Effective September 6, 2011, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 233.7 to allow First-Class Mail® letters weighing over 1 ounce but no more than 2 ounces to be eligible for the Reply Rides Free incentive program. Currently, eligible pieces can weigh no more than 1.2 ounces. The increase in the weight limit is designed to encourage more mailers to participate in this incentive program and allow current participants to increase the weight of their First-Class Mail letters to include more content.
This change will be reflected in the September 6, 2011, online update to the DMM, but is effective for program participation beginning on September 1, 2011. New participants may apply for participation from August 15 to September 15, 2011.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Letters and Cards
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230 First-Class Mail
233 Prices and Eligibility
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7.0 First-Class Mail Incentive Programs
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7.2 Reply Rides Free Program
[Revise the first sentence of 7.2 and add a new second sentence as follows:]
The Reply Rides Free program provides an incentive for mailers to include additional contents in their automation First-Class Mail letters by providing a postage credit for letters weighing over 1 ounce but no more than 1.2 ounces for mailings accepted between January 2, 2011, through August 31, 2011. For mailings accepted from September 1 through December 31, 2011, the weight limit increases for letters weighing over 1 ounce to no more than 2 ounces.***
7.2.1 Basic Mailpiece Eligibility
Letter-size mailpieces mailed by an approved program participant are eligible for a postage credit under all of the following conditions:
[Revise item 7.2.1a as follows:]
a. Eligible automation letters must weigh more than 1 ounce but no more than 2 ounces (no more than 1.2 ounces for mailings accepted from January 2 through August 31, 2011) and bear the correct Intelligent Mail barcode corresponding to the address. Mailers pay the applicable 2-ounce price for these pieces.
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[Revise item 7.2.1g as follows:]
g. The program period for eligible mail volume is from January 2, 2011, through December 31, 2011. To be eligible for any postage credit, the total volume of First-Class Mail commercial letters paid at presorted or automation letter prices mailed during the 2011 program period must meet or exceed the USPS-determined threshold volume (under 7.2.1). The volume commitment for customers who begin participation in the program on September 1, 2011, or later will be prorated based on the volume during September–December, 2010, as a proportion of total 2010 volume.
7.2.2 Mailer Participation Eligibility and Documentation
***Mail owners are considered eligible for the program as follows:
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b. ***Accordingly, pieces must be presented for mailing under either of the following conditions:
[Revise items 7.2.2b1 and b2 as follows:]
1. A separate mailing of identical weight pieces, all of which weigh more than 1 ounce but no more than 2 ounces (no more than 1.2 ounces for mailings accepted from January 1 through August 31, 2011).
2. A mailing of nonidentical weight pieces, supported by documentation under 705.2.0, with individual piece weight listings substantiating that participant pieces weigh more than 1 ounce but no more than 2 ounces (no more than 1.2 ounces for mailings accepted from January 1 through August 31, 2011). The manifest listing must also provide a total of eligible pieces.
c. At the end of the 2011 program period, approved participants must be able to document their total mailed volume of commercial First-Class Mail letters during the program period, the total mail volume eligible for postage credit under 7.2.2b, and meet the following conditions:
[Revise item 7.2.2c1 as follows:]
1. Letters mailed in the 2011 program period that meet the USPS-determined mail volume threshold, as provided in 7.2.1, must weigh more than 1 ounce up to a maximum of 2 ounces (no more than 1.2 ounces for mailings accepted from January 1 through August 31, 2011).
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7.2.3 Application
[Revise the first two sentences of 7.2.3 as follows:]
Mail owners may apply at www.usps.com/business/reply-rides-free.htm no later than January 31, 2011. Mail owners wishing to participate beginning on or after September 1, 2011, may apply from August 15 through September 15, 2011.***
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7.2.4 Mailer Response
[Revise the text of 7.2.4 as follows:]
Mailers disputing the USPS-verified mail volume or USPS-determined threshold may request a review by following the procedure outlined at www.usps.com/business/reply-rides-free.htm
no later than February 15, 2011. Mailers beginning participation on or after September 1, 2011, may request a review no later than October 15, 2011.
7.2.5 Program Credits
Approved participants that can demonstrate an increase in their mailed volume of commercial First-Class Mail letters in the 2011 program period, meeting or exceeding the threshold volume as determined under 7.2.1, qualify for a credit, after the end of the program period, to their designated Centralized Account Payment System (CAPS) permit imprint account, as follows:
[Revise item 7.2.5a as follows:]
a. The letter-size pieces for which the credit is claimed must weigh more than 1 ounce but no more than 2 ounces (not more than 1.2 ounces for mailings accepted from January 1 through August 31, 2011) and be mailed under all standards in 7.2.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 8-11-11
