted of siphoning deposits from a post office bank in Foshan city to pay off debts incurred whilegambling in casinos in neighbouring Macau.
Officials gambling away public funds in Macau have become a headache for Chinese authorities. Several corruption incidents have been linked to gambling.
Gangs running standover drugs-in-mail racket
I knew mail service is much tougher in other countries, but this is ridiculous…
From perth now
April 20, 2009 09:15am
ROMANIAN crime gangs are forcing innocent Australian residents to receive illegal drugs through the mail.
Many of those pressured into taking delivery of heroin, cocaine and amphetamine parcels from overseas are fellow Romanians.
Gang members rely on their legendary reputation for extreme violence as insurance against victims dobbing them in.
They prey on people with no criminal record or history and tell them parcels will be posted to their addresses.
The victims are ordered not to open the parcels and are told to whom they must hand them.
Some of those who receive the drug parcels are paid a small amount for doing so, but most are forced to do it for nothing.
The Australian Crime Commission’s 2009 report into the $10 billion-a-year organised crime market reveals “scatter importing” through the postal system is a common method of smuggling heroin and cocaine into Australia.
A senior underworld figure, and a former Australian Federal Police agent who specialises in Romanian crime gangs, separately told The Daily Telegraph about the Romanian-run mail racket.
“Millions of dollars worth of drugs – mainly heroin and cocaine but increasingly the more popular amphetamine-based pills – have been imported to Australia in this way and continue to be,” the underworld source said.
The former AFP agent – who is still involved in investigating Romanian gangs as a private investigator for insurance companies – said the parcel racket was centred on Victoria.
“They’re able to get away with it largely undetected because they put the fear of God into the people who receive the drug parcels,” the former agent said.
“Romanian gangsters have little or no respect for human life.
“They will burn your house down, bash you or kill you if you oppose or expose them.”
Police: Postal worker threw away mail because it was printed on inferior paper
The discerning postal employee…
A former postal worker in upstate New York has been arrested for tossing mail.
Glen Helmer was arrested Thursday morning and charged with destroying mail he was supposed to be delivering.
According to the criminal complaint Helmer admitted to throwing away bulk mail circulars.
Investigators caught Helmer in the act when they followed him on his route last summer.
It is estimated that Helmer tossed business mail between 100 and 120 times during the last eight years.
On the criminal complaint, Helmer said he didn’t like the flyers because they were printed on inferior quality paper.
Helmer’s next court appearance is set for June.
Environmental Impact of Direct Mail
Below I have attached a link to an interesting study that was done on the environmental impact of direct mail. It is actually amazing how little impact direct mail has on the environment, especially when compared to other sources of pollutants, like cars.
Another fallacy this study addresses is that all forests will be lost to make paper for direct mailings. Let’s think about this seriously, manufacturing paper and paper products is a huge industry. Do you really think that paper manufacturers want to put themselves out of business by destroying the very source of their product? Let’s get real. Tremendous effort is put into renewing their raw materials and significant dollars are spent on R&D to develope new products that can be manufactured cleaner than recycled paper products.
Take a look, it is quite interesting.
Postal carrier saves life
Staff writerÂ
Carriers for the Coeur d’Alene post office are building an impressive reputation.
SHAWN GUST/Press Deb Allred, mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, delivers mail Wednesday in a downtown Coeur d'Alene neighborhood during her shift.
This week, another postal carrier saved the life of an elderly person who had fallen in her home and been unable to get up for days.
“It’s awesome — we have a very good group of people here, they’re very concerned about what goes on in the community,” said Postmaster Dave Hoover.
Deb Allred, 49, got a bad feeling during her Tuesday route when she saw two newspapers still crammed in the mail slot of 79-year-old Yvonne McDonald.
“I know Mrs. McDonald, she picks up her mail every day,” she said.
Allred found the door open and entered. She saw the TV was on, but when she called McDonald’s name, she only heard the woman’s four dogs barking boisterously from a room in the back of the house.
Worried she could risk a dog bite if she searched the home, she returned to her truck and continued to deliver mail.
But she couldn’t shake the image of all that stacked-up mail.
“I just knew something was wrong — we know she has health problems, we know she had problems getting around,” she said.
Mustering the nerve to take a chance with the canines, she returned to search McDonald’s home. She found the woman on her bathroom floor, where she had been laying immobilized since Sunday.
“What was so touching to me was that when I talked to her, the first thing she said wasn’t ‘help me,’ it was, ‘I need someone to take care of my dogs,’” Allred said.
Allred called 911, and an ambulance collected the dehydrated and disoriented woman.
A neighbor saw the ambulance and volunteered to take care of the dogs until McDonald returned.
Hoover said he has already nominated Allred for a Postmaster General Award.
“She’s an exceptionally good carrier,” he said of Allred, who has worked for the Postal Service since 1981. “She’s highly relied upon as a city carrier and here’s a prime example of her level of concern for her customers.”
