MRB was sent by snail mail

The reason you got yours so fast is that you renewed AFTER the mailing house did their mass mailing. Your order was handled on an individual basis by LVA.

MRB arrived 1-19 Ohio

Sounds right as my subscription runs out around the 6th of January every year. I just renew then.

Thanks for the info!

Still nothing.

nothing here in Wisconsin

I received my MRB 08/Jan/11- and it was part of the mass mailing. It arrived intact and undamaged. Also, once the mail is dropped off at the post office the LVA has no control as to when the MRB will be delivered. The LVA does not control the delivery of mail. If there is a problem with delivery, the US Postal Service should be notified.

In a way, the LVA does control when the MRB will be delivered. The question posed was why was the MRB sent by standard mail. This is the slowest delivery method for the postal service.

Mass mailing of this type could have been by Express, First Class or Standard mailing services. Express mail is definitely impractical due to the cost factor. The piece weighed about 2.5 ounces. The choices were:

First Class: At the mailing/delivery office, it is out on the day of receipt during window hours. The same is true on the processing plants. The cost if handled per individual piece is 78 cents. In a mass mailing (bulk rate by the postal service), the rate per piece is further reduced (less than 78 cents) depending on how it is sorted by the mailer. Delivery from time of receipt to time of delivery is from 1-4 days.

Standard Mailing: This is the cost saving measure for businesses/organizations at the profit or non-profit rates. This is great if time is not a factor or for local mass mailing. There is a very large savings if finally calculated per piece. Based on the delivery of my MRB, presorted standard mailing was used. Handling is very slow since they are processed if they have time any where along the route. Ground transportation is used.

My point was at P&H of 3.50 per piece, first class could have been used. There is another thing that could have been done to have further reduced their costs. The envelope could have had a preprinted postage indicia on their preprinted envelope. There was a standard mail STAMP which required the mailer to individually place it on each envelope.

I will copy and paste a reply on another thread from our lovely Jenaphir where someone griped about paying 3.50 for shipping where the stamp was 78 cents.



its already been stated, but i am going to reiterate:

something that has a postage stamp of $.78 did not cost only 78 cents to mail.

there is the envelope and the cost of paying a person a salary to stuff them.

now if you want to sit back and do the math to calculate how long it takes to stuff an envelope vs. a minimum wage hourly rate, also take into consideration other costs of running a business, such as how much that company paid that employee for health insurance, unemployment insurance, etc etc etc.

dont forget to include the cost of getting the envelopes in the price. when i sold records on ebay, it would cost me $50 for delivery of boxes to mail them in. that was in addition to the cost of the boxes.

so basically, no. you are not getting a refund.

Loydthelover: I do not understand the relationship of your posting to this thread. I have not disputed the handling portion of the mailing of the MRB. My point was that PRESORTED BULK MAIL was used.

Read carefully what I first posted. “Why was the MRB mailed using the cheapest rate by the USPS which is presorted standard mail? “ I then stated that First Class Mail would only have been 78 cents and we paid 3 dollars to have it mailed. (later discovered it was 3.50). I know there are handling costs. I’ve handled bulk letter/flