In light of the sizable price increases contained in the pending rate case for Standard Mail flats, the category affecting most catalogers, plans for cost-cutting options are in full swing. One way, perhaps, catalogers can reduce costs is to use expedited mail service from Atlanta-based MailExpress, which guarantees delivery within five days or the company will reimburse the mailer up to four times the cost of shipment.
Bill Marrin, the company’s vice president of marketing and sales, says the guarantee – the first of its kind for expedited mail services – covers flat mail at a rate of four times the postage and parcels at twice the cost of postage. MailExpress prices, he says, are typically 20% lower than the U.S. Postal Service’s First Class rates. At last week’s National Postal Forum in Washington, Marrin spoke with many attendees who were looking to switch from First Class to expedited mail “to mitigate their price increases,” he says.
“If speed of delivery means something for you, and you’re flat-size, then you might be in need of what we do,” Marrin says. “That mail will become very expensive under the rate case, and this puts us in a great spot in the marketplace.”
MailExpress, which launched in January 2006, has about 50 clients. “Expedited mail has lived between First Class and Standard Mail for a number of years. Our focus is on raising accountability and raising the bar on the speed by implementing a state-of-the-art network,” Marrin says. “Our level of automation has allowed us to create a new level of services inside the expedited category. With the postal rate case bringing significant increases to the flat-size mail category, we believe many customers shipping in high volume will look for low-cost solutions.”