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General Program Information
1. What is the 2010 Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
The Standard Mail Summer Sale offers eligible companies a 30% postage rebate on Standard Mail letter and flat volumes that exceed a predetermined threshold. The Sale runs July 1 through September 30, 2010. This threshold is determined by taking a company’s Standard Mail volume mailed during the time period from July to September 2009 and adding 5 percent (SPLY +5%). Only Standard Mail letters and flats in excess of this threshold will qualify for the rebate.
2. Why is the Postal Service offering a Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
The intent of the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program is to provide an incentive for customers to increase Standard Mail use above the volume they would otherwise have sent. Increasing Standard Mail will provide customers additional opportunities to gain new customers, retain existing customers or simply improve brand awareness.
Company Eligibility 3. Who is eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
To be eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program, a company must have mailed 350,000 or more Standard Mail letters or flats (complete mailpieces) between July 1 and September 30 in 2009.
4. How can I participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
All companies who meet the criteria and are eligible to participate will receive an invitation letter. Eligible companies who received a letter can apply online at www.usps.com/summersale. The deadline for application is May 28, 2010.
5. Are mail service providers eligible for the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
Mail service providers are not eligible for the Sale Program, nor can they apply on behalf of their customers. They are encouraged to tell their customers about the program and help their customers provide documentation of mailing volumes. A Mail Service Provider (MSP) is a company or entity that creates, prepares, processes and presents or inducts mail for other companies into the US Postal network. Thus, if a company creates, prepares, processes or presents mail to the US Postal Service but does not own the content/message in the envelope, or is reimbursed for the postage paid, it is an MSP. The types of entities that are considered MSPs include, but are not limited to: • Presort Bureaus • Letter Shops • Mail Consolidators • List Providers • Printers • Billing Processors • Advertising Mail Services companies • Fulfillment Houses. The decision as to which companies meet the definition of a mail service provider, and are therefore ineligible to participate, is at the sole discretion of the Postal Service.
Volume Report, Certification Letter and Documentation
6. What happens after I apply online?
Once you submit your online application at: www.usps.com/summersale, a follow-up email will be sent to you with the following three attachments:
- Revenue and Volume Threshold Report
- Certification Letter
- Threshold Inquiry Form
The Revenue and Volume Threshold Report will list your Standard Mail letter and flat volume and revenue history by permit number for each volume threshold period: June 2009, July through September 2009, and October 2009. If you agree with your revenue and volume history you must sign the Certification Letter and return a copy via email or mail to the Summer Sale program office. If you do not agree with your revenue and volume history in your Report you must fill out the Threshold Inquiry Form and return it to the Summer Sale program office. The Summer Sale Program office must receive either the customers signed Certification letter or the Threshold Inquiry form no later than June 30, 2010.
7. How do I contact the Summer Sale program office?
By Mail: United States Postal Service Attn: Summer Sale Program Office 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, RM 5410 Washington, DC 20260-5410 By Email: [email protected]
8. What should I do if I have volume mailed under a mail service provider’s permit that is not shown on my threshold report?
If your company used any permits owned by mail service providers (MSPs), you must fill out an MSP Volume Claim Form and provide supporting documentation to have this volume credited to your company. The preferred document for supporting documentation is a Form 3602 Mailing Statement. Invoices and other supporting documentation may only be used if they contain all of the following:
- Class of mail and processing category – i.e. the documentation must prove that the mail
sent was Standard Mail letters or flats.
- The cost of the postage – In order to determine your rebate, we need to know the price per
piece so this information is necessary.
- Date of the mailing – the documentation must show that the mail was sent during the
Summer Sale mailing period or threshold period
- The volume and revenue numbers much match the totals you submitted in your MSP
Claim Form
- Permit Number under which mail was sent, mail service provider name and your company
name A copy of the MSP Volume Claim Form can be downloaded from the Summer Sale link on the USPS National Customer Support Center website at: http://ribbs.usps.gov/. Note: • If permit mail is commingled, volumes of Standard Mail letters and flats of the participating company must be documented separately from the total permit volumes. • Customers registered through the Business Customer Gateway may use PostalOne statements as documentation.
9. Why does my report show volumes for June 2009 and October 2009?
A volume threshold will be established for June 2010 and October 2010 using same period last year volume plus five percent. If your Standard Mail letters and flats volume does not meet these thresholds, the difference will be deducted from the volume qualifying for the rebate.
10. Are government agencies using Official Mail Accounting System eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
Yes. Government agencies are eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program, as long as they meet the mailing volume requirements.
11. What if I believe I have met the eligibility standards but was not notified by a letter?
You may apply for participation in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program by contacting the Summer Sale program office at [email protected] All inquiries must be received by May 15, 2010.
What Mail Qualifies
12. Is metered mail eligible for the Sale Program?
Yes. Metered mail is eligible for the Sale Program as long as invoices are provided to document the volumes sent.
13. What types of mail are NOT considered Standard Mail letters or flats and are therefore ineligible for the program?
No parcels are eligible for the program. Bound Printed Matter is not Standard Mail. Non flatmachinables, although Standard Mail, are not letters or flats. Only complete mailpieces are eligible, so partial components of mailpieces are not eligible, and neither are repositionable notes or detached address labels.
14. How does the Postal Service determine the date of the mailing for purposes of the Summer Sale requirements?
In order to be eligible for rebates, mailings must be “accepted” by the Postal Service during the sales period July 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010. The definition of "acceptance" is the date that payment has been drawn down from your account for the mailing.
Rebate
15. How will the 30% rebate be calculated?
The rebate will be calculated as 30% of the average price per piece multiplied by the number of pieces mailed above the threshold.
16. Does my company need to exceed the threshold to qualify for the 30% rebate?
Yes. Only pieces sent over the threshold will count toward the 30% rebate.
17. If I apply to participate what happens if I do not meet my volume threshold?
If a company does not meet its volume threshold, no rebate will be credited.
18. How will my company receive the rebate?
The 30% postage rebate will be credited to your company’s permit imprint or Centralized Account Payment System (CAPS) account after the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program ends and all qualifying volumes are reconciled. The rebate can not be split amongst several permits and can only be deposited into one account. Your company will receive the rebate credit no earlier than forty five (45) days after the end of the program period. Customers who do not provide account information for the rebate, claim MSP volumes during the summer period, and who open new permits during the sale period will not be processed in the initial round of rebate deposits in December 2010.
19. What if I do not have my own permit and use a mail service provider’s permit?
The rebate can be deposited into the permit imprint account of the mail service provider. You will need to arrange with the mail service provider how they will credit you the rebate. Although not required, it is also an option to open up a permit account in your company’s name before the end of the program period and have the rebate credited to that account.
Additional Questions
20. Where can I send questions about the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
Please direct any questions to [email protected]