Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008 - (Page 50)

Management Opportunity Take advantage of lower USPS commercial rates by shipping online By Mark Taylor with change comes T he U.S. Postal Service announced a change in postal prices, which took eﬀect on May 12. With every change, there is opportunity. This is an opportunity for parcel shippers. For the ﬁrst time, USPS will oﬀer two sets of rates, one for retail customers and a diﬀerent one for commercial customers. The latter has rates that average 3.5% less for Priority Mail and 3% less for Express Mail than the retail customer will pay. Do you qualify for the lower commercial rates, or do you have to pay retail? The good news is that you can obtain the lower rates by shipping online! According to the USPS.com, commercial rates are “Available to customers who tender payment via an authorized online service, Express Mail Corporate Account or speciﬁcally authorized third-party postage vendor.” This is how much you will save by shipping online: • Priority Mail: 3.5% average • Delivery Conﬁrmation: Free vs. 65¢ (14%) • Express Mail: 3% • International Mail: - Global Express Guaranteed: 10%; Express: 8%; Priority: 5% • Flat Rate Box: 5% In plain words, if you set up an account and process your shipments online, you qualify for the lower commercial rates. If you have a few parcels a day, you can sign up for a USPS Click-N-Ship account or you can obtain authorized solutions from companies that represent PC Postage solutions. Some PC Postage providers oﬀer solutions that value added resellers can integrate and customize with your shipping software. This would provide the capability to compare USPS rates with services from your other carriers and select the best service based on business rules that you specify. I recommend that every shipper compare rates and services amongst multiple carriers. The U.S. Postal Service has some niches where the other carriers can’t compete on price. Savvy shippers leverage every opportunity for saving on shipping. Other signiﬁcant opportunities include the following: Express Mail will become a zone-based pricing system, similar to the other carriers. This means that the cost will decrease for nearby destinations. For example, an 8 oz. Express Mail envelope was priced at a ﬂat rate cost of $16.25 to any ZIP. Under the 50 MAY-JUNE 2008 | WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM http://www.mailingsystemstechnology.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008

Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Peer to Peer It’s an Inside Job Greening Your Mail Center Adopting an Automated Document Factory Intelligent Mail and Address Quality 7 Steps to Combat “Do Not Mail” A Successful Resolution Q&A with Dan G. Blair, Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission The Intelligent Mail Barcode Developing High-Performance Teams Simple Strategies to Save You Money A Powerful Social Network With Change, Comes Opportunity Increasing the Deliverability of Mail Kate’s Slate Products & Services People of Distinction Advertiser Index Sho Time

Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008

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