Print USPS Postage

Mail and ship faster, simpler and smarter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 1 May 2007 02:29:00 -0700

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Postage Rates Increase

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 May 2006 01:19:00 -0700

E-mail has replaced the need to send a letter through the regular mail. Additionally, on-line banking, while not as widely understood or accepted as e-mail has decreased the amount of bills that are sent through the regular mail. The use of e-cards has also diminished the number of cards being sent through the regular mail for birthdays, holidays and even the "just because" types of cards.

All of the pieces of correspondence referenced above would have required postage to be purchased, if sent as a hard-copy through regular mail. Now, these transactions are free of charge, via the internet.

Postage rates, for postage stamps, just have had a recent increase from 37 cents to 39 cents. 41 cents was the originally proposed number, but it seemed that the 2 cents increase was enough for now. This increase is attributed to an attempt to make up for lost volume, by increasing the price of sending each piece of mail.

The other costly update that is required when potage rates increase is the burden of businesses that use postage meters. Older versions of postage meters do not have the capability to automatically update when the postage rate varies from what they are currently programmed for. In this case, the lessee must buy an expensive up-grade chip that will re-format the postage meter to calculate the proper postage.

The postage rates for sending those materials that are unable to be sent electronically have not yet been increased, at least by an amount that is noticeable. The 2-3 days to send larger mail or packages is still costing about 3-10 dollars and sending packages overnight will cost about 20 dollars on average.

The postage rate increases will continue to be evident as the more and more people become comfortable with electronic transfer technology. However, the postal service will have to be careful to retain competitive rates, as they are not the only provider of package sending service.

Postage rates may become a big factor for businesses in the future, especially those that are responsible for a lot of outgoing materials. There will be a high market for providing the best service and the lowest price for high volume main and package distributions.

Whether it is the individual mail sender or a business, if postage rates continue to rise, and at a rate that is not found to be acceptable, people will find a way to avoid using this service all together, which is exactly what the postal service is trying to avoid. Hopefully, they will come up with a way to still provide a worthy service, without breaking the bank.

Coins, Paper Money, Or Stamps?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 May 2006 03:00:00 -0700

What should you collect as a hobby; coins, paper money, or stamps?

Which will be the best investment?

It's amusing that some people who collect coins, paper money, or stamps, always want some sort of "return" on their investment. These are the same people think nothing of buying a new car for $20,000 and selling it a few years later for $5,000. A new car loses value as soon as you drive it on the road!

As far as investment in paper money in general, I would not consider it. If someone is buying notes and thinking how much will they be able to get when they sell it again, this person has the wrong hobby. Enjoy collecting for the pleasure and for the fun of it.

Coins and stamps are tangible reminders of years gone by. Yet, while coin collecting is flourishing as a hobby, stamp collecting has gone by the wayside. Many families who inherit stamp collections are more interested in getting the collection appraised than continuing the collection. You can't collect something if you don't know what it is.

Stamp collecting dates back to 1840, when the first stamp was issued in England. One of the earliest indications of stamp collecting is an advertisement from an English newspaper in which a young woman sought used stamps as a way to wallpaper her room. Soon, post offices discovered stamp collectors as good sources of revenue. From there, an unprecedented surge began.

There are no rules about stamp collecting. Some people collect stamps from a certain country while others focus on a particular theme, such as flowers, ships or buildings.

Unfortunately, stamp collecting has simply lost its appeal to younger people.

Coin collecting, on the other hand, is at its peak popularity. Rare or modern coins offer history that collectors can hold in their hand, and every period during the past 2,500 years is reflected in coinage.

Stamps disappear and become part of the ground. A coin can be dug up and, while new varieties of stamps are not really being discovered, new types of coins from all over the world are still being found. How many stamps or bank notes do you think you'll find while exploring with a metal detector?

Whilst improperly stored coins can degrade and lessen in value, paper money can be damaged by handling, sunlight, or water. All are subject to flood, fire, or other natural catastrophe.

A stock certificate with half of it burned away is just as good as a mint one in terms of its value on the exchange. In fact, as long as ownership can be proven, it often doesn't even matter if the physical certificate exists. The same can't be said for paper money.

You can insure against these problems, and go to great lengths to assure proper storage conditions, but all of this costs money and adds to the cost of the investment, often for many years before there is going to be any return at all.

Today, coin collecting is one of the world's most popular hobbies. Amateur collectors enjoy coins for their beauty, rarity and the stories behind them. Added to this is the excitement of searching for and finding specific coins and the challenge of identifying new ones.

Why is coin collecting thriving and stamp collecting dying? Coins are still being used and are still fascinating. It is an investment as well as a hobby. Coins continue to go up in value while many stamps are at the peak value they will ever receive. Furthermore, many are going down in value.

Enjoy your hobby, and consider whatever you invest in it to be pleasure money, the same way you would count money you spent going to ball games, or dining out, or buying new clothes. Then, whatever you or your family get out of your collection is pure profit, whether it is more or less than what you originally paid.

After all, if you spend $20 a week going to the movies, you don't expect to get anything for your $1,000 a year collection of ticket stubs, do you?

I believe there is room in both the collecting of coins and paper money for both collectors and investors.

The important thing to remember in investing in coins or banknotes is rarity and desirability.

So I believe there can be a case made that both collecting and investing in paper money and coins are valid, and valuable activities.

About the Author

Postal service gives scientists stamps of approval

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 May 2006 19:42:00 -0700

The U.S. Postal Service has issued four new stamps to celebrate pioneering American scientists Barbara McClintock, John von Neumann, Richard Feynman, and Josiah Willard Gibbs. Each stamp features a picture of the scientist and artwork evoking their research:

Geneticist Barbara McClintock (1902-1992), whose research on maize plants led her to discover the principle of "genetic transposition." Her research greatly advanced our understanding of how genes function. For her work, she was honored with the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Thermodynamicist Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903), who devised the modern system of thermodynamic analysis. His research also had an important influence on the manufacturing industries of the day. He received the Rumford Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mathematician John von Neumann (1903-1957), who contributed to many branches of mathematics, as well as quantum mechanics, game theory, computational theory, and computer design. He also helped to develop atomic weapons in WWII. He was the recipient of the 1956 Enrico Fermi Award.

Physicist Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988) also helped develop atomic weapons in WWII. Through the development of his innovative "Feynman diagrams," designed to better show particle behavior, he simplified the field of quantum electrodynamics. An enthusiastic and inspiring teacher, Feynman shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics with Sin-Itiro Tomonaga and Julian Schwinger.

Other science-themed stamp sets for 2005 include the "Northeast Deciduous Forest" set (released in April), "Masterworks of Modern American Architecture" (June), "Advances in Aviation" (summer), and "Constellations" (October).

John Gaeddert is in the Public Relations Department at CSICOP, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

USPS Click-N-Ship Software Provides Free Delivery Confirmation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 5 May 2006 01:32:00 -0700

Gone are the days of having to stand in line at the post office just to mail a package. These days, thanks to the advancement of the internet and technology, postal customers can now print postage from the convenience of their own home. Using a standard printer, along with USPS Click-N-Ship software, consumers can print shipping labels, postage stamps and even delivery confirmation numbers.

Many individuals, who make their living at online auction sites, are constantly in need of additional convenience relating to mailing and expenses. The software, which installs quickly, is one way to save shippers a bundle of time by allowing them to print postage directly from their printer. Using standard typing paper, the software enables the shipper to print a complete label featuring the return address, shipping address, barcode and a delivery confirmation.

Widely promoted as being a shipping convenience, the Click-N-Ship software often goes unrecognized for one of it's best features. If purchased at the post office, delivery confirmation is $0.45 per package but, with Click-N-Ship, it's free. Consider mailing 100 packages per month with delivery confirmation. At the post office, customers would pay $45.00 but, with the software, they save that amount of money. Over time, free delivery confirmation can add up to a bundle of cash and, if shipping is your business, it pays to save wherever possible. Before mailing the packages with delivery confirmation, it may be a good idea to keep a record of each shipment and it's corresponding tracking number. This will be very beneficial to any shipper who may later need to provide proof of shipment.

In order to properly use the Click-N-Ship software, customers must have some idea as to the weight of their package. Therefore, it may be a good investment to purchase a portable postage scale. In addition, customers will be prompted for the dimensions of their package prior to obtaining a total. With Click-N-Ship software, customers pay for their postage online before being able to print any labels. This eliminates the need to stand in line at the post office because the postage has already been calculated, printed and affixed to each package. In fact, many shippers simply take a box full of packages for mailing, which have been postage-paid using the Click-N-Ship software, into their post office and leave them for later processing.

The USPS Click-N-Ship software is available for free download at usps.com or included on selected AOL software CDs as a bonus. Otherwise, customers may be able to ask their postmaster for additional information on obtaining a copy of the Click-N-Ship software.

Your stamp supply shopping list

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 4 May 2006 01:44:00 -0700

Collecting stamps is a great hobby that people from all over the world enjoy. It doesn't matter if you are young or old. This hobby is not only fun, interesting but you can also learn a lot. There is a whole wide world collecting stamp community for you to be part of. The key for collecting stamps is the variety you can collect. In this case you can certainly say more is better. If you are new to this hobby you have must realize that you have to have stamp collecting supplies ready before you start your collection of stamps. Here is a list of supplies that you will need for your hobby. Stock books, stamp hinges, stamp tongs, magnifiers, glassing envelopes, blank pages, drying books, perforation gauge, water mark detector, stamp mounts, stamp catalogues, binders and of course stamp albums. This may look like big shopping list but there is no reason to be panic. Not like many other collecting hobbies, this hobby doesn't have to be expensive at all. You don't have to spend a lot of money on expensive equipments and supplies. There is of course a list of items no stamp collector can do without. Let's start with the one item that collectors can not do without and that is a stamp album. The stamp album keeps your stamps safe while at the same time it enables you to organize your collection and to display your stamps in an attractive manner. Look for something that is high in quality. What you should look for is an album that contains plenty of space for your stamps and have strong bindings with thick pages made from good quality acid free paper. Another smart item you can not do without is a stamp hinge. A stamp hinge is a small, folded, rectangular piece of paper or glassine coated with a gum. One end of the hinge is gummed onto the back of a stamp and the other end is gummed onto the album page. This helps to firmly hold the stamp on the page. These hinges are very inexpensive and around a thousand can be purchased for a few dollars. Stamp tongs look like tweezers, but these are specially designed for picking up and handling stamps. Tongs are available in both stainless steel and plastic. Either type will do, but make sure you choose tongs that do not have sharp edges, as they may tear and ruin your stamp. If the value of your collection is important to you then a stamp catalogue is a must. The stamp catalog will help you identify a stamp and will also give you a rough indication of its current value. So you exactly know how valuable your collection is in the world of philately. What you also need is a magnifying glass. This will help you to examine the inscription and design closely, the feature of a stamp as well as its condition. Also the magnifying glass would help you spot the creases or printing error of a stamp. All of these factors have an impact on a stamp's grade and its value. Glassine envelopes are translucent and available in various sizes. They are useful for sorting and storing the stamps before you place them in the album. You can also mail stamps in these envelopes. Some other gadget you will need is a perforation gauge. It measures the number of holes per two cm length of the perforations on the side of the stamps. Stamps differ in the number of perforations each have, which even helps distinguish between two identical looking stamps and also influence the relative rarity. A water mark detector is useful in detecting forgeries and identifying stamp varieties. In hobby shops and on the internet all these tools are easy to find. Remember that these tools don't have to cost you an arm and a leg. To start your hobby you will need these stamp collecting supplies and just have fun while collecting.

Online Post Office Helps Small Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 1 May 2006 20:44:00 -0700

When the internet came into popular usage many predicted that postal service would become under used as people relied less on paper documents and more on email.

What really happened is that businesses popped up all over the internet (Amazon, Toys'r'us) selling online - thereby increasing the load for home and business delivery. While couriers like UPS initially took over this area the United States Postal Service realized what small businesses would be looking for: convenience, cost efficiency and service.

Keeping up with marketing and mailing needs can easily swamp a home business. Stuffing envelopes, delivering packages and getting stamps and materials eat into time and profits.

Since UPS gobbled up the majority of residential delivery's in the first 'Online Shopping' Christmas season in 1999, USPS has been fighting fire with fire by providing online solutions for individuals and business owners alike.

What services are now available to help businesses like yours?

Ordering Postage and Packaging Supplies

Are you ready to send out the monthly invoices or have a rush shipment but no box to pack it in? Not only can you now order these items online so you never run out, but the packing supplies are FREE! Hard to beat that value.

Order your stamps and boxes ahead of time and you won't be rushing at the last minute to find what you need - or waste valuable time standing in line at the post office.

You can also check out services like stamps.com which allows you to print the postage (think: no stamps). Anything to make business faster and more efficient.

Arranging Pick Up

The competition with FedEx and UPS has instigated a positive change in the postal service's customer service. Just like the couriers USPS will pick up your mail instead of making you stand in another line up. You can even make the arrangement through their website.

Marketing Solutions

Postal services have upped the anti with the creation of mailing services for gift cards, business post cards, periodicals or even letters and flyers.

Business owners know how important it is to stay in contact with their clients, but who has the time to stay on top of the mailings? If you register to create and mail them from your computer there is no excuse. USPS will send one or one thousand - whatever you need, whenever you need it.

The internet has helped small businesses in numerous ways. Now you can get all of your mailing services with the touch of a button. Whether you need to create a mass mailing, get packing materials or pay for stamps you can get it done online - saving business owners time, money and stress.

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

About the Author
Nial Robbins owns the work at home directory website located at: http://www.NDR-HomeBiz.com Come by and visit us today!

Also, be sure to check out our "top pick" work at home opportunity at: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-9525

How to Put Your Picture On A Real US Postage Stamp

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:03:00 -0700

Turn your photos into real postage with PhotoStamps.

If you haven't seen a personalized postage stamp yet, you may be surprised to learn about this extremely cool new concept developed by the US Postal Service. For many years now, printing companies have offered the ability to put your picture on a "stamp" just for fun. Those weren't real postage though, they were just stamps made to look like a postage stamps and of course you couldn't mail them. Well now you can put your picture on a real postage stamp and you can even mail it!

Creating your own stamps is a kick, and just wait until the lucky recipient receives an envelope, postcard or package with your face on the stamp. You could also use your kid's face, your dog, your nature photography, or almost anything you want!

Currently, there are seven denominations of stamps available including standard 37-cent envelope stamps and 23-cent postcard stamps. There are also ten border colors to choose from, so you can make the stamp aesthetically pleasing to match any photograph.

You can also easily crop, zoom, or rotate your picture to fit the stamp perfectly. Most retailers also offer volume discounts for multiple-sheet orders. The possibilities for customized stamps are endless, but here are a few to get you thinking...

- Photos of your kids
- Pet pictures
- New babies (great for birth announcements)
- Wedding invitations
- Family photos
- Artistic expressions
- Nature photography
- Direct mail attention-getter
- Birthday cards
- Give photo stamps as a gift
- Frame them as a keepsake

photo stamps are a great new way to add your personal touch to any type of mail, by turning your own photos into real US postage. The possibilities are almost limitless, and the new upload and customization tools make it a breeze to create your stamps in just a few minutes. There are still many online retailers selling non-postage personalized stamps, so please make sure to look for one with the USPS logo and approval. I hope you have fun with it!

Money and market share are two things the usps is losing its grip on.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:25:00 -0700

THE ORGANIZATION IS CUTting staff furiously, lost more than $1.5 billion in 2001 alone and has run up $11 billion in debt. A dying dotcom? No--it's the U.S. Postal Service. Now, with the addition of anthrax to its woes, snail mail could slide into long-term decline, opening the door for entrepreneurs to offer alternatives.

With businesses increasingly using the Internet for external communications, need for the USPS' services is decreasing. The growing popularity of e-newsletters, for instance, is eating into traditional newsletter delivery. "The postal service can't compete in the newsletter market, since newsletter information has to be timely and sent out quickly," says Bill Densmore, founder of Clickshare Service Corp., a Williamstown, Massachusetts, developer of e-newsletter distribution platforms.

Several small private-delivery courier services have sprung up in the past five years to do battle with the postal service's Priority Mail service. And while customers will probably never accept reading magazines and catalogs solely online, some business experts suggest that, if the USPS fades into oblivion, businesses could make money providing specific magazine- and catalog-delivery services.

Perhaps the most exciting development among USPS alternatives is the potential for online banking and bill payment. TheBancorp.com, a small online banking service in Wilmington, Delaware, tailors banking services to certain professions; for instance, it created TheArtBiz.com, a bank for artists. And several small companies offering online bill payment already are reaching a critical mass of consumers.

"Anthrax is a catalyst leading people to rethink what we need most aspects of snail mail for," says Steven Schneider, an Internet and postal service expert at State University of New York Institute of Technology in Utica-Rome, New York. "Online bill payment will be Technologies Corp., a Vancouver, British Columbia, online bill payment company, says its online mortgage bill business has risen by as much as 25 percent since the anthrax scare.

The USPS offers limited online services, including online bill payment, but they haven't proved to be very popular. And while the USPS has discussed expanding its online services dramatically, it hasn't done so, and is not really a competitor in the online services market.

For small companies competing with the USPS, the going remains tough. But these companies have been emboldened by one key statistic: Leading research group IDC estimates that the number of e-mailboxes worldwide will grow by more than 130 percent in the next five years.

Save on postage! Free trial and $50 in postage.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 02:43:00 -0700

Put a post office in your office and save time and money on postage! Risk-free 90 day trial and $50 in postage.

USPS Click-N-Ship Software Provides Free Delivery Confirmation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 1 Apr 2006 23:16:00 -0800

eSteward helps Postal Union stewards keep USPS in check

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:15:00 -0800

Description:
eSteward is the only software that gives NALC APWU NPMHU NRLCA postal union stewards instant access, from one menu, to all the resources necessary for writing more winning grievances in less time than you ever thought possible. Ease of use is as simple as copying information from eSteward and pasting it into a document. Everything is indexed for quick reference and updated on a regular basis for free. Installed on a laptop with no Internet connection needed means you have access any ware. But special attention has been given to the following four sections.

OWCP:
The US Department of Labor (DOL) - Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP) handles Workers Compensation claims for Work Related Injury and Occupational Illness under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA).

eSteward provides resources useful for processing such claims through the appeals process. Of paramount importance in arguing such claims are the ECAB decision summaries, which were all written by the Employee Compensation Appeals Board. These ECAB summaries are the highest authoritative cases available. eSteward has compiled these ECAB Decision summaries into it's exclusive indexed and easily searchable file. Other supporting resources included are (1) the Federal Employees Compensation Act FECA the law, (2) Title 20 CFR Part 10, which is the Code of Federal Regulations covering OWCP claims and appeals, (3) the CA-810, which is the US Department of Labor manual covering OWCP, and (4) numerous forms needed for processing these claims.

EEOC:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers claims of discrimination based upon Disability, Racial and Age, as well as Reverse discrimination, just to mention a few. They enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

eSteward provides resources useful in processing such claims through the internal US Postal Service procedures and through the appeals process. Resources include (1) the MD-110, which is the EEOC manual covering Federal Agency procedures, (2) 29 CFR 1614, which is the Code of Federal Regulations covering EEOC procedures, (3) 29 CFR 1630, which is the Code of Federal Regulations covering Disability, and (4) summaries of over 500 selected EEOC federal sector decisions. These summaries are of paramount importance in arguing such claims. The summaries were all written and fully indexed by the EEOC and have been published within the EEOC Digest. eSteward has compiled these summaries into it's exclusive easily searchable file.

NLRB:
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) enforces the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to prohibit Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) by Employers, including the US Postal Service, and against Unions for breaching their Duty of Fair Representation (DFR).

eSteward provides resources useful in processing such claims through the NLRB's administrative procedures. Resources include; (1) the Forms needed to file charges against the US Postal Service, (2) Case summaries which are limited to the US Postal Service cover issues involving Management's refusal to provide information to the Union, Management's refusal to bargain, Management's retaliation against Union officials and Management's interference in Union elections, (3) complete NLRB decisions against USPS, and (4) the NLRB Guide, which covers basic law and procedures under the National Labor Relations Act, which is published by the National Labor Relations Board.

MSPB:
Many union stewards are well aware that the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) handles disciplinary cases involving Veterans Rights. Many do not know that the Board also handles appeals regarding denials of OWCP Restoration rights, Appeals from OPM including retirement related issues and claims under the Whistle Blower Act. However, for whistle blowing protection claims arising from within the US Postal Service, employees generally first need to have jurisdiction regarding Veterans Rights before raising a related whistle blower claim.

eSteward provides resources useful in processing such claims through the MSPB's administrative procedures. Resources include; (1) the Forms needed to file MSPB petitions and appeals, and (2) Title 29 CFR 1200 - 1299, which are the Code of Federal Regulations covering MSPB procedures. eSteward also contains key arbitration decisions and national level grievance decisions concerning employee rights regarding MSPB procedures.

Summary:
APWU and NALC postal union stewards will find everything necessary for preparing and arguing claims within all of the afore mentioned categories.

Cost of Postage Stamps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 20:00:00 -0700

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

The large quantity of mail delivered every day by the US postal service is about 500 million pieces.

This is a huge amount of mail. The cause could be the low price of postage fees and the fact that people are accustomed to shuffling paper and envelopes all around the country.
This is why each year billions of letters are stuffed into billions of envelopes that get mechanically hauled in postal service trucks to special sorting centers, from there off to the mail airplanes, and then into the postal trucks and finally to the local postal carriers.

The above chain of event, is suspected of being too old and totally inefficient there by creating the current cost of postage stamps. On one hand, industry professionals ask for immediate measures to bring more efficiency in this domain which would drastically effect the cost of postage stamps. They say there are many ways to eliminate the strain on the existing postage
cost of postage stamps system, such as increasing both qualification and number of the postal workers or improving transportation technology.

The bottom line is to offer better postage services by improving the quality of the existent postage system which will result in better cost of postage stamps. On the other hand, the costs of this system are considered too high by communication experts. They pretend that other existing systems - like email, for instance, would have greater results with smaller costs.
This is why they claim that raising the price of postage stamps will increase the cost of postage stamps, and drive customers away, causing them to get online and use the excellent web communication tools.

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

Postcard marketing for tourism industry - The great cheap marketing tool

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 23:41:00 -0700

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

As a travel agent marketer, or a hotel promotion, all you need is a good marketing tool is a cheap cost and high effect, contribute to the brand building and create a good relation with your visitors.
These things can be obtained when you use postcard to market your services in the local community. And here are the reasons:
1)Postcard is a low cost marketing tool but high visible.
Postcard marketing is very affordable. Postcard cost less than 2 cent each to produce I you print them using your own computer or have them printed professionally for about 7 or 8 cents each.
You can print 4x6 inch postcard on your own computer for less than 2 cents each. Or you can reduce the cost down to about 1 cent each if you print 4 at a time on 8 ½ x11 sheets of card stock and then cut the sheet into quarters.
In fact, standard sized postcard is 38% cheaper than using regular size letters.
2)Postcard can be created very easily.
You can use your own photos illustrating your services, your hotel image, designed with Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe Image Ready to create a good helpful collection of your own postcard. This collection will be very good for you to build your brand, or will be cost effective if you rotate it in your postcard marketing campaign.
There are many ready packages of postcard organization some professional website, so if we do not want to design by ourselves, we can buy these postcards with a reasonable price. Try to find a good supply on Net by Google or Yahoo! Search tools.
3)Postcard is cheap and easy to send.
The current postage for mailing a postcard in the US is just 23 cents. That is 38% cheaper than the postage for selling a letter.
This reduce the postage rate applies to postcard that are at least 3 ½ x5 inches but not over 4 ¼ x6 inches.
Now, there are services online which can complete all the process of postcard marketing for your company with an appropriate rate. Visit www.usps.com/mailingonline to use its cheap services and reduces your cost into 90%.
4)Everybody read postcard
Postcard doesn't waste time of people. There are no envelops, just a picture and your message. Almost 90% receivers will read it and feel friendly than any other kinds of advertising. It is because postcard is delivered "ready to read"... especially if you keep it brief and look like a message from a friend to friend. And postcard doesn't take up a lot of space. Your customer can carry them in their pockets easily...
5)Big respond
This high rate of readership is the main reason why postcard postcards produce a bigger responds than other type of direct marketing. With other types of direct marketing you often lose prospects that would have respond to your offer-but they never saw it.
Postcard are an excellent low-cost alternative to email when there are junk mail are sent to prospects everyday, your prospects will often delete them without read even an legitimate one. Postcard is not, no one receives too much postcard that they even don't want to read!
6)Your competitors can not know your postcard marketing campaign.
A new marketing campaign often imitated by your competitor because it is visible on multi-media lines. But postcard is the contact between you and your prospects. It is difficult for your competitor study anything from yours, unless you want them get over you by sending postcard to their office or their private house.
7)Get immediate result
Because postcard is simple and easy to use, they produce results quickly. You can finish your postcard marketing campaign from designing to sending within a week and starting get replies 2 or 3 days later. One of the benefits of using first class postage for a regular size postcard is that it will be mailed back to the sender if it has a bad address, which can help you update your list.
You can ask the receivers to bring the card into your office for special discount, there for you can calculate the respond rate.
Your postcard can brand you and your business in ways that most marketing material cannot. If you start and stick to a regular postcard marketing program, you and your business will gain a quite a reputation, perhaps even a little notoriety.
8)Postcard marketing is rather targeted.
You can send it to chosen prospects, and gain the highest effective. Postcard enables you to spend your entire advertising budget on your best prospects. You don have to pay for advertising to a large audience in order to reach a few good prospects.

Here are some ways to use postcard.
1) Referrals-send postcards regularly to your friend, your frequent clients or other best contacts and ask them for their referrals.
2) Thankyou notes - use postcard to say Thankyou for business, referrals or information and say that you appreciate their helps. Your postcard receiver will be so surprised and please that you took the time. 3) A follow - up offer or services - after the client use or buy your services, send them a discount offer for a related services or product within 30 - 60 days. Don not miss the opportunity for an after - sale contact.
4) You can also announce a price - increase time and encourage your customer check in to use it at current price.
5) Gift certification or coupons: show your best customers that you appreciate them by sending a gift certificate that they can use anytime in the next year. You should leave a space on the postcard and encourage they fill out their friend or colleagues name and give it to someone else to introduce them to your business.
6) Announce an event - send postcard to let your prospects know about events like a seminar in your hotels...
7) Introduce new services such as a new city tour for children traveling over many educational sites in your city...
8) Build your website traffic- use postcard mailing to tell people your site is there and when you make significant additional which can give them many interesting information.
9) Recognition- sends out a postcard to let people know your good news about accomplishments and awards or reviews you have received.
10) Just stay in touch. People like to be remembered and postcard is economical and easy way to say " thinking of you "
11) Remember special days of your clients: send a holiday greeting a Thankyou not for Thanksgiving. If you keep track of special dates in your customer lives like birthdays or anniversaries, you can send them a colorful postcard letting them know you are thinking of them.

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

What To Look For In USPS Mailboxes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 20:31:00 -0700

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

High quality residential and commercial mailboxes are available in styles that meet the new standards set by the Unites States Postal Service. Postal certified mailboxes are becoming a necessary addition to your home or business. You will find quality and affordability when you shop for USPS approved mailboxes. Durable, rugged mailboxes that assure the safety of your mail and carry the stamp of approval from the USPS are you best choice when shopping for a new mailbox. You can find decorative, personalized, and locking mailboxes for your home or business that meet the standards set by the USPS.

