USPS Proposes 7.1% 1st Class, 13.8% Priority Mail Rate Increases

[dimucci]

The annual affect is well below $6 for the average household.  I'm not the average household.

[Nat]

[quote author=iron_chick link=topic=3498.msg13487#msg13487 date=1146720056]
Did somebody forget to tell the USPS that they just freakin' raised rates?? 
[/quote]

They won't listen to that - that's why they came up with using the gas increases as an excuse to raise their prices - they are thinking the gas excuse is more believable.

In the olden days (about 10 or so years ago, maybe less) the mail carriers in my area used public transit to go to/from their routes.  Over the last few years just about each carrier has their own post office vehicle to drive themselves to/from their routes, moving the vehicle every few houses as they go down the street.

If they are that concerned about gas, then why not have the mail carrier go back to taking the bus to/from their routes.  Here big companies can get a 25% discount off monthly bus passes for their employees - so I think they should go back to using the bus and save on their wasting all that extra gas they use to drive to/from their routes and moving the vehicle down the street as they go house to house. 

There is no way they will decrease the postage if the gas price goes down.

[mandy]

The USPS has released details on its proposed rate increase:
full proposal (.pdf format): http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/...6-7751.pdf

Last week the U.S. Postal Service released its proposed mailing standards as part of the pending rate case, which if approved will be implemented in mid-2007.

The USPS hopes its proposed standards will result in more-efficient mail preparation and in aligning the rates with the actual costs of processing various types of mail. For that reason, a mail piece’s shape will be as critical as its weight in determining its postage; the current price structure is based primarily on weight. But the Postal Service has determined that certain large but lightweight pieces actually cost more to process than some smaller, heavier pieces.

Highlights of the proposed new mailing standards include...

full article: http://multichannelmerchant.com/news/USP..._10042006/

[mandy]

Catalog merchants are mounting a last minute campaign to stop the scheduled USPS rate increases:

...once trade groups and suppliers managed to wade through the complete 700-page PRC recommendation, they realized that, as Direct Marketing Association president/CEO John Greco Jr. said in a release, “this is a case where the devil really did prove to be in the details.” The PRC’s price recommendations for flats, for example—the category affecting most catalogers—is appreciably higher than the increase originally proposed by the Postal Service, according to the DMA. For flats weighing less than 3.3 oz., the PRC is recommending an increase of roughly 20%, instead of the originally proposed 9%-12%.

In a letter to members of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom), president Gene Del Polito noted, “Those who mail flats, particularly flats that qualify for the minimum per-piece rate, have taken it on the chin. Those who mail what are now going to be called Not Flat-Machinables are getting killed.” Not Flat-Machinables (NFMs) are Standard mail pieces that can’t be run on USPS flat machines and so don’t qualify for automation discounts. But some pieces that do currently qualify as automatable flats will be reclassified into this new, costly category...

full article: http://multichannelmerchant.com/printcha..._03052007/

[mandy]

Update: USPS Governors approve rate increase

The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service approved the Postal Regulatory Commission’s proposed 7.6 percent rate increase, including an increase in the price of a First-Class stamp to 41 cents, authorizing the issuance of the Forever Stamp, approving shape-based pricing and set May 14 — 75 days from today — as the date for implementation of these changes.

However, the Governors requested reconsideration of the PRC’s rate recommendations for Standard mail flats, the Non-Machinable Surcharge for First-Class mail letters and the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box...

full article: http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/direct...40444.html

[chiquita]

Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box — The PRC recommended a rate of $9.15 for the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box, which is $1.05 above the current rate and 35 cents higher than the Postal Service’s proposal of $8.80. The Governors believe a rate below $9 would be more appropriate for this popular consumer and business product and would be cost-justified.

:blinkie: :blinkie: :blinkie: