Effective February 7, 2011, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 709.3 to conduct a 2-year market test of the Alternate Postage Payment Method for Greeting Cards. The market test is effective from January 2, 2011, through December 31, 2012.
The Alternate Postage Payment Method for Greeting Cards relies on technology to identify, scan, and count each unique mailpiece as it moves through the postal system, and provides an easy, convenient way to send greeting cards without affixing postage.
Greeting card companies participating in this market test must produce machinable letter-size mailpieces with an Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb), a legend, a Facing Identification Mark (FIM) E, and a postage permit imprint.
Greeting card companies interested in participating in the market test should contact the Postal Service Transactions and Correspondence Program office: Jenny Kalthoff, Marketing Specialist, at janine.m.kalthoff@usps.gov or Veleana Hurd Whitaker, Marketing Specialist, at veleana.hurdwhitaker@usps.gov.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
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608 Postal Information and Resources
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8.0 USPS Contact Information
8.1 Postal Service
[Add new contact in alphabetical order as follows:]
Transactions and Correspondence
US Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plz SW Rm 5621
Washington DC 20260-0230
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700 Special Standards
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709 Experimental and Temporary Classifications
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[Delete current item 3.0 in its entirety and add new 3.0 as follows:]
3.0 Alternate Postage Payment Method for Greeting Cards
3.1 Description and Purpose
An Alternate Postage Payment for Greeting Cards, using Intelligent Mail technology, is being tested in a 2-year program from January 2, 2011, through December 31, 2012. Participants pay for postage based on sales data reported to the Postal Service. Each mailpiece is scanned and counted as it moves through postal mail processing equipment. Reports allow a debit from the participant’s Centralized Automated Processing System (CAPS) account for the postage that was not paid based on sales data. Mailpieces may be addressed to any domestic location by the sender.
3.2 Prices and Fees
There is no fee to participate in the market test. Participants agree to pay the market test postage price, which is higher than the First-Class Mail single-piece letter price, for each greeting card sold or mailed. Participants must have sufficient funds in their CAPS account to cover the market test postage for the mailpieces. Participants pay postage as follows:
a. At least 50 percent of the market test postage price will be paid to the Postal Service based on the participant’s reports of greeting cards sold. When a greeting card is sold to an individual customer, payment will be retained by the Postal Service, whether or not the greeting card is mailed.
b. The remainder of the postage will be collected based on scans of Intelligent Mail barcodes on mailed pieces as specified in 4.5. The scans will produce a count of pieces processed, allowing appropriate postage to be deducted from the CAPS account.
3.3 Eligibility for Participation
Greeting card companies interested in participating in the market test must conform to the following standards:
a. Each greeting card company must request and obtain written consent from Transactions and Correspondence (see 608.8.1).
b. Each letter-size mailpiece must be tested and approved prior to distribution (see 3.5).
c. Participants must print a unique Intelligent Mail barcode on each mailpiece using the Mailer ID (MID) assigned exclusively for the market test by the program office.
d. Participants must establish quality control measures to ensure production of mailpieces meeting all standards in 4.0.
3.4 Early Termination
Participants that terminate the market test prior to the end of the program period must maintain their CAPS account and will remain liable for 100 percent of the market test postage for each greeting card sold, but not scanned, at the time they terminate the agreement.
3.5 Mailpiece Characteristics
Mailpieces must include the following elements:
a. Intelligent Mail barcode.
b. Legend: First-Class Mail, permit number, and the city and state where the permit is held. Participants must maintain a permit imprint account.
c. Facing Identification Mark (FIM) E.
d. Postage Imprint: “No Postage Necessary If Mailed in the United States”.
3.6 USPS Responsibility
The Postal Service will assign Mailer IDs to be used exclusively for the market test; approve all mailpiece designs prior to the production, distribution, and sale of greeting cards; and conduct pre-production tests of mailpieces.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 1-27-11