USPS approved mailboxes will give you a top quality mailbox at a reasonable price. Wall mount, house mount, or freestanding mailboxes are all available and ready to be shipped to your door. The required hardware will be included and you can install your new USPS mailbox quickly and easily. The highest quality and superior workmanship is what you can expect from your new USPS mailbox. There are a variety of colors, styles, and optional personalization from which to choose and you will be sure that your new mailbox will last through all kinds of weather and harsh conditions.

If you are searching for a USPS mailbox for your home or business, you will be delighted to learn about the numerous choices and the reasonable prices. The USPS has set high standards for mailboxes due to increasing vandalism and theft. Make sure your mailbox meets these standards and that your mail and your personal information are kept secure. You can find USPS mailboxes from a variety of retailers that can ship your mailbox to you quickly and at an affordable price. Purchase a USPS mailbox and your mail will be kept safe from harm and your choice in styling and colors will be a welcome addition to your home or office.

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

Turn your photos into real U.S. postage

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 01:00:00 -0700

Whether you have a wedding to announce, a new baby in the family or a photogenic pet, the best way to keep these events in our memories is taking photos and create an album to store it. This will allow us the opportunity to remember such occasions whenever we desire. To add to the joys of such occassions, a US based company Stamps.com now lets you to turn these photographs into real U.S. postage! It is a fun and easy way to add a personal touch to everything you send in the mail! You can also give them as unforgettably unique gifts, or keep them and frame them so you and your family can treasure these PhotoStamps for years to come!

All you need to do to design a state-of-the-art, professional-looking postage is simply by uploading pictures from existing image files, digital photographs, and original graphics. An intuitive interface will allows you to rotate and zoom in and out of their images, as well as add colored borders to complement the image. Each individual PhotoStamp measures 1.9 inches in width and 1.4 inches in height, and the image area is 1.1 inches in width and 1.1 inches in height

PhotoStamps from Stamps.com are valid U.S. Postage, based on a technology called PC Postage. Stamps.com, the company behind PhotoStamps, has been a United States Postal Service approved provider of PC postage since 1999. After the successful market test during 2004 in which over 2.75 million PhotoStamps were sold in just 7 ½ weeks, PhotoStamps from Stamps.com returned in May 2005 under authorization of the US Postal Service. In the first 6 weeks following the return of PhotoStamps in May 2005, an additional 1.4 million PhotoStamps have been sold. That is over 4 million letters, greeting cards, invitations and gifts that have already been made more exciting by using PhotoStamps!.

Visit here to find out more about this prodduct.

Apart from PhotoStamps, Stamps.com also provide a service that allows you to print official United States Postal Service postage directly from your PC and printer. You can use this service to print stamps. Print shipping labels. Print directly on envelopes to create professional looking mail. Approved by the USPS in 1999, Stamps.com is the leading provider of Internet-based postage solutions. Stamps.com was the first company to be approved by the U.S. Postal Service® to offer a software-only postage service that lets customers buy and print postage online. The company targets small businesses, small and home offices and individuals through partnerships with companies including Office Depot, Microsoft, NCR, CompUSA, Earthlink, HP, Dymo, Vendio and the U.S. Postal Service. Stamps.com is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ under the symbol STMP. You can visit this site to find out more about this service.

Turn your photos into real postage with PhotoStamps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 02:56:00 -0700

Turn your photos into real postage with PhotoStamps.

PhotoStamps are an exciting new product that lets you take your own images or photographs and turn them into real U.S. postage! To create PhotoStamps all you need to do is upload a photo, customize it using our fun, easy-to-use interface, and place your order. Our customization interface allows you to zoom, move, and rotate your image, and then select one of 10 different border colors to match your image perfectly. You may purchase PhotoStamps in one of seven different postage denominations ranging from 23 cent postcards to 37 cent regular first class to 3.85 for packages, to meet all your mailing needs.

Whether you have a wedding to announce, a new baby in the family or a photogenic pet, PhotoStamps are a fun and easy way to add a personal touch to everything you send in the mail! You can also give them as unforgettably unique gifts, or keep them and frame them so you and your family can treasure your PhotoStamps for years to come!

PhotoStamps from Stamps.com are valid U.S. Postage, based on a technology called PC Postage. Stamps.com, the company behind PhotoStamps, has been a United States Postal Service approved provider of PC postage since 1999. When PhotoStamps first launched in 2004, it was the first ever customized postage product in the United States. To date, over 4 million PhotoStamps have been sold!

Turn your photos into real postage with PhotoStamps.

USPS makes its rate case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 9 Aug 2005 20:40:00 -0700

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

When the U.S. Postal Service filed for a 5.4% average rate increase on April 8, the announcement was almost anticlimactic. Only six months earlier, observers were predicting an increase of as much as 18%. "You have to tip your hat to the Postal Service for holding down costs," says Jerry Cerasale, the DMA's senior vice president for government affairs. "No one likes postal rate increases, but this is better than most."

An increase is still an increase, though. If the proposed rate case is enacted in January 2006 as requested, the cost of sending a piece of Standard (nonletter) Mail will rise next year from $0.34 to $0.36, and Standard Mail Enhanced Carrier Route rates will go from $0.19 to $0.20. newschannel continued from cover Just about all other classes of mail will see comparable rate increases as well (see chart at right).

But because the proposed increases are lower than originally anticipated, and because mailers have known that an increase was imminent for 2006, so far no one is predicting that catalogers will race to push up their early-2006 mailings to late 2005.

