USPS First-Class Mail Sale Coming Soon

This week will be an exciting one for some first-class mailers. On August 21, letters were mailed to all First-Class mailers who qualify for the upcoming First-Class Mail (FCM) Incentive Program. (Think you qualify, but didn’t receive a letter? Click here to contact the USPS.) The sale on First-Class mail is going to be structured similarly the USPS Summer Sale (which will last through September 30) that was rolled out for standard mailers earlier this year.

And, so you ask:

What qualifications do I need to meet in order to participate in the First-Class Mail Sale?

• Minimum of 500,000 non-parcel First-Class pieces mailed through your Permit account between October 1 and December 31 of both 2007 and 2008.
• Undergo a 45-day approval period by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

What Incentive is being offered for participants in the First-Class Mail Sale?

• 20% postage rebate (credited to your postal Permit account) for qualifying presort letters, flats and cards mailed between October 1 and December 31, 2009.
• After the rebates are applied, the discounted price, on average, will land somewhere between the First-Class Mail and Standard Mail rates.

Act now!

If you received your participation letter, be sure to visit the program registration Web site. You’ll also need to work with your mail service providers to obtain accurate 2007 and 2008 counts to provide documentation to the USPS Participants. The difference between those two years’ mailing quantities will determine your incentive threshold.

If you have NOT received a participation letter but you think you qualify, click here to contact the USPS directly. Remember…this particular program is for First-Class mail ONLY.

Standard mailers, stay tuned!

These incentive programs may be here to stay. A potential winter sale is being considered, with even more features than the Standard Mail summer sale. My personal perspective is that until the USPS turns itself around, the organization will continue to find new ways to incentivize mailing quantity increases. And, even when the postal service does end up back in “the black,” I can fully see them continuing to offer these incentives during non-peak mailing seasons as long as they continue to see results. So mailers, keep on mailing!

For additional information, please contact Don Landis or Susan Pinter; they can both be reached at 800-558-8724. You can also contact the USPS directly regarding the First Class Mail Incentive Program at firstclassmailincentive@usps.gov.

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• catalog mail
• postage savings
• postal rate case
• USPS sale
• USPS summer sale