9 Things You Need to Know about the USPS Summer Sale

Since the recent announcement of the approval of the USPS Summer Sale, Arandell’s postal department has been a flurry with questions from customers, prospects and even people with whom we do not do business. This is the first time in history that the USPS is offering mailers an incentive and mailers are very excited about a potential reduction in their postage. In order to proactively address some of the questions that are coming in, Don Landis, VP of Postal Affairs and Susan Pinter, Director of Postal Affairs recorded a podcast of Frequently Asked Questions, which are listed below.

Click below to hear the podcast.

[download id="2"]

Q: Can you provide a brief explanation of the Summer Sale?

The industry has been asking the postal service for an incentive program for several years now, whether it be a seasonal incentive, a prospecting incentive, etc. The postal service, in return, has been asking mailers how such a system would even work.

With mail volume being down as it is and postal revenue at an all-time low, the post office has come up with a program to gain more volume during periods of time when volume is traditionally low. The hope is that mail that was not originally planned for the fall months will be added. Everyone is happy that the post office is offering the program and is looking forward to similar programs in the future.

Q: Who is eligible? What qualifications need to be met?

Out of 100,000 standard mailers, we anticipate that about 3,000 mailers will be eligible for the summer sale rebate. To be eligible, mailers need to have mailed 1,000,000 pieces through a permit during the period of October 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008. It is important to note that the mail does not have to be from one location…it can be from multiple.

Q: As customers find they are eligible, is there a formula they can use to determine what they need to mail?

The post office is using a “trend” to determine each mailers’ requirements. They are using the period of October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 to compare to that same period during 2007 to 2008 and through some manipulation and division, will come up with trend or threshold that mailers need to mail from July 1 through September 30, 2009 to qualify for the 30% reduction in postage…based on the number of copies above the trend that is set for you.

Q: Are you finding that a lot of customers qualify for the program?

Yes. Arandell has actually created a calculator that allows us to determine what your possible rebate will be. Even non-customers can provide us with mailing totals and we can determine if you will receive a rebate.

Q: How do non-Arandell customers determine if they qualify?

All qualified mailers should have received a letter from the post office within the last couple of weeks stating the volume that they have on record and the summer sale application steps. Please note, however, that from what we have heard, the totals from the post office are not correct, so we encourage all mailers to apply, even if you did not receive a letter.

Q: Is there somewhere mailers can go to ask if they qualify?

Again, we encourage everyone to apply, even if you don’t think you qualify. Send an email to summersale@usps.gov and state that you are interested in the program and someone from the postal service will contact you and work through the volumes.

Q: What do you think is causing the discrepancy in volumes recorded by the post office?

It appears as though there is a mix-up in the dates used to calculate the volumes. The date that should be used to determine the eligibility is the date the mailing statements are stamped (verified)…NOT the in-home dates. Additionally, the post office does not have a handle on where all of the permits are located, so may not have all permits accounted for. For example, a mailer may have permits in multiple states and the post office may have inadvertently neglected to combine the volumes of those permits.

Q: Is the savings for those who do qualify for the summer sale applied directly to their postal account?

No. Mailers who participate in the program and qualify will receive a rebate check by the end of the year.

Q: Do you expect to see more programs like this in the future?

Yes. We are looking forward to the incentive continuing beyond this year. Once the post office works through how to handle this, we will see more next year. And, hopefully next year’s incentive will be announced even earlier to increase participation.

Please tune in to our future postal podcasts about the Intelligent Mail Barcode to learn how its implementation will affect you and about the Flats Sequencing System to learn how it could impact your carrier route savings.

For additional information, please contact Don Landis or Susan Pinter; they can both be reached at 800-558-8724.

You can always find more information about Arandell’s postal capabilities at www.arandell.com.

• Tags:
• catalog mail
• USPS
• USPS summer sale

2 Responses to “9 Things You Need to Know about the USPS Summer Sale”

1. John Isham says:

   October 1, 2009 at 5:18 pm

   Dear Don and Susan,

   As usual, Arandell continues to demonstrate it’s mailing prowess. These e-publications are exceptionally informative and the fact that you share so much of your wealth of information with many who are NOT Arandell customers (at present or yet!) is enlightened. I believe it will prove to be a sound and profitable business practice in the long-run. My only problem is that my job does not permit me the time to read a fraction of what you publish, but I DO save EVERYTHING you send me.

   Warmest Regards,
   John Isham P.S. Give my Best to Craig Smogoleski and Don Treis

   Reply
   • Don Landis says:

     October 5, 2009 at 3:19 pm

     Thank you for your kind words, John and for tuning in. I will certainly pass along the message to Craig and Don.

     Reply

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website