Two weeks ago, I tried to send an important letter for overnight delivery at my local post office. Imagine my surprise when I was told that “overnight delivery” would get there in two days. What is going on? It turns out that the U.S. Postal Service has downgraded their delivery standards not once, but twice[...]
You may have been one of the many mailers who breathed a sigh of relief when the USPS postponed their requirement that full-service intelligent barcodes be used on all mail pieces, trays, sacks and container placards by January, 2014 in order to qualify for automation rates. But even though full-service is not currently required, the[...]
Despite commingling’s widespread use by commercial mailers, there are still a lot of misperceptions about this money-saving technique. Here are four of the most common myths about commingling mail: You have to pay inbound freight to get your mailing to the commingling company MailSmart Logistics, like most other comminglers, will pick up your mailing at[...]
Are more clients asking you to submit a competitive bid for a job before they choose who to award it to? Requesting competitive bids is one technique companies use to stretch their tight direct mail dollars. The challenge with competitive bidding is to price your job low enough to get the job while still maintaining[...]
You are undoubtedly aware of the substantial savings available by sending your direct mail “standard rate” (what used to be called “bulk rate”) instead of first class. But this is just a portion of the postal cost savings you can achieve through postal logistics. Through their work share program, the USPS will reduce what they[...]
Mailing bills and statements to American households represents a significant portion of many mail houses’ business. With consumers getting increasingly comfortable online, you may be worried that this part of your business is going to rapidly decline. Fortunately, it does not appear that this so-called “transactions mail” is going to disappear anytime soon. A recent[...]
If you want to substantially reduce your postage costs on a large mailing, you should consider sending it standard mail, which is the Post Office’s term for “bulk mail”. Using standard mail will save a for-profit business at least 38% off of first-class postage rates, and savings of up to 55% are possible if you[...]
Loyal customers are the bread and butter of most small businesses, and this may be particularly true for mail service providers. Rather than spending all of your sales time chasing new clients, you may find that increasing your focus on customer retention pays off for your business. Not only do loyal customers tend to purchase[...]
MailSmart Logistics is happy to report that the exigent rate hike will be coming to an end, likely in the spring of 2016. PRC Exigent Rate History On Christmas Eve 2013, the US Postal Service was granted a temporary exigent rate increase by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The exigent rate was requested to offset[...]
The U.S. Congress authorized dramatically reduced postage rates in 1951 for nonprofits meeting certain eligibility rules. If your nonprofit uses direct mail to communicate with potential donors and others, you can save between 54% and 80% of the first class postage rate by conforming with standard mail guidelines. This article provides an overview of the[...]