The U.S. Postal Service has asked the Postal Rate Commission to support a two-year experimental service that would allow catalogs weighing up to 3.3 ounces to ride along with a polybagged magazine for a dime.
Although postal officials did not ask for a quick decision, they indicated that they will seek universal support for the proposal from both the direct marketing and publishing industries in an effort to start the experimental program next spring.
The proposal would add a subcategory to the postal service’s Publications and Periodicals mail category (formerly known as second class).
It would also shave between 5 cents and 20 cents off the base price for a 3.3-ounce catalog sent via Standard A mail, depending on the machinability of the host mailing and the mailer’s sortation level.
In addition to the weight limitation, the ride-along catalog must not change the shape or processing category of its host.
Nonprofits Pleased
“This is something that nonprofit mailers have wanted for some time,” says Neal Denton, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers. Under the existing USPS rules, a catalog “has to pay a separate Standard A rate even though it is in the same polybag as a magazine,” he explains.
Jerry Cerasale, the Direct Marketing Association’s senior vice president for government affairs, agrees. He says it’s cheaper for the postal service to deliver a magazine and a catalog as “one piece instead of two.” Simpler System Sought
“Many publishers find the current rate arrangement prohibitive and have expressed interest in developing a simpler, more affordable alternative,” adds Anita Bizzotto, the postal service’s senior vice president of marketing systems. The change “will provide a new, effective advertising medium for periodicals mailers.”
Bizzotto also says that the experiment will allow the postal service “to gauge the interest of advertisers and publishers for the service,” which is expected to lower USPS processing and administrative costs.”
Network
