Persons who don’t routinely monitor government affairs must have been puzzled earlier this week when, from one day to the next, the Postal Service announced it wouldn’t – then reversed course and announced it would – accept packages from China Post and Hong Kong Post. As was later apparent to the broader mailing community, this wasn’t a situation in which…
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Closing but Not Closing
Post offices nationwide have typically served two purposes: retail in the front and carrier operations in the back. Though some small offices in rural areas may have only a few or no carriers, larger towns and cities, as well as stations and branches of large post offices, more frequently have both. As Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has advanced his 10-Year…
Read MoreInsights On Direct Mail
In an era of intense media competition for advertising dollars and readers’ attention, Mailers Hub sponsor AccuZIP has shared some useful information with subscribers about the effectiveness of direct mail.
Read MorePerception vs Reality
Very few – if any – regular readers of Mailers Hub News may include in their daily routine monitoring the Federal Register or the docket postings on the Postal Regulatory Commission’s website. Those who do, however, likely have noticed the dozens – hundreds – of Postal Service negotiated service agreements that have been filed and approved in recent months. Paperwork…
Read More2025 Webinar Update
As we roll out the 2025 Mailers Hub webinar calendar, we’d like to share two updates. The first is that we are moving our standard webinar time slot from Tuesdays to Thursdays. We will keep the same 1:00 PM ET time slot and the same approximate three-week interval. However, looking back at schedule adjustments and the industry event calendar from 2024…
Read MoreA New Legal Worry: Extended Producer Responsibility Laws
Commercial mail producers have another legal development warranting their attention. What is EPR? Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that has gained traction in the last several years. It aims to shift responsibility for the recycling and related post-use costs of packaging and other recyclable goods onto “producers” – a definition that can reach brand-owner retailers. As of…
Read MoreGuaranteed Maybe
Consumers may be confused by what the Postal Service says about the delivery service they should expect. As shown on the USPS Website, Priority Mail Express “provides next-day to 2-day delivery service,” Priority Mail offers “delivery in 1-3 business days,” and USPS Ground Advantage advertises “expected delivery in 2-5 business days.” At the recent House committee hearing, PMG Louis DeJoy…
Read MoreOIG Audit Finds Substantial Impact from LTO
One of the more controversial changes being implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy as part of his 10-Year Plan is the elimination of afternoon collection trips from outlying post offices to processing centers. The “Local Transportation Optimization” initiative (most recently rebranded as “Regional Transportation Optimization”) was introduced in October 2023 in the service area of the Richmond (VA) regional processing…
Read MorePrivatization – Analysis
As American politics veers again next year, one of the favored ideas that will re-emerge – as part of the broad push for “government efficiency” – will be the privatization of government services, replacing what the federal government does with the same or reduced services supplied by private sector companies. The USPS Likely to be on the list of potential…
Read More“Turnaround Mail” – Analysis
For reasons perhaps known only to the operational brain trust dutifully serving Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and his 10-Year Plan, the redesign of the postal processing network seems to have all originating mail flowing into the 60 or so regional processing and distribution centers from which it will go to other RPDCs or back through local processing centers for distribution…
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