Postal rate increase will grievously damage the Catalog Industry
Posted from Mark Swedlund of Haggin Marketing
If any of the friends and readers of Curt’s blog have any clout with the Postal Board of Governors, now is the time to exercise it.
For months we’ve been expecting a 7-9% rate increase, mid year this year.. Now at the 11th hour, it appears that true rate increase for catalog mailers if going to be much higher than that.
In fact, Haggin Marketing asked its printers to estimate the likely impact on some current mailings. Their resulting forecast is an 18% increase. The news is worse for small catalogers who mail in limited quantity. A friend, who heads marketing for a $10mm a year cataloger told me he estimates their rate increase to be 28% or four hundred thousand a year.
A rate increase of this size is simply unbearable and unforgivable.
This week we have a last minute chance to make our vices heard. Below is the information for complaining to the BOG; take the time to write. The job you save may be your own.
Communicating to the Board of Governors regarding the PRC’s recommendation for the R2006-1 rate case.
If the Postal Service wants to hear directly from postage ratepayers, then let’s have them hear from postage ratepayers. Anyone who has gotten burned by this decision should immediately fire off a letter to the Governors of the Postal Service to tell them what the impact of this decision is likely to be on their business.
Whatever you do, DON’T tell the Governors that you’re just upset about being asked to pay more postage. Make the impact on your business clear.
Be sure to explain that since the recommended increases are substantially higher than even the Postal Service proposed, you are going to take steps to reduce your use of the mail. You don’t want to take about percentage rate increases. You want to talk about dollar increase in cost per thousand (You don’t need to give them details–just that “on average my cost per thousand will increase by X dollars and that you’re going to curtail volume, not selectively–i.e. at the ADC or Mixed ADC level–but across the board.
Your letter has to be filed with the Secretary of the Board of Governors not later than Thursday, March 8. Your letter should be addressed to:
The Honorable James C. Miller III
Chairman, Board of Governors
U.S. Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Rm 10300
Washington, DC 20260-1000
Now, here’s the bit of irony. DON’T mail your letter. USPS mail still gets irradiated, and there is a delay in when this mail gets delivered.
FAX your letter into the USPS at 202-268-5472