Front Cover 2 Postal Bulletin 22300 (12-16-10)
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Front Cover 2 postal bulletin 22300 (12-16-10) Contents COVER STORY Retail Field Information Kit: January 2011 Price Changes. 3 Stop Sending Copies of PS Form 8176, Premium Forwarding Service Application, to Headquarters . 115 POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND FORMS UPDATES Supply Management SmartPay Purchase Card Program Accountability Manuals Acknowledgement, Account Setup, and Maintenance DMM Revision: Domestic Shipping Services Pricing Documents Update . 115 and Mailing Standards Changes. 10 DMM Revision: 2011 Changes for Domestic Mailing Services . 34 DMM Revision: Products Mailable at Nonprofit PULL-OUT INFORMATION Standard Mail Prices. 40 Fraud DMM Revision: Clarification of the Post Office Withholding of Mail Order . 47 Box Lock Replacement Fee . 40 Invalid Express Mail Corporate Account Numbers . 49 DMM Revision: Optional Mail Preparation Standards Missing, Lost, or Stolen U.S. Money Order Forms . 51 for Flat-Size Mailpieces in FSS Zones . 41 Missing, Lost, or Stolen Canadian Money Order Forms . 56 DMM Revision: Extension of the Simplified Verifying U.S. Postal Service Money Orders . 59 Address Format. 46 Counterfeit Canadian Money Order Forms . 59 DMM Revision: Submission of Electronic Documentation Toll-Free Number Available to Verify Canadian With Comailed and Copalletized Mailings . 73 Money Orders . 59 DMM Revision: Open and Distribute — Express Mail Other Information and Priority Mail Changes and Updates . 76 Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail . 60 DMM Revision: Labeling List Changes . 79 Missing Children Posters. 65 IMM Revision: Changes to Pricing and Mailing Thrift Savings Plan Fact Sheet. 69 Standards for International Shipping Services . 82 IMM Revision: Israel Is Changing to Price Group 5 for First-Class Mail International Service and Airmail M-bag Service. 95 Postal Bulletin Index Handbooks Semi-Annual Index. PB 22288 (7-1-10) Handbook AS-709 Revision: Accountability Acknowledgment Requirements . 96 Publications Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit Publication 431 Revision: Changes to Post Office ® Box Service and Caller Service Fee Groups. 97 Forever Stamp Notices Revised Editions of Notice 32-B and Notice 32-C Will Be Available Soon, But Previous Versions Are Still Valid . 99 ORGANIZATION INFORMATION USPS National Emergency Hotline Corporate Communications Is your facility operating? Call 888-363-7462 Forever Stamp Program Expands To Give Customers Convenience and More Choices. 101 Correction: Government Relations Contacts Table. 102 Finance USPS Resumes SmartPay Purchase Card Program SOX Testing . 103 Intelligent Mail and Address Quality Publication 75, Mover’s Guide, News: Distribution Increased to Four Times per Year. 103 Mailing and Shipping Services Mail Alert . 104 Philately Stamp Announcement 11-02: Liberty Bell Forever Stamped Envelope . 105 Stamp Announcement 11-03: Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit . 108 Pictorial Postmarks Announcement . 110 How to Order the First Day of Issue Digital Color or Traditional Postmarks . 112 Pricing International Mail — Service Restored for Global Express Guaranteed Service to Yemen . 113 Also on the Web at www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm Cover Story postal bulletin 22300 (12-16-10) 3 Cover Story Field Information Kit: January 2011 Price Changes Highlights of Changes — Domestic and Express Mail Commercial Base Prices International Shipping Services Commercial base prices will not increase in January On November 2, 2010, the Postal Service™ announced 2011. The Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope will remain new prices and product features for domestic and interna- priced at $17.40. Customers who print postage using an tional Shipping Services, effective January 2, 2011. We are information-based indicia (IBI) postage meter must print also implementing new mailing standards consisting of the IBI with the appropriate price marking, electronically classification changes to support the price changes, as transmit transactional data to the Postal Service, and use a ® well as other initiatives found in this edition of the Postal USPS -approved Express Mail shipping label in order to Bulletin. be eligible for commercial base prices. The following domestic and international Shipping Ser- Express Mail Commercial Plus Prices vices prices will change for 2011: Commercial plus prices are reduced on average by 5 ® Express Mail . percent. The Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope will be priced ® Priority Mail . at $12.72. Commercial plus prices are available to new and ® existing customers who have account volume exceeding a Parcel Select . minimum threshold of 5,000 Express Mail pieces mailed in Parcel Return Service. the previous four quarters (reduced from last year’s thresh- Other competitive products. old of 6,000 pieces), or who have a customer commitment ® ® Global Express Guaranteed (GXG ). agreement with USPS and use an approved payment ® ® Express Mail International (EMI ). method. New with this price change is the additional option ® ® of using an IBI postage meter to pay for Express Mail com- Priority Mail International (PMI ). mercial plus postage. Customers must print the IBI with the Airmail M-Bags. appropriate price marking, electronically transmit transac- ® International Priority Airmail™ (IPA ). tional data daily to USPS for all mailpieces and all catego- ® International Surface Airmail (ISAL ). ries, and use a USPS-approved Express Mail shipping label. International extra services. Summary of Domestic Changes Priority Mail On average, Priority Mail prices increase by 3.5 percent. Express Mail Priority Mail flat-rate pricing is one flat rate regardless of the On average, Express Mail prices increase by 4.6 per- actual weight (up to 70 pounds) or domestic destination. cent. Express Mail flat-rate pricing is one flat rate regard- The Postal Service is increasing the convenience of using less of the actual weight (up to 70 pounds) or domestic Priority Mail — all domestic USPS-produced Priority Mail destination. The Sunday/holiday premium remains at envelopes smaller than 12.5" x 9.5" will be priced the same $12.50 for a second year. No other fuel surcharges, Satur- as the regular Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope, whether or day delivery, or residential delivery charges apply. A new not the envelope includes the wording “Flat Rate Enve- Express Mail Legal Flat Rate Envelope has been added and lope.” This new option includes flat-rate pricing for the is priced the same as the Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope. USPS-produced gift card envelopes, small envelopes, and Express Mail prices can be found on Postal Explorer® at window envelopes. http://pe.usps.com. Additional new Priority Mail Flat Rate offerings include Express Mail Retail Prices the Priority Mail Legal Flat Rate Envelope and Priority Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelope (formerly available only to com- Retail prices increase on average 5 percent. Other than mercial plus customers), which are offered for the same the Flat Rate Envelope, retail prices continue to be based price at retail as the Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope. on distance (zone) and weight. The Express Mail Flat Rate Envelope retail price remains unchanged at $18.30. Other Hold For Pickup service, which allows mailpieces to be retail prices start at $13.25. held at a designated Post Office™ location for pickup by a specified addressee or designee, is now available for all online and commercial Priority Mail items except Critical 4 postal bulletin 22300 (12-16-10) Cover Story Mail items. Packages must bear the Hold For Pickup label As a new postage payment option, Merchandise and Intelligent Mail® package barcode. Return Service (MRS) is allowed for pieces returned at Priority Mail prices. Priority Mail Retail Prices When measuring pieces to calculate pricing tiers, any Retail prices increase an average of 3.9 percent. Other fraction of a measurement is now rounded down to than flat-rate items, Priority Mail retail prices, starting at the nearest 1/4 inch instead of rounding off each $5.10, continue to be priced based on distance (zone) and measurement to the nearest whole inch; all other weight. We continue to offer the Priority Mail Large Flat measurement steps remain the same. Rate Box to APO/FPO/DPO destination addresses at $2 less than retail prices. Note: Commercial base and commercial plus prices apply to postage only, and do not include extra services such as Priority Mail Commercial Base Prices insurance and Pickup on Demand service. Commercial base prices increase an average of 3.2 per- Domestic Flat Rate Products cent and are 6.6 percent lower on average than retail Commercial Commercial prices. Commercial base prices are available to customers Retail Base Plus who pay postage with USPS-approved IBI postage meters; Express Mail Envelope $18.30 $17.40 $12.72 to qualify for commercial base prices, they must print the Legal envelope $18.30 $17.40 $12.72 IBI with the appropriate price marking for commercial plus Priority Mail items and electronically transmit transactional data to the Envelope $4.95 $4.75 $4.70 Postal Service. Padded envelope $4.95* $4.95 $4.90 Legal envelope $4.95* $4.95 $4.90 Priority Mail Commercial Plus Prices Gift card envelope $4.95 $4.75 $4.70 Commercial plus prices increase an average of 2 per- Small envelope $4.95 $4.75 $4.70 Window envelope $4.95 $4.75 $4.70 cent and are 13.6 percent lower on average than retail Small box $5.20 $5.00 $4.95 prices. Commercial plus prices are available to new and Medium box $10.95 $10.50 $9.97 existing customers who qualify for commercial base prices Large box $14.95 $14.20 $13.67 and whose cumulative account volume is more than a Large box $12.95 $12.20 $11.67 (APO/FPO/DPO) combined total of 5,000 letter-size and flat-size pieces (including Flat Rate Envelopes and Critical Mail but exclud- * Packaging for the USPS-produced Priority Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelope and Legal Flat Rate Envelope is not available at Post Office ing Padded Flat Rate Envelopes) or 75,000 total pieces (let- retail locations but may be ordered online at www.usps.com/shop.