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A lesson for you about Bulk Mail from US Postal Service:

What Are Bulk Rates?

The Postal Service offers discounts for bulk mailings because you do some of the work that otherwise would have to be done by the Postal Service (for example, sorting the mail by ZIP Code or transporting the mail to a different postal facility). Everyone benefits from this "worksharing." Mailers make an investment in time and technology, and the Postal Service's costs are reduced and you pay less postage.

In order to mail at bulk rates, you need to:

Get a mailing permit (permission to mail) and pay an annual mailing fee.
Pay postage using one of several convenient methods: precanceled stamps, postage meter, or permit imprint.
Make smart choices about the size, shape, and weight of your mailpiece.
Ensure that your addresses are accurate.
Presort the mailpieces (separate or sort your mail by ZIP Codes).
Take your mail to the post office where you hold your mailing permit.

The choices you make can result in significant postage savings. Click here for a discussion about the postage rates you'll pay.

A lesson for you about Bulk Mail from US Postal Service:

What Are Bulk Rates?

The Postal Service offers discounts for bulk mailings because you do some of the work that otherwise would have to be done by the Postal Service (for example, sorting the mail by ZIP Code or transporting the mail to a different postal facility). Everyone benefits from this "worksharing." Mailers make an investment in time and technology, and the Postal Service's costs are reduced and you pay less postage.

In order to mail at bulk rates, you need to:

Get a mailing permit (permission to mail) and pay an annual mailing fee.
Pay postage using one of several convenient methods: precanceled stamps, postage meter, or permit imprint.
Make smart choices about the size, shape, and weight of your mailpiece.
Ensure that your addresses are accurate.
Presort the mailpieces (separate or sort your mail by ZIP Codes).
Take your mail to the post office where you hold your mailing permit.

The choices you make can result in significant postage savings. Click here for a discussion about the postage rates you'll pay.

really, you mean the service in the states that's policed by the us postal inspectors? you're aware that if i were to receive pretty much any spam i now get by email by the usps instead i could report it to the uspi, yes? most spam i get is illegal - pyramid schemes, fraud and illegal services. and the only way to economically do mail shots is to get the mail registered as junk mail which the post office can track.

so yeah, i do get mail. and while it can be one-way comms if it's in any way illegal i can get my government to track those people down.

Wouldn't the U.S. Postal Service have prior art?

Gotta remember to preview. (Say what you like about UBB, at least it lets you edit your mistakes!)

Wherever will I download "Songs of Ocarina" and soundtrack to "Legends of the Fall" if they shut off access to this great site!!!!!

Here. Of course, you'll need a postal network address, a modem for the connection medium, and some client software.

If you open the package and like what you find, you may keep it for free. In this instance, "finders-keepers" applies unconditionally.

http://www.usps.com/websites/depart/inspect/merch. htm

The USPS already does have an Electronic Postmark service.

From the article:

E-COM was a message system designed to serve volume mailers, such as Shell Oil and Merrill Lynch, by generating mail from data stored electronically. The service rolled out to 25 post offices and transmitted the messages to other cities, which then transformed them into hard copy and delivered them within two days. The Postal Service was to be the active agent in E-COM, involved with all aspects of management.

Check out the online services that they offer. One simply uploads a document in a particular digital format (Word, Wordperfect,...), and USPS will print and deliver the item(s) to one or many addresses. Just browse USPS.com and see all the services they offer online. (Isn't it interesting they push usps.com as their URL.)

From the article:

E-COM was a message system designed to serve volume mailers, such as Shell Oil and Merrill Lynch, by generating mail from data stored electronically. The service rolled out to 25 post offices and transmitted the messages to other cities, which then transformed them into hard copy and delivered them within two days. The Postal Service was to be the active agent in E-COM, involved with all aspects of management.

Check out the online services that they offer. One simply uploads a document in a particular digital format (Word, Wordperfect,...), and USPS will print and deliver the item(s) to one or many addresses. Just browse USPS.com and see all the services they offer online. (Isn't it interesting they push usps.com as their URL.)

The article talks about an electronic service where you could transmit electronic messages between roughly 25 post offices. The messages would be printed out and then hand delivered like normal mail.