The situation strongly reminded him of Isaac Fish, the 21-year-old postal carrier who found an elderly woman in the same circumstances in January.
Hoover didn’t know statistics of how often postal workers discover fallen elderly people in their homes.
“I know it seems Coeur d’Alene has had its fair share,” he said.
Heather Lessler, spokeswoman for Legends Park Assisted Living, suggested that elderly people get a Lifeline medical alert service for their homes.
Lifeline provides a button that elderly people can wear around their arms or necks that automatically calls the paramedics when they push it.
“I know quite a few people who do use it,” Lessler said.
Allred, who lives in Post Falls, said it gives her great comfort to know McDonald is all right.
“I was sitting at home last night thinking that if I hadn’t trusted my instincts and followed through, Mrs. McDonald would still be laying there on the bathroom floor,” she said. “The way I feel is if everybody could help one other person, it would make this world so much better.”
USPS: Too much discretion in price setting?
Commissioner Goldway compares USPS finances to the banking industry
The Postal Regulatory Commission yesterday approved the Postal Service’s market dominant product price adjustments scheduled to take effect next month. The approval came despite concern about changes the USPS made in the method for setting workshare discounts, specifically “de-linking†the prices for single piece first class mail from those for presort First-Class Mail.
Commissioner Ruth Goldway dissented from the PRC opinion- here’s some of what she had to say:
It strikes me that there are close parallels between what is happening to the Postal Service financially, and what has been happening to the banking industry. The banking industry was given wide discretion to lend how and on what terms it chose. The assumption was that this was safe because the managers’ discretion would be bounded by certain basic principles (e.g., that investors would have knowledge of the kind of securities marketed, and the risks would be publicly known either through an SEC filing or prospectus) and accountability would be provided by a diligent board of directors.
It is now clear that these basic principles and institutional safeguards were allowed to become mere window dressing. I fear this to be the direction in which postal regulation is headed. Congress intended that there be a certain economic “rhyme and reason†to both class prices and product discounts; hence, provisions such as section 3622(c)(2) (attributable cost floor) and section 3622(e) (discounts match avoided costs).
Are these on the way to becoming window dressing? The uneconomic approach to rate setting can be a factor contributing to the Postal Service slide into financial distress. If the Postal Service is to be excused again for violating 39 U.S.C. § 3622(e), the reasons given must be carefully chosen so that the Postal Service, and the postal community, do not get the impression that there is not now, and never will be, any enforceable standard for workshare pricing.
Mail delivery 5 days a week is positive
One can be reasonably sure that when you drop a letter in the mail, it will arrive across the street or across the state or even across the country within a few days. In addition, whole industries rely on direct mail to generate income. Direct mail has helped fund the humanitarian efforts of The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army, just to name a few, as well as generated revenue that contributes to the research of depilating diseases and illnesses that afflict millions of people around the world.
The postal service’s operation is quite impressive when you consider that it has become an intrinsic part of our every day lives.
My personal opinion is that it makes perfect sense for the post office to deliver mail 5 days a week. With many people converting to online payments, companies will not be affected as much by the one day reduction in delivery. It is just another new schedule to get used to and in a few months people will adapt, as we having been adapting to change for thousands of years.
A Modest Proposal for the United States Postal Service
By Mark Fallon
The United States Postal Service is in trouble.
It seems whenever and wherever you turn to for news, another large organization is announcing bad news. Banks, insurance companies, and car manufacturers are reporting record losses and requesting assistance from the federal government. Is it really surprising that the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) is in trouble, too?
Faced with a weakened economy and the diversion of bills and payments to the Internet, the USPS saw mail volumes drop by 4.5% in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. (The USPS follows the same FY as the federal government, October to September). Against revenues of $75 billion, the USPS posted expenses of $77.8 billion, a $2.8 billion loss.
The first quarter of FY2009 brought more bad news. Volumes continued to decline, and the USPS posted a $348 million loss. And the news was worse in January, with an estimated $751 million loss. Even with the modest postage rate increases this year and continued cost-cutting plans, the USPS is on track to lose over $5 billion in FY2009.
Postmaster General Jack Potter testified before a Senate subcommittee in late January and outlined the challenges facing the USPS. Mr. Potter explained the cost-cutting measures that management had implemented by streamlining operations. He then requested assistance in two areas: that Congress remove the requirement for the USPS to deliver mail 6 days per week, and that Congress adjust the schedule that the USPS must follow to prepay future retiree health benefits.
The second request – adjusting the schedule for the prepayment of future retirees’ health benefits – would have an immediate positive impact to the USPS and no impact on the American public. Last year, the USPS paid $5.6 billion to pre-fund future premiums. Without this payment, the USPS would have posted a net profit for FY2008.
Of course, that wasn’t the point that the Senators, or the news agencies, seized upon. Just the suggestion of cutting mail delivery services by one day produced a backlash that the USPS was unprepared for. For the next several days, the USPS was on the front page of major newspapers and the homepage of news websites. If Mr. Potter was trying to draw attention to his agency, he succeeded.
