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Date: 04/18/07

How to Minimize the Postal Increase

Read this letter to find out some ideas on how to beat, or at least offset, the looming postage increase on May 14th, 2007.

 

Date: 03/08/06

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News Archives:

Date: 11/30/05
By: Greg Kathol

Even With Postal Rate Hikes Stamps Are
Still The BEST Bargain You Can Find

Postal rates are going up, on average, 5.4% across the board in January 2006. So why should this announcement be welcomed as good news by mailers both large and small?

Because it is STILL cheaper to buy a first-class stamp today than it was 34 years ago when the Postal Rate Commission passed it’s first rate decision. In 1971 a stamp cost 8 cents. In January of 2006, when the rate goes from 37 to 39 cents, the real (CPI-U Adjusted) value of a first-class stamp will be slightly BELOW 8 cents.

So while a 5.4% increase may sound like a large jump, it is important to remember that postal rates have not changed since June 30, 2002. And were it not for the $3.1 billion dollar escrow obligation of the USPS that is due annually beginning in 2006 no rate increase would have been necessary.

Here is a quick summary of the new postal rates:

First Class Mail
The cost to mail a standard letter weighing up to 1oz. will be $0.39. A standard postcard will now be $0.24, which represents a $0.01 increase from today’s rate. With automation the price per piece will be $0.308 for 3-Digit sorting, $0.293 for 5-Digit sorting and $0.290 for Carrier Route sorting.

Standard Mail – Regular Letters
Letters weighing 3.3 oz. or less with basic pre-sorting will be $0.282 while 3/5 digit sorting will run $0.261. Pieces weighing more than 3.3 oz. will be $0.746 for both basic pre-sorting and 3/5 digit sorting.

Priority Mail
Flat Rate envelopes, up to 1 pound, will be $4.05 while Flat Rate Boxes will start at $8.10.

Express Mail
Flat Rate Envelopes, up to 1/2 pound, will run $14.40 while 1/2 pound to 2 pound packages will run $18.80.

The bottom line for any company, person or agency to remember is this. When it comes to sending personalized communications that you want someone to respond to, nothing beats the impact of an envelope or package being delivered right to someone’s home or office.

Because even in today’s fast-paced, always on and “gotta’ have it yesterday” environment people still take the time to go through their mail, one piece at a time, six days a week.

And for those old enough to remember, think back to a time not long ago when the phone rang and the operator would say, “You have a long-distance call,” the impact of that phone call was tremendous. Now we don’t give a long distance phone call a second thought

But today you can get a similar impact for ONLY 37 CENTS! And after January 2006, it will cost you all of two cents more. Those two cents are worth a lot in this marketer’s opinion.