"Years ago catalogers fearing a postal increase might have rushed to get mailings out in December to avoid having to pay the new rates in January," says Jeff Kelly, a senior vice president for Peterborough, NH-based list services firm Millard Group. "But times have changed." Marketers have learned that it doesn't pay to stuff mailboxes in the fourth quarter, he adds.

"These postal increases seem to come around every two or three years," Kelly says, "and like it or not the Postal Service is the only game in town."

That may be so regarding delivery of catalogs, but the USPS has plenty of competition when it comes to parcel delivery.

"Shippers are hungry," says Mark Taylor, CEO of Plymouth, MI-based shipping systems provider Taylor Systems Engineering Corp. "FedEx, UPS, and DHL are currently targeting large catalog companies to compete with the Postal Service."

Taylor says that ground rates for the three major carriers are on average $1.49 more per pound than those of USPS. But he believes that the carriers will use the pending rate hike as an opportunity to negotiate with - and win the parcel business of - USPS clients. (For tips on how to benefit from the opportunity, see "Negotiating a better parcel carrier contract," page 38.)

Another reason that mailers aren't panicking may be that the USPS has said that it could withdraw its request for a rate increase - if Congress repeals Public Law 108-18, which calls for an increase in the amount of money the Postal Service needs to put into the Civil Service Retirement System escrow fund. (See "Postal reform: the saga continues" in the January issue.)

"We have been hearing that a new bill is being put together to try to overturn the escrow situation," says Charley Howard, vice president of postal affairs for San Antonio, TX-based database services provider Harte-Hanks. "The word is that both the House and the Senate want to repeal the military retirement fund."

Likely scenarios

Few are betting the proverbial farm that Congress will overturn the law in time; Howard, for instance, thinks there's only a 25% chance that the law will be repealed. In the meantime, intervenors - organizations and individuals who want to testify regarding the rate case - have until May 2 to request a waiver of the rate hike.

The next step is the preconference hearing, scheduled for May 5. "The prehearing conference is a chance for all the parties to identify themselves formally as intervenors and to state whatever opinions they may have about the case," says USPS spokesperson Steven William. It also allows the USPS attorneys to state how they would like to proceed, such as scheduling a settlement meeting for the parties to informally discuss matters.

From there the USPS has up to 10 months, by law, to deliberate the rate case. The Postal Rate Commission (PRC) then submits a recommended decision to the USPS board of governors.

The DMA's Cerasale believes that one of two compromise scenarios is likely to develop before January 2006. The first could result in only a 2.7% increase in almost all mail rates, or half of the proposed rate case. The second scenario, which he believes is more likely, would delay implementation of the rate increases until April 2006. This would allow postal officials more time to try to get Public Law 108-18 repealed.

More calls for reform

In what may be a first, mailers aren't blaming the USPS for the proposed rate hike. "It's not about the problems within the Postal Service. It's solely about making up the money owed in escrow for retirement benefits," Howard says. "The bottom line is that the Postal Service is making money, but the government will just not let them off the hook" in regard to the escrow fund. Howard points out that the USPS closed out fiscal 2004 by erasing a $200 million loss and posting a $1.2 billion gain.

"The rate increase is a direct result of a Congress that has failed to act," says Mike Muoio, CEO of Oshkosh, WI-based multititle mailer Miles Kimball. "Congress has proven that they do not understand the overall importance of the mail, by putting less money into the Postal Service, and it will have a damaging overall effect on an industry that is fundamental to Congress."

Chris Bradley, president of Portland, ME-based bedding merchant Cuddledown, agrees. "In general, whenever postal costs go up, you mail less. The real issue for our industry is will people be motivated enough to contact Congress to try to reverse this unfair treatment."

Many in the industry hope that the Postal Service's dilemma will finally call attention to the need to reform the agency. For 10 years, Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) has been trying to get Congress to pass a reform bill that would give the USPS flexibility to compete with private carriers and to run more like a business, among other changes (see "Postal reform gets rolling," below).

"For too long people looked at the Postal Service with an 'if it ain't broke why fix it' mentality," Harte-Hanks' Howard says. But with the escrow situation, he and other mailers think it's evident that the system is indeed "broke."

As far as Bradley's concerned, the federal government's failure to "do the right thing" regarding reform in general and Public Law 108-18 in particular has not only been grossly unfair to the Postal Service but also has hurt the catalog industry. "Catalogers have been paying the burden of history for a long time," Bradley says. "If Congress won't take action, then we have to."

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COPYRIGHT 2005 PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group

The USPS Wants Your Business

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 6 Aug 2005 06:10:00 -0700

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Direct mail is alive and well and the U.S. Postal Service wants to help you send more of it. That's the message U.S. Postmaster General Jack Potter brought to attendees of the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing's DM Days last month.

"We're interested in every dollar," he said. "Gone are the days that we are going to sit on our monopoly." Toward that end, the USPS has done things like enhance its Web site, to allow more companies to do business with the postal service online. And it's installing numerous self-service postal centers around the country, including 24 in the Chicago area. The automated kiosks will allow users to do 80% of what they can do at a post office without human intervention.

A customized mail initiative, to help mailers utilize more unusual and creative formats, already has been successful for some companies, such as Krispy Kreme. The doughnut chain saw an impressive 11% response rate for people bringing a doughnut box they received in the mail into a retail outlet and making a purchase. The postal service also is working to become more fiscally sound by trying to attain pricing flexibility.