Prepare and send hardcopy mail from the convenience of your computer. Create, print, and send resumes, newsletters, and everything in between. No more printing, stuffing, or trips to the post office. Upload a document. Pay online. We do the rest!

On June 8, 1959, in a move a postal official heralded as "of historic significance to the peoples of the entire world," the Navy submarine U.S.S. Barbero fired a guided missile carrying 3,000 letters at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Mayport, Florida. "Before man reaches the moon," the official was quoted as saying, "mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to Britain, to India or Australia by guided missiles."

History proved differently, but this experiment with missile mail exemplifies the pioneering spirit of the Post Office Department when it came to developing faster, better ways of moving the mail.

"Yeah, It's called Canada"

That's all well and good, but I have international customers and my bank doesn't charge me anything when I make a deposit in a foreign currencies, including Canadian dollars. How much would it cost you to deposit a US personal check? I bet it's not very pretty...

"I payed for my dinner with my bank card (via Interac) AT my table at the restaurant thanks to a nifty little wireless device the waiters carry around with them."

Oh yeah, that's what I need. My debit card number broadcast over radio frequencies.

From one of your linked sites:

"The banks will watch to see what kind of response there is over the summer months and each will set up their own pricing structure. The fee will likely be between $1 and $1.50 per electronic transfer,"

For about the equivalent of those rates in Yankee dollars I could sign up with, for example, USPS Payment Services which not only allows me to e-mail people money, but they also tie their "Pay@Delivery" service into Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation so that the seller doesn't get payment until the package gets delivered. Oh, and it's also one of those BillPay services where they'll mail a cashier's check out to a payee if they need to.

"along the lines of what you pay to make an automated teller withdrawal at a bank machine that belongs to a bank where you don't do business. "

Heh heh... except my bank will pay another bank's ATM fees, up to $1.50 US.

I like my bank just the way it is, thankyouverymuch.

Want to cut down on your physical junk mail? Try this site: http://www.usps.com/websites/depart/inspect/fraud/ GetOffMailingLists.htm. Also offers removal from phone and e-mail lists too. See page for specific details.

When I received a DRA letter, it seems like a couple of months ago, I thought it was deceptive, so I filed a complaint at http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFra udComplaint.htm. A week or so later, I got postal mail from DRA saying that had received my complaint from the post office and would remove my name from their mailing list and I haven't heard from then since.

Yeah, they used to make $500, $1000, $5000, and even a few $10000 notes. And the six or so ridiculous $100000 notes.

Today we have these things called credit cards. Why would you ever need a $500 bill when you can use your credit card? Or a debit card or a personal check? The main uses for such a thing would be the illegal ones.

Anyway, go to the Post Office and get a $500 money order if you really want an anonymous way to carry $500 on a single piece of paper. (see www.usps.com for more info on money orders.)

The Post Office most certainly can assign multiple municipalities to a single zip code. Do a search at the usps on ZipCode 01002. You'll find that it is valid for Amherst, Cushman, and Pelham, and known to be in use (incorrectly) for South Amherst.

What does the Post Office say your city is when you enter in the ZIP Code?

This is also an excellent time for the US-based portion of our community to follow up with our congressional representatives on this issue. Remember, both the House and the Senate place very little stock in email. If you want to get their attention, use either snail-mail or fax, as detailed above. Snail-mail only costs about $1, fax is even cheaper.

1. Go here and get your ZIP+4 code.
2. Go here and identify your Congressperson.
3. When you click on the "Contact My Representative" button, you will be taken to a form. Ignore it. Instead, click on the link for your Representative and go to their homepage. Hopefully, they will have contact information someplace where you can find it. Copy it into your favorite word-processor.
4. Go here and identify your Senators. Again, we hope that they make it easy to find their contact information.
5. If you are thinking ahead, save three "empty" letters, addressed to each of the above. This will save time the next time you need to write.
6. Use your word processor to write an essay explaining your position. Be verbose. Copy this into each of the three letters you prepared above.
7. If you found any fax numbers (and your computer can print-to-fax!) send copies of your letter that way. Otherwise, print it out and send it by regular mail.

1. What problem would new OMB policies solve?
2. How well would they solve the problem?
3. What new problems would they add?
4. What are the economic and social costs?
5. Given the above, is it worth the cost?

1. BBB.org
2. FTC
3. USPS Post Master [usps.com]

If you have received a fake invoice, go and file a complaint!
http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFra udComplaint.htm

• Solicitations in Guise of Bills, Invoices, or Statements of Account (39 USC 3001(D); 39 USC 3005)

  1.2 Required Disclaimer

  The solicitation must bear on its face either the disclaimer required by 39 USC 3001(d)(2)(A) or the notice:

  • THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

  The statutory disclaimer or the alternative notice must be displayed in conspicuous boldface capital letters of a color prominently contrasting with the background against which it appears, including all other print on the face of the solicitation and that are at least as large, bold, and conspicuous as any other print on the face of the solicitation but not smaller than 30-point type

There's no sign of the required disclaimer in Verisign's fake invoice. This is a matter for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which has law enforcement powers. They can also cancel Verisign's bulk mailing permit, or deny them permission to mail at all.

1. Go here and get your ZIP+4 code.
2. Go here and identify your Congressperson.
3. When you click on the "Contact My Representative" button, you will be taken to a form. Ignore it. Instead, click on the link for your Representative and go to their homepage. Hopefully, they will have contact information someplace where you can find it. Copy it into your favorite word-processor.
4. Go here and identify your Senators. Again, we hope that they make it easy to find their contact information.
5. If you are thinking ahead, save three "empty" letters, addressed to each of the above. This will save time the next time you need to write.
6. Use your word processor to write an essay explaining your position. Be verbose. Copy this into each of the three letters you prepared above.
7. If you found any fax numbers (and your computer can print-to-fax!) send copies of your letter that way. Otherwise, print it out and send it by regular mail.

I always use my cell phone number whenever I give out my number to anyone. In fact, since my non-cell phone belongs to my roomate, I don't really have any other number to give. In any case, while I used to get phone solicitations on a regular basis, I've gotten exactly 3 since I got the cell phone almost a year ago. Yes, I could have sued for $1500 (3x$500), and I may have won, but it wasn't worth it for me, because they stopped.

It's really nice getting zero telephone solicitations. Unfortunately, I can't sign up for USPS payment services (can't give them a cell phone number, has to be your home number), and had to fudge the truth when I signed up for Netbank (can't give them a cell phone number, so I gave them my efax voice-mail). I probably would have given the USPS my efax voice-mail number, but then they started asking for my SSN and my driver's license number, and I thought that was a little too ridiculous.

Actually, according to the United States Postal Service ZIP+4 Code Look-up, the standardized address for 3600 North Clarck Street is:

3600 N CLARK ST
CHICAGO IL 60613-3808


According to the Chicago Cubs Ballpark page, (click on "Wrigley Field"), the address is:

Wrigley Field
1060 West Addison
Chicago, IL 60613-4397

If you look up the 3600 N CLARK address or the 1060 W ADDISON ST address at MapQuest you'll see both addresses are essentially correct.

Both Big Sean O and The Blues Brothers were right after all. :-)

1. BBB.org
2. FTC
3. USPS Post Master

Because this was sent by US Postal Main, I complained to the USPS at: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFra udComplaint.htm

The text of my complaint:

I received a commercial solicitation for Verisign Services ( internet domain registration ) that was not clearly indicated as such. It was disguised to look like an annual renewl notice for internet domain registration services from a competitor. The cost charged by Verisign for these services is 3x higher than the competitor I currently use. This is vis-a-vis comparable to the practice of "slamming" in the telephone industry. The letter prominantly features the words "Expiration Notice" and asks for my credit card information in order to "renew my services".

I feel this to be deceptive as the services through their competitor are *not* expired and I would not be "renewing" services with Verisign, as I have not conducted business with them regarding the services provided by their competitor.

I urge you to investigate this to determine if Verisign is illegally using deceptive advertising and misleading consumers into purchasing services from them that are not needed and more costly than their competitors.

If you feel the same, perhaps you should complain as well. I suspect the USPS may be more responsive than ICANN ( but that's just a hunch ).

• Any otherwise mailable matter that reasonably could be considered a bill, invoice, or statement of account due, but is in fact a solicitation for an order, is nonmailable unless it conforms to 1.2 through 1.6. A nonconforming solicitation constitutes prima facie evidence of violation of 39 USC 3005. Compliance with this section does not avoid violation of Section 3005 if any part of the solicitation or any information with it misrepresents a material fact to the addressee (e.g., misleading the addressee about the identity of the sender of the solicitation or about the nature or extent of the goods or services offered may be a violation of Section 3005).
• 1.2 Required Disclaimer
  The solicitation must bear on its face either the disclaimer required by 39 USC 3001(d)(2)(A) or the notice: THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER. The statutory disclaimer or the alternative notice must be displayed in conspicuous boldface capital letters of a color prominently contrasting with the background against which it appears, including all other print on the face of the solicitation and that are at least as large, bold, and conspicuous as any other print on the face of the solicitation but not smaller than 30-point type (see Exhibit 1.2).
• 1.3 Surrounding Matter
  The notice or disclaimer required by this section must be displayed conspicuously apart from other print on the page immediately below each portion of the solicitation that reasonably could be construed to specify a monetary amount due and payable by the recipient. It must not be preceded, followed, or surrounded by words, symbols, or other matter that reduces its conspicuousness or that introduces, modifies, qualifies, or explains the required text, such as "Legal Notice Required by Law."

If you get a solicitation that looks like a bill, and you don't see those disclaimers in huge type, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

If you look at the image of the letter you will see that they blocked out the address, but not the postnet barcode.

To my eyes the POSTNET barcode looks like this to me : (where t represents a tall bar and s a short one)

t ttsss sstst sstts stsst tssst ssstt ssstt sstst ststs sstst ststs tssts t

This decodes into 0 2 3 4 7 1 1 2 5 2 5 8.

which is ZIP+4+2: 02347-1125-25 Checksum 8

The way the POSTNET checksum value is given by (10-((Summation of all digits) Mod 10)). The total of our digits 02347112525 = 32... (10-(32 mod 10)) = 8. The checksum is valid and our decoding is probably successful.

Next step... head to the usps website to find that 02347 is in Lakeville, MA. Mind you, a ZIP+4+2 code in most cases is a unique address. However, the USPS is not going to make this easy for us.

Lets try our friend Google instead... searching for 02347-1125 give us the personal web site of Steve Douillette.

But how can we be sure that this is the letter Mr. Douillette recieved and diligently forwarded to godaddy to warn other customers? I wonder where Steve registered his domain name steve-d.com.

If you want to be anonymous, please be careful with what you post online.

See: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFra udComplaint.htm

As for unsolicited postal mail, this search at Google will get you started.

Instead of ICANN, I would suggest contacting your State Attorney General's office for deceptive trade practices, or the Postmaster General for mail fraud. ICANN can't prosecute these scumbags the way they should be.

If you have already paid this, you could complain at the FTC, too.

Return Receipt: This provides the sender with proof of delivery. A return receipt can be purchased for mail sent COD, Express Mail, insured for more than $50, registered, or certified. The return receipt shows who signed for the item and the date that it was delivered. Unless prohibited by law, the return receipt also provides the delivery address if the address on the mailpiece is no longer correct.

As compared with...
Certified mail provides proof of mailing and delivery of mail. The sender receives a mailing receipt at the time of mailing, and a record of delivery is maintained by the Postal Service. A return receipt to provide the sender with proof of delivery can also be purchased for an additional fee.

Certified makes no mention of a signature or correct delivery.

Here's the source page.

Certified mail provides proof of mailing and delivery of mail. The sender receives a mailing receipt at the time of mailing, and a record of delivery is maintained by the Postal Service. A return receipt to provide the sender with proof of delivery can also be purchased for an additional fee. Certified mail service is available only for First-Class Mail or Priority Mail. Certified mail is not available for international mail, nor does it offer insurance protection. For valuables and irreplaceable items, use Express Mail or insured or registered mail.

[Certified Mail]
Certified mail provides proof of mailing and delivery of mail. The sender receives a mailing receipt at the time of mailing, and a record of delivery is maintained by the Postal Service. A return receipt to provide the sender with proof of delivery can also be purchased for an additional fee. Certified mail service is available only for First-Class Mail or Priority Mail. Certified mail is not available for international mail, nor does it offer insurance protection. For valuables and irreplaceable items, use Express Mail or insured or registered mail.

See Certified Mail

So via US certified mail, the USPS should have a record of delivery. When suing someone for that much money, you'd have to be an idiot not to pay the extra for confirmation of delivery-- but given that we're talking about corporate lawyers I wouldn't rule that out.

But the idea is already flying. According to Netflix they've been in business since 1998 and currently have 500,000 subscribers. That's over $10 million a month in subscription revenue, assuming subscriptions average out to the $20/3-movie level. In fact, since there's only one lower level (2 movies a month at $14) but three upgrades available, they most likely average higher than that.

Of course, since Netflix is privately held, we don't know what their bottom line looks like. But they're also not exposed to anti-dot.com feeling in the stock markets.

I'd say that they're well past the point of a new dot.com idea with no proven business plan, and pretty well established. Will they last long-term? Who'd want to predict that? Of course, they're potentially vulnerable to rate hikes by the USPS, but they've got plenty of allies to help them lobby against extreme ones, and I'm sure their number-crunchers have run plenty of scenarios to plan for higher postage costs.

Inquisition this, you science dinks! --The Tick

Um, cause they get money from advertising. And they have worked with competitors before. Just look at Airborne

• Success Sells.

  For over 200 years, the United States Postal Service is the brand that has been built on trust and service.

  Now we're selling our unique space. Think of us as your Multi-channel Communications Service. Marketers can get the visibility and reach through the Postal Ad Network.

  Place your big message on our trucks, collection boxes and even in our postal facilities. Or small space ads on our stamp packages and banner ads on our website.

There's opposition to the USPS selling out like this.

A quick look at http://www.usps.com/financials/ shows repeated influxes of Federal funds to keep them afloat.

I would also expect to find that, like with other "low cost" agencies, the costs of buildings, sallaries, retirements, and the like, simply do not exist since the buildings, people, or other such things are paid for on other balance sheets.

Do be aware, Mr. Coward, that it is still illegal to use any other service than the USPS for "first class mail" as defined by law. People/Companies have been prosecuted and fined for such "over-use" of services like FedEx and UPS.

Were the USPS sold for scrap, it wouldn't bother me at all if the resultant company chose to allow advertizing. It is only when the government monopoly on force is used to promote private, for-profit enterprises that I object.

Bob-

But the PO does sell ads, see? And it's probably to recoup income lost because you gave up snailmail several years ago, so you should only blame yourself.

... what were / are government agencies' policies on advertising?

The USPS today introduced their new Recycle Direct service, which allows mail recipients to redirect unwanted mail directly to a recycling center. While all first-class mail will still be delivered, customers can now choose whether to receive third-class bulk mail in each of the following categories:

• Newspaper-format flyers not mailed in envelopes.
• All material addressed to "occupant"
• Personally addressed material mailed at commercial third-class rates.
• Personally addresed material mailed at non-profit third class rates.

The postal customer's preferences will be checked during automated mail sorting, and the rejected mail will be shipped in bulk to paper recycling plants for pulping. Revenue from the recycled paper will pay for the program.

All residential mail recipients will receive a postcard announcing the program, with checkboxes to indicate which categories of mail they wish to accept. Sending back this card will inform the USPS of the recipient's mail preferences. Mail recipients' preferences will be stored by the USPS in the National Change of Address database. Sorting equipment has been using this database for years to automatically redirect mail after changes of address. The new preference system thus fits into existing mail processing.

Bulk mailers will be able to cleanse their mailing lists using the existing USPS service for deleting undeliverable addresses from mailing lists. Use of this service by bulk mailers is optional, but failure to use it will result in bulk discards at the originating postal facility.

Representatives of the postal union lauded the program. "We're tired of delivering stuff people don't want. The FedEx and UPS people don't have to do that, and so they don't get the hostility we do.", one said.

Theoretically, but you have to follow all kinds of regulations to do so:

http://new.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.pdf

Beer probably does not contain enough alcohol to count as a flammable liquid, but depending on the kind container you send it in (bottles, cans, etc...) you may be required to seal your beer inside plastic bags or foam padding.

They will sell it by the bulk apparently for top dollars to anyone (who can pay that top dollar) who needs to keep track of people moving around.

Wrong! The USPS does not sell NCOA information anymore. It provides the database to a select groups of licensees, who, in turn, provide "address correction" services to mailers.
For more information, hop on over to USPS's webpage on this

USPS Priority Shipping is now handled by FedEx.

From what I read, USPS ships some - but not all - Express, Priority, and First Class parcels on FedEx planes. Here is a news release announcing the partnership.

USPS also has a service they call Airborne@Home which partners with Airborne Express. With this service, Airborne acts as a courier service, picking your package up and dropping it off at a post office.

Therefore - if you ship a package with Airborne@Home, you could end up getting Airborne to ship your package with FedEx. Weird.

USPS Priority Shipping is now handled by FedEx.

From what I read, USPS ships some - but not all - Express, Priority, and First Class parcels on FedEx planes. Here is a news release announcing the partnership.

USPS also has a service they call Airborne@Home which partners with Airborne Express. With this service, Airborne acts as a courier service, picking your package up and dropping it off at a post office.

Therefore - if you ship a package with Airborne@Home, you could end up getting Airborne to ship your package with FedEx. Weird.

paypalsucks.com has quite a few horror stories dealing with paypal. Stories of paypal freezing people's accounts, well... after just checking it, it seems like they have taken a good number of them down from pressure from PayPal's lawyers. In any event never have more money in paypal then you could afford to loss. Paypal is not a FDIC member, thus if the company goes under, decides to freeze your account, are any other number of wrong actions, you could simply be screwed. Always send money to the seller via the US postal service, if the deal goes bad you can file a mail fraud complaint against them with the usps, with paypal.. well... good luck.
Kenny

I get junk mail. I get spam. Personally, if I had to choose one or the other, I'll go with the junk mail any day.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that, for the recipient, junk mail is free. It may not be wanted, but I don't have to pay $20+ for the privledge to download it.

Secondly, there is an appreciable cost for the advertiser to send junk mail, while a spammer only needs an internet account. The fact that the advertiser needs to worry about costs means that they'll be more careful with who to send the advertising to. I don't think I've ever gotten junk mail, for instance, that wasn't in English.

If you get suckered into some shady deal through spam (bogus contests, pyramid schemes), about all you can do is ask their ISP nicely to please remove their account. If you get suckered into something similar through junk mail, the USPS has their very own law enforcement arm to hunt people like that down and prosecute them.

And speaking of postal laws, there are legal limits to what unsolicited mail can advertise. I can't count the amount of spam I get for sex sites, while the closest I've gotten to unsolicited pornographic junk mail was the ol' Victoria's Secret catalog (and even then I think it was addressed to the former occupant).

So, even though junk mail may kill the rain forests and is aided by the USPS itself, I still find it infinitely better than the spam that even now flods my e-mail boxes.

It's because it's too easy to send an email. Representatives don't have the time to go through 100's of emails a day and see peoples opinions, they need the peoples input to be filtered so only the important messages get through. Snail mail takes more effort to send and thus the person sending it is more likely to spend more time expressing theirs and others opinions.

It only takes a second to send a worthless email saying "SSSCA SuXoRs!", but if you take the time to write out a paper letter and post a stamp on it and mail it out, you are probably going to spend more time writing what you think.

Also, sending it with restricted delivery or a return reciept will make it stand out more from the other mails that get sent in.

Given the current events out there, I find it doubtful this technology will succeed. Not only is this technology inherently dangerous, but you will not be allowed to travel on a plane with these devices, not be allowed to ship these devices, and not be allowed to even stow them in your luggage when you travel.

They're simply too easy to be altered/overheated for destructive purposes.