Tag: USA

UPS – they did it again: UPS Stores revisits eBay Drop-Off model

Posted by | Jun 11, 2007 | |

It appears UPS Stores and Receller are testing an eBay consignment model. A search on eBay for List-Pack-Ship in “Title & Description” reveals auctions from List-Pack-Ship, a service with “several retail locations in the Chicago-land area at which you can sell your items on eBay using the easy List-Pack-Ship service.” The About Me page for “listpackship5608” shows a list of 20 UPS Stores that are participating in the service.

Receller launched in late 2005 to help consumers sell items on eBay. Consumers send Receller pictures, and a Receller Listing Coach calls them and guide them through the listing of the item using the consumer’s own eBay account. Receller charges USD 9.95 for an individual listing, exclusive of eBay fees, PayPal fees, or any other third-party fees.

Combining UPS Stores and Receller might look like this: a consumer drops off an item at a UPS Store location. The store staff takes pictures and sends the pictures to Receller. Receller lists it on eBay – this time using List-Pack-Ship User IDs, apparently.

UPS Stores had tried the eBay drop-off model previously, but in that iteration, the UPS Stores staff sent the item to AuctionDrop’s centralized processing center where it would be listed on eBay. With this new model, it looks like the item stays in the UPS Store – but still has the advantage of a centralized listing service.

We’ve been unsuccessful in touching base with a UPS Stores representative to get details on the List-Pack-Ship service, but will update this story as we learn more.

It’s not clear which eBay drop-off store model may be the winner – if there is one. But what is clear is that companies can’t stop trying to make it work.

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Research Shows that Mail is Still the Best Way to Reach Consumers

Posted by | Jun 11, 2007 | |

A recent survey completed by International Communications Research (ICR) revealed that even in today’s digital world, consumers clearly prefer mail over other communications vehicles such as e-mail for receiving new product information and offerings as well as confidential business communications, such as bank statements and financial reports.

The study, the fourth mail preference survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes since March 1999, found that the majority of consumers (73 percent) prefer mail for receiving new product announcements or offers from companies they do business with, as compared to 18 percent for e-mail. Mail was also preferred by 70 percent of respondents for receiving unsolicited information on products and services from companies with which they are not currently doing business.

For confidential communications such as bills, bank statements and financial reports, respondents overwhelmingly preferred mail (86 percent) as their channel of choice, as compared with 10 percent for e-mail. This response is virtually identical to the response in the 2004 survey, which also showed consumer preference for mail at 86 percent.

The survey also found that consumers are less likely to discard unopened mail (31 percent) – including new product brochures, catalogs or other advertising materials – than they are to discard unsolicited e-mails about new products (53.2 percent).

The survey also probed consumers on specific advantages they see in mail versus unsolicited e-mail and telephone calls. Compared with other communications channels, including e-mail and telephone, survey respondents found mail to be: Less intrusive — doesn’t interrupt other activities (45.3 percent); More convenient — can be saved and considered at leisure (40.2 percent); Less high-pressured — lets you consider your decision (30.2 percent); More descriptive — lets you picture the offer (22.7 percent); and More persuasive — encourages you to respond (12 percent).

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Fair offers easier route to passport

Posted by | Jun 9, 2007 | |

Lines for passports have been long and processing times slow. To offer some relief, the Tampa Post Office held a Passport Fair, providing a one-stop shop for international travelers.

Part of the backlog is due to new rules that require a passport for Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. Even with payment of an expedited fee, the wait time is up to four weeks. Routine processing takes up to ten weeks.

Passport photos were available for USD 15, and the Shriners provided hot dogs, fries, and pretzels.

Something else that’s making the new restrictions easier:. Because of the processing backlog, the State Department just relaxed the rules a bit, allowing travelers who have applied for a passport to go online and print out a confirmation. They can then use that receipt, along with a photo I.D., to travel to the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada through September 30th. After that, a passport will be required for those countries.

This is the second Passport Fair the USPS has held since the beginning of this year. They’ve both been a success, with hundreds of passport applications processed in four hours each day.

Right now, passport fees are USD 67, plus a USD 30 processing fee. It’s another USD 60 to have your passport expedited.

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Drop in U.S. first class mail deliveries

Posted by | Jun 9, 2007 | |

At its peak in 2001, the U.S. Postal Service delivered 103.7 billion pieces of first-class mail.

But as the Internet and cellular technologies continued to boom, that number of deliveries dwindled to 97.6 billion pieces last year.

The drop in first class mail deliveries has prompted the USPS to review each of their distribution facilities and, where necessary, combine facilities. The review recently included the local distribution center, which employs 137 people in its delivery and mail processing center. Roughly half of the employees work in the processing side of the plant.

The recently completed Area Mail Processing (AMP) study of the Zanesville outgoing processing center reveals that combining it with another facility would not improve mail delivery efficiency, so the McIntire Avenue site will remain intact.

The study looked at only the processing of single-piece first-class stamped mail. It looked at the center’s volume of that type of mail, the number of cancelations and the levels of sorting that goes on at the facility. There has been a 22 percent drop in single-pieces first-class stamped mail since 1998, according to Dubina.

The office serves as a sorting and distribution site and it also serves as a mailing center from where local carriers are based.

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USPS begins slim jim catalog testing

Posted by | Jun 8, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service last month began testing to develop better standards for letter-size booklets, also known as “slim jim” catalogs, simultaneously cautioning catalogers who may be considering switching to this format that the mailing standards for these pieces are likely to change.

As more catalogers may switch to the lower-priced format in light of the current rate increase, the agency is concerned that printers will need more precise mailing standards to avoid fabricating slim jims that would jam the agency’s delivery bar code sorters.

Slim jims measure up to 6.125 inches by 11.5 inches. The USPS considers them folded self-mailers and booklets. If they weigh 3 ounces or less and are tabbed, they are the largest size qualifying for letter-rate postage, which is significantly lower than the recently increased Standard Mail flats postage.

The USPS has said there are not many slim jims in the system now and that, when they do appear in USPS facilities, postal employees frequently put them through the more robust AFSM-100 flats sorter as opposed to the delivery bar code sorters, which handle letter mail. However, to get the lower rates, they will have to be able to go through the delivery bar code sorter machine.

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