[Grovenet] [Fwd: New postage]

Wed Apr 25 22:51:13 PDT 2007

And don't forget that our local postal workers and patrons are still
crowding into the same old, tiny, limited Forest Grove facility that was
deemed inadequate by the USPS nearly 10 years ago when the post office was
due to have a new facility at Main and 19th across from the City Auditorium.
But, thanks to a lot of paperwork and haggling over the abandoned "historic"
building on that lot that had defective brickwork, construction was delayed
until after a building moratorium went into effect. The "historic" building
was finally bulldozed - the only possible solution to its basic defects. In
the meantime, Cornelius and other places got nice, new, enlarged facilities
for their customers and Forest Grove was, well, out of luck.

Ron D'Eau Claire 

-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Dean madeoneup
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 9:57 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] [Fwd: New postage]

Hello all,  as a postal employee I have heard the new rates are going to
make the customers heads spin.  I am sure this is going to work wonders for
the long lines at the post office in your area.  The fact of the matter is
that the new Postal Reform that has just passed congress allows the Postal
Service to earn and retain a profit.  Forget that rain sleet and snow stuff
the USPS is in it for the money now.  However please don't take it out on
your favorite mail person these decisions were made by political appointees
in D.C..  

Bob Browning <rab at jurislex.com> wrote:           Dear Small Business Owners
on Grovenet:

 Read the following and weep!! I had not a clue this was coming until
earlier this week!! I knew about the 2 cent rate increase, but not about all
the problems that small business owners were going to face. I think a call
to our Congressman Wu and our two Senators is in order immediately. I can
only hope that a few more people are starting to figure out what a disaster
this is likely to be.

 bob "I'm mad as hell and I will probably just have to bend over and take
it!!" browning

 ********************************************************

 -------- Original Message --------                Subject:        New
postage                 Date:        Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:18:52 -0700
From:        Bob Browning <rab at jurislex.com>                 To:
undisclosed-recipients: ;          

      Law Practice Management Blog by Freedman Consulting to Assist Your
Firm in Managing the BUSINESS Side of Your Practice

