Summer Postage Sale from the USPS

The United States Postal Service® (USPS®) announced another Summer Sale on postage for this year. The sale offers a 30% credit to Standard Mail® customers with an increased mail volume of letters and flats over a predetermined threshold (5% volume increase over the same period in 2009). The sale period is from July 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010.

Sale Participation

Participation in this sale is limited to Standard Mail letters and flats (both regular and nonprofit prices), and the USPS will be issuing invitations to eligible customers by May 1, 2010. Customers not receiving invitations, but who believe they may be eligible by meeting the minimum volume criteria of 350,000 pieces during the sale period, may request a review of their eligibility by sending an email to summersale@usps.gov. The application for eligibility review must be submitted no later than May 15, 2010.

Details on Postage Sale depends on Mail Volume

Details of the summer postage sale may be found in the Federal Register notice, which was posted on April 8, 2010. The USPS will be updating Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) section 709.2 to reflect this new sale. The incentives are offered in the form of a postage credit, issued to the customer’s permit account once the sale period is over. The credit will reflect 30% of the average price per piece on the increased mail volume (over the same period in 2009) mailed during the sale period. Customers must be able to document the mail volumes in order to be eligible for the postage credit. Eligible permits include advance accounts, postage stamp permits, and postage meter permits. Customers using the permits of mail service providers may also participate in the sale as long as they can document their mail volumes mailed under the mail service providers permits. Mail service providers are not eligible to participate in the sale.

History of Postage Sales

The USPS has successfully offered postage sales in the past. These sales became possible as the result of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. As part of that legislation, the USPS was granted the ability to offer incentives to mailers to help increase mail volumes. These sales are particularly advantageous to the USPS when offered during seasonally slower mail periods, or to boost revenue.