To add fuel to the fire, 2 weeks later, the USPS announced its annual postage rate increase, 2 cents for First-Class Mail®. At the same time, it was made public that Mr. Potter and other postal executives had received almost 40% in pay raises since 2006, and significant bonuses for their pensions. These pay increases took place while the USPS was losing money.
Another Congressional hearing is scheduled for March. The chairman of the House subcommittee is Stephen Lynch (D-MA). His mother was a postal clerk for 25 years and his two sisters work for the USPS (my father was also a postal clerk for 25 years). It should be an interesting hearing.
Despite all this bad news, I remain a staunch supporter of the USPS. Outside of the military, it’s the only government agency included in the US Constitution. For the 5th year in a row, it was named the “Most Trusted Government Agency” in a survey of 7,000 Americans. And, the USPS is the lynchpin of a nearly $1 trillion print and mail industry that employees 9 million people.
The USPS does need to change. Some of the decline in mail volume is temporary, and an improved economy will help. But much of the mail volumes, especially bills and payments are gone, forever. Lower volumes don’t mean lower expenses, as the number of delivery points – homes and businesses – continues to expand.
To be successful, the USPS needs to bring in new leadership with a renewed focus on service, employee morale, and an efficient operating model. These challenges aren’t competing priorities, but complementary issues. And bringing in an outsider may be the only way to be successful.
On-time delivery of First-Class Mail® has risen over the last several years. But that is only one measure of service. New regulatory guidelines and proposed changes to mailing requirements have put additional pressure on mailers – the people and businesses who are the primary source of revenue for the USPS. Recently, there’s been a significant increase in fines and penalties on mailers in apparent attempt by the USPS to find other ways to collect new income.
Many of the recent proposals and changes reveal that the USPS doesn’t understand “mail”. The USPS doesn’t know how companies create, manufacture and process mail. That would be okay, if the USPS would understand that it’s not in the “mailing” business. Rather, the USPS is in the logistics and delivery business.
As a logistics and delivery business, the USPS needs to expand services, not cut back on services. The USPS is the only organization that delivers to every address in the country, including Saturdays. The largest competitors, UPS and FedEx, don’t want to deliver to all addresses, especially on weekends. The USPS has already partnered with FedEx and UPS on certain delivery and return products. These partnerships need to be further exploited, especially with the continued growth of people purchasing merchandise over the Internet.
The announcement of record losses, the cutbacks in staffing through attrition, and the announcement of massive pay raises for executives have had a negative effect on employee morale. The tensions between management staff and union employees have increased. To get a small sample of the bad blood, check out some of the comments posted by both sides on sites like www.postalnews.com.
From an outsider’s point of view, the USPS is top-heavy. Automated reporting from equipment, information gathered from barcodes on letters, and better business practices have eliminated the need for so many supervisors. Mr. Potter has cut the size of the staff at the USPS headquarters, but more cuts are needed.
At the same time, the unions need to support some of the hard changes proposed by USPS management, especially in the area of consolidating processing facilities. The unions have a responsibility to their members to question changes and validate management’s assumptions. But, the unions also have a responsibility to make sure the USPS remains a viable organization.
Which leads to the current business model for the USPS. Since 2001, the USPS has consistently worked to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. While successful, the current financial situation calls for even bolder changes.
Most of those changes will require further consolidation of sorting facilities and closing small post offices. That means job cuts, which will be opposed by the unions and members of Congress. But those cuts must be made. And closing post offices is harder than you may think.
I’m not recommending closing post offices in rural areas. In many of these places, the local post office is often the center of the community, and the nearest post office may be 15 or 20 miles away. A better target is where there are many post offices in a smaller geographic area.
For example, the city of Newton, Massachusetts. There are 8 post offices in an area less than 19 square miles, and located on some of the most expensive real estate in Greater Boston. But to close those post offices would require confronting two powerful US Senators and a very powerful US Representative. A difficult proposition.
Where do you find a leader willing to take on these challenges? Where would you find someone whose organization has gone through such significant changes during tumultuous times? The same place where many postal workers began their government career – the military.
The last several years have seen the retirement of generals and admirals whose service began during, or immediately after, the Vietnam War. These people were leaders during the 1970s, a decade requiring major organizational restructuring, changing focus and overcoming morale issues. Challenges that have only increased over the past decade with the changing political environment, at home and abroad.
Most importantly, these men and women are committed to public service. The spirit of service to our country must be the preeminent requirement for the leader of the USPS. The USPS is an important part of our government and provides an invaluable service to our citizens. The USPS isn’t a business, but a government agency that should be run like a business.
Even if you don’t work in the mailing industry, the future of the USPS will impact you and your business. Get involved and write, email and call the President, your Senator and your Representative. Express your concerns about the one government agency that touches every American, six days a week.
Our United States Postal Service is in trouble.