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   « Another Security Challenge
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  Are You Ready for the New Postal Regulations and a Whopping Increase in
Costs?  New postal regulations go into effect on May 14, 2007. It’s called
Shape-Based Pricing. There are a few decent sites on the internet for
information at this point. 
 This is probably one of the most under-reported events I have experienced
in recent years, particularly when it may result in an increase in postage
costs of as much as 50% overall to an uneducated law firm. We’re not talking
about just an increase of 2¢ per letter. We’re talking about a whole new
labor-intensive mailing process, and some significant price increases in
actual postage for the bulk of mail which is sent by a law firm. In fact,
for most firms the most significant price increases aren’t even on the radar
screen. I know they weren’t on mine. But I attended a seminar today
presented by ITS Mailing Systems, an authorized dealer for Hasler. And it
was an eye-opener.  Currently our postal system operates on strictly a
weight-based methodology. Aside from a slight up-charge for the first ounce
on “oversized” envelopes (e.g. our flat letter-size tyvecs) everything is
based on weight. Each ounce adds an additional amount. Effective May 14th,
we will move to a shape-based pricing system. Under the new system, there
will be three different pricing factors: size; thickness; and weight. There
are even some rigidity factors which can influence cost, meaning that if you
stuff the envelope so tightly it cannot bend, there is an additional cost.
The postal service has known for quite some time that it is much more
expensive to process and route flat envelopes and heavy parcels. But their
pricing was always computed on the same basis as a standard envelope. By the
same token, non-standard sized items which are smaller than their normal
counterparts, are also more expensive to route, but again, are priced based
on a standard postcard or letter rate. All that is about to change. The
postal service just received approval in February to put these new standards
into effect as of 5/14/07. And some last minute changes were applied, so
those who reported early on the upcoming changes reported incorrect
information in some aspects. That is probably why so little information has
already been disseminated.  NEW POSTAGE RATES  First class letter current
rate: 39¢ plus 24¢ for each additional ounce  First class letter new rate:
41¢ plus 17¢ for each additional ounce  Bottom line impact on 2 oz letter:
cost DECREASE from 63¢ to 58¢  (a 5¢ or 7.9% cost decrease)  Bottom line
impact on 3 oz letter: cost DECREASE from 87¢ to 75¢  (a 12¢ = 13% decrease)
Under the new regulations a letter must be no smaller than 3.5” x 5” and at
least .007” thick, and not more than 11.5” long, 6 1/8 “ high, 1/4” thick,
and the aspect ratio (length divided by height) cannot fall between 1 to 1.3
and 1 to 2.5 inclusive.  So far so good. Even though there’s a rate
increase, if all you do is send lightly filled #10 envelopes of 2+ ounces,
your postage costs will go down. But is that what law firms predominantly
send? Heck no. Typically, you’re sending an great proportion of your email
in 8.5” x 11” flat tyvec envelopes, or in hugely overstuffed #10 envelopes.
And here is where two significant changes in postal pricing will immediately
and significantly impact law firm postage costs. 
 First, let’s look at a typical flat (the 8.5” x 11” or larger size tyvec
envelope) with 2 ounces.  First class flat current rate: 39¢ plus 24¢ for
each additional ounce  First class flat new rate: 80¢ plus 17¢ for each
additional ounce  Bottom line impact on a 2 oz flat: cost INCREASE from 63¢
to 97¢  (a 34¢ = 54% increase)  Get the picture? All we’re hearing about is
the modest 9% increase on the standard first class letter, and how those
additional ounces will actually result in a modest savings. And that’s all
true. But it will be more than offset by the whopping increase on your flat
envelopes.  Next, let’s look at the typical overstuffed envelope.  A #10
letter envelope with 12 pages inside will not squeeze through the 1/4” thick
dimension. So even though it only weighs approximately 2.4 ounces, it will
have to go into a flat. Here is the impact on cost:  First class overstuffed
envelope weighing 2.4 oz at current rate: 87¢  Flat envelope weighing 2.4 oz
at new rate: $1.14  Bottom line impact on 12-page mailing: cost INCREASE
from 87¢ to $1.14  (a 27¢ = 31% increase)  Parcel Post:  Currently, anything
heavier than 13 ounces qualifies as a parcel, and postage costs will very
based on a combination of weight and distance. Under new regulations,
anything greater than 3/4” thick qualifies as a parcel, regardless of
weight. That means that some of your current over-stuffed mail which goes
out under first class pricing will be reclassified as a parcel at much
higher pricing. 
 A 2 ounce parcel package will be increasing in price from the current 63¢
to $1.30. That represents a 67¢ = 106% increase in price. Add to that the
fact that some of your mail which previously went out under a much lower
rate structure will now be classified as parcel, and you can only imagine
the impact this will have on your bottom line.  WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP
CONTROL THE COST INCREASES?  First, start making better use of electronic
transmission of documents. Remember to keep security in mind. It’s time to
look seriously at encryption.  Second, consider switching from a #10
envelope to a 6×9 envelope for first class mail. Why? You only have to fold
items once to get them into a 6×9, but you have to fold them twice for the
#10. By only folding once you have a much greater likelihood of staying
within the thickness limitation.  For example, let’s take another look at
those 12 pages which would be too thick in the #10 envelope and would have
to go into a flat at a cost of $1.14. You can stay within the thickness
requirement by using a 6×9 envelope, and reduce the cost to 75¢ . That’s a
savings of 39¢ = 35% based on new pricing, just by switching envelope size.
Third, consider switching from a flat (8.5 x 11 or larger tyvec) to a 6×9
envelope. I know we all like to send some things out flat so they are not
folded, but your postage costs for these flats will skyrocket 54% under the
new regulations if you don’t reconsider.  Fourth, consider two-sided
printing on items which are being sent for review or which do not have to be
filed or signed.  Finally, you have to take a hard look at your labor costs
once again when it comes to handling your mail. For small and mid-size firms
it has been cheaper to have a clerk or secretary handle the outgoing mail
than invest in pricey mailing equipment which weighed and automatically set
the postage. Sure, you probably have a scale and meter, but likely they’re
not integrated. Now that you have to take thickness and overall dimensions
into account, depending on your volume it may become cheaper to have a piece
of equipment make the decisions, particularly where determining thickness is
concerned. Mistakes will mean returned and delayed mail. And if you have to
do proof of service, it means redoing that too when items are returned
because they are a hair over the thickness limitations.  If you work with
relatively small quantities of mail, you may find a shape-based template
helpful. This device, offered by various postage meter dealers, and
allegedly the USPS (I asked and they have no knowledge of this template at
my local post office, nor can I find it online at the USPS web site), costs
about $75 to $200 and allows you to measure the dimensions of each piece of
mail by hand. The tool features slots to check thickness and rulers to
measure the other dimensions. You then look up the total cost based on your
measurements and the weight of the package.  The template is impractical for
large quantities of mail, though. For high mail volumes, consider a dynamic
weighing platform (DWP). A DWP automatically measures and weighs your
packages to accurately calculate postage. They’re expensive – $4,000 to
$5,000 or more – but they let you automate large quantities of mail quickly.
They should also connect directly to your postage meter to further speed the
mailing process.  And before you just decide to put an iron in your mail
room in order to squeeze the mail down to the minimal thickness possible,
keep in mind that there are those pesky rigidity rules which will restrict
you from doing it without risking your mail be returned for yet another
reason.  ==========  To return to the main page of the blog, click here. To
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   This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 3:56 am and is
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