"We need to be able to project costs and adjust rates on an annual basis," Potter said, noting that this would avoid the "rate shock" that hits many mailers when postal rates go up. The ability to make infrastructure changes is also needed, he said, which may include closing some post offices that are inefficient. The USPS now has some 2,500 post offices that serve fewer than 200 people, and more than 4,500 that make less than 200 deliveries a day. Hard copy direct mail is here to stay, Potter said, "because it works." Business-to-consumer direct mail sales in 2003 generated $423 in revenue, and are projected to hit $577 billion by 2007, an 8% annual growth rate. Potter doesn't believe predictions about the end of paper catalogs. he pointed out that many online orders are generated by those who receive print catalogs.

According to USPS research, 44% of direct mail is read by customers, and only 6% of advertising mail is considered "objectionable." Mail is intrusive, he conceded. But in the eyes of most consumers, unlike telemarketing and spam, mail is not "obnoxious. That's the advantage we have."

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COPYRIGHT 2004 PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Think about it. USPS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 4 Aug 2005 23:05:00 -0700

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One of the most memorable exchanges at the hearings held before the President's Commission on the Postal Service was one involving Postmaster General Jack Potter. He'd been asked by one of the commissioners about his plans to expand postal markets. Potter responded by saying rather candidly that the USPS really only had one thing it could market - its rate card. By this the PMG meant that as a closely regulated monopoly, the essence of the postal service's markets and services was defined by the Domestic Mail Classification Schedule (DMCS) and the postal rates derived from it.

While others wondered why the PMG didn't answer differently, the fact is that he was correct. The postal service indeed does define its products from the DMCS - a schedule that's partly within its control and partly under the sway of the Postal Rate Commission.

Nevertheless, if a rate schedule is all you've got, then the rate schedule should be where you put your time and energy to bring about new product offerings and improvements. The trouble is that this requires a little creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Unfortunately, both seem to be in short supply over at the USPS these days.

Mail is still, and for the foreseeable future is likely to remain, an important vehicle for business development and commerce. To stay attractive to its likely users, though, the postal service has to do a major overhaul of its schedule of products and services. Mailers' needs have changed. Postal products haven't. Nor has the postal service's perception of why mailers use mail or what is likely to encourage them to continue doing so in the future.

The USPS likes to restrict its thinking within the bounds of its four walls. If it lets anyone in, access is limited to those "consultants" who have learned that the best way to win the next postal contract is to tell the postal service what it wants to hear rather than what it needs to hear. Consequently, when the USPS sequesters itself to think of something new, at best it manages to serve up the "same old, same old," or, at worst, comes up with some new approach that ultimately will dissuade businesses from using the mail. It's time for the postal service to give product redesign some fresh thought. If it doesn't, there might not be much product worth thinking about.

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GENE A. DEL POLITO is president of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) in Arlington, VA.

COPYRIGHT 2004 PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

USPS need to think small

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 00:15:00 -0700

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In much of its past advertising and marketing, the U.S. Postal Service has done what many businesses do: It concentrated its time, energy and resources on harvesting what can be termed the ripest business fruit hanging from the lowest tree branches in the postal orchard. The USPS calls them "national accounts," customers that ostensibly get a postal representative of their own to handle day-to-day postal business concerns.

There are, however, lots of other trees in the postal orchard that offer a variety of fruits. They may be a little harder to pick, but the fruit is just as tasty. In this category I would place what can be termed "small business accounts." Within this group are the thousands of more diminutive businesses that make up the lion's share of American enterprise. Is this group really worth going after? The postal service can get itself a quick and accurate answer by taking a look at its own customer profile.

For instance, go to any postal customer council (PCC) in the United States. If the USPS were to find out from which constituency most PCC members came from, they'd find the majority are mail service-related providers rather than end users. These mail service providers, quite obviously, must be finding work somewhere that helps keep their own enterprises afloat. For sure, the source of a good deal of this work is from that small business sector. And where do you think those PCC service providers have been hanging their hats these days? Why, in the local chambers of commerce - the very places where the USPS could find prospective postage payers.
But gaining entry to this market requires a bit of effort, and many of the folks who have held the USPS' small business portfolio over the years have been loath to do anything resembling hard work. Instead, they've seemed more interested in just sitting back and waiting for small businesses to come to them. After all, they're the postal service.

It's time to get real. There are thousands of small businesses that never learned the value of mail as a medium for business development. This is a market that's more than ripe for the taking. Others have figured this out. In fact, tapping into the small business market is very much a part of FedEx's and UPS' strategic plans. The only sleepwalker here appears to be the postal service.

Print Official USPS postage using your PC at home. Free trial worth $80 available.

GENE A. DEL POLITO is president of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) in Arlington, VA.
COPYRIGHT 2004 PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Print Official USPS Postage

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 00:15:00 -0700

For small business owner who run his or her business with limited or no employee, the most time consuming job is to package and send the orders. This task is make worst when one has to queue up in post office to purchase the stamps and to send out the package to customers. It would be nice if they can print online usps postage from home or the office, which is not tied to a mailing date or a delivery address and can be used just like regular usps stamps. This will eliminate the needs to go the post office.

One of such service available in the market is offer by Stamps.com. This is service that allows you to print official usps postage directly from your PC and printer. The usps postage that you print will automatically be deducted from your Stamps.com account. You incur no surcharge on postage. You can use this service to print usps stamps. Print shipping labels. Print directly on envelopes to create professional looking mail. Add Stamps.com insurance to protect your valuable items. Use free Delivery Confirmation™ on your Priority Mail®. Keep track of postage spent with client codes and easy reporting. You can do it all. Approved by the USPS in 1999, Stamps.com is the leading provider of Internet-based postage solutions. Stamps.com is up to 80% cheaper than a traditional postage meter and serves more than 300,000 satisfied customers.
It offer a 4 Week No-Risk Trial too.