Postal Increase Denied – The Fallout
By now you’ve heard the news that the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) denied… check that, unanimously denied the USPS requests to raise postage rates in January beyond the rate of inflation, ruling that the mail agency’s recent financial woes were caused by a flawed business model and not the recent recession. So a rise in […]
US POSTAL PRICE HIKE STAMPED OUT!
Postal regulators Thursday denied requests by the U.S. Postal Service to raise postage rates in January beyond the rate of inflation, ruling that the mail agency’s recent financial woes were caused by a flawed business model and not the recent recession. The Postal Service in July requested the right to raise postage rates on first-class […]
1/1: Interview with Larry Bauer Owner, Bauer Associates: Marketing for a New Age
Hi Larry and thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. I follow you on Twitter, and we are also connected on LinkedIn. I think you have a proactive and positive approach for keeping Print relevant in the emerging Print Media market, and I hope the readers of this interview will […]
Which Way will PRC Rule in Exigent Postal Rate Case?
With less than two weeks before the Postal Regulatory Commission decides on the U.S. Postal Service’s exigent rate hike proposal, both sides are clearly on edge. The money-losing USPS says it needs the exigent rate hike desperately, while already-stretched catalogers say a postage increase will force them to cut back on mailings. Plus, the legality […]
Marketers brace for paper cost increase
Direct marketers and catalogers are preparing to face paper cost increases this fall, while also planning for a possible significant postal rate increase in January. Marketers say volatility in the paper market in recent years, due to economic instability, has made it difficult for them to project costs from one year to the next. Many […]
USPS Barcode Requirements for 2011
The Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) first became available for both letters and flats in May 2007. Since then, customers have mailed nearly 40 billion IMb mailpieces. Beginning May 2011, to be eligible for automation discounts on letter-size and flat-size mailpieces, mailers will need to use the IMb instead of the PostNet barcode using the Full […]
Printers head to D.C. to urge block of postal rate hikes
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Printing Industries of America’s members from across the country are gathering on Capitol Hill next month to oppose an emergency postal rate hike proposal that would dramatically bust caps on postal rate increases imposed by Congress in 2006. The USPS is petitioning to raise rates higher than allowed by current law, claiming […]
Printer Develops Mailer To Reduce Postage Costs
Sticker shock is common these days when mailers are presented with postage estimates for their direct mail campaigns. One printer, however, hascome up with a unique answer to the problem and developed a packaging solution that has already saved one client $1.4 million in postage. Tucker Printers, a Consolidated Graphics company, developed the patent-pending CGX […]
USPS Asks PRC to Reject AMA’s Request
The U.S. Postal Service wants the Postal Regulatory Commission to reject a motion by the Affordable Mail Alliance to dismiss the Postal Service’s exigent rate hike proposal filed on July 6. USPS officials said the AMA made “manifestly misleading comparisons” and advanced a “strained and fatally flawed interpretation” of existing law. The AMA filed its […]
Printing Industries Teams Up to Block Postal Hikes
The Affordable Mail Alliance (AMA) has called on the Postal Regulatory Commission to dismiss the Postal Service’s rate hike proposal filed on July 6, 2010. AMA’s motion argues that the rate hike violates the cost controls Congress put into law to protect consumers and that the Postal Service needs to cut costs and modernize rather […]
Post office announces 2-cent rate increase
WASHINGTON – The post office wants to increase the price of a stamp by 2 cents to 46 cents starting in January. The agency has been battered by massive losses and declining mail volume and faces a financial crisis. Postal officials announced a wide-ranging series of proposed price increases Tuesday, averaging about 5 percent, and […]
Canada Post Reminds Canadians of Postage Rate Increase for January
As part of a five year pricing strategy announced in 2009, Canada Post wishes to remind Canadians that the domestic basic letter rate will increase by 2 cents, from 57 cents to 59 cents, for standard letters weighing up to 30 grams effective January 17, 2011. Proposed increases for USA and International letter rates will […]