In January 2009, the Postal Service™ revised Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) and Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to offer Commercial Base prices to mailers who meet specific requirements and ship to domestic and international destinations.
Commercial Base prices are available with the following services: Express Mail®, Priority Mail®, Global Express Guaranteed® (GXG®), Express Mail International®, and Priority Mail International®.
These prices are available to mailers using several postage payment methods as defined in the DMM and IMM. This update clarifies the requirements for mailers who pay postage using information-based indicia (IBI) postage meters, which are approved by USPS®.
Mailpieces that bear postage that is paid using USPS-approved IBI postage meters must reflect the appropriate Commercial Base price marking, and employees must review the associated pricing and distribute accordingly. Commercial Base prices result in postage that is lower than retail postage prices. Such pieces should not be returned as shortpaid or postage due, except when the postage paid is not sufficient for Commercial Base prices according to the respective class of mail or the piece is not identified with the appropriate price marking “Commercial Base Price,” “Commercial Base Pricing,” or “ComBasPrice.”
Since offering these prices to mailers using USPS-approved IBI postage meters, there have been several inquiries regarding what type of meters qualify. To clarify which meters qualify for Commercial Base prices, we have provided four diagrams below (and a poster on page 2).
n Both of the top two postage meters are USPS-approved IBI postage meters, and they DO qualify for Commercial Base prices. Note: The IBI postage meters bear a two-dimensional barcode.
n The bottom two postage meters are non-IBI postage meters, and they DO NOT qualify for Commercial Base prices.
Commercial Base prices are available when paying postage with USPS-approved IBI postage meters in conjunction with Post Office–supplied shipping labels (addressing may be typed or handwritten), i.e., Express Mail, Label 11-B and Priority Mail, Label 228. Commercial Base prices are also available when paying postage with USPS-approved IBI postage meters in conjunction with USPS-approved online shipping labels from Click-n-Ship® and Shipping Assistant, and labels from USPS-approved PC Postage® providers.
Listed below are domestic and international mailing standards relative to postage paid using USPS-approved IBI postage meters only.
Domestic Mailings Standards
Price markings are required on domestic mailpieces. The respective markings must be printed by the mailer — or produced as part of the meter imprint. For pieces paid at the Commercial Base prices, one of the following markings must be reflected: “Commercial Base Price,” “Commercial Base Pricing,” or “ComBasPrice.” The appropriate marking must appear directly above, directly below, or to the left of the postage meter.
The outlined standards are specific to mailers using IBI postage meters.
Express Mail Commercial Base prices are available for:
n Customers who pay postage using USPS-approved IBI postage meters when using an Express Mail shipping label.
n Customers using USPS-approved IBI postage meters that print the IBI with the appropriate price marking (“Commercial Base Price,” “Commercial Base Pricing,” or “ComBasPrice”) and who electronically transmit transactional data to USPS and use an approved Express Mail shipping label, DMM 413.1.3.
Priority Mail Commercial Base prices are available for:
n Customers who pay postage using USPS-approved IBI postage meters in conjunction with an approved shipping label that bears a confirmation services barcode with a postal routing code (see DMM 708.5.0).
n Customers using USPS-approved IBI postage meters that print the IBI with the appropriate price marking “Commercial Base Price,” “Commercial Base Pricing,” or “ComBasPrice” and electronically transmit transactional data to USPS, DMM 423.1.2.
International Mailings Standards
The outlined standards are specific to mailers using IBI postage meters.
Global Express Guaranteed Commercial Base Prices are available for:
n A USPS-approved IBI postage meter used by the end-user customer, IMM 213.71.
Express Mail International Commercial Base Prices are available for:
n A USPS-approved IBI postage meter used by the end-user customer, provided the meter electronically transmits customs forms, IMM 223.241.
Priority Mail International Commercial Base Prices are available for:
n A USPS-approved IBI postage meter used by the end-user customer, provided the meter electronically transmits customs forms, IMM 233.231.
For a complete listing of domestic and international Commercial Base prices, you may reference Notice 123, Price List, on Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 2-25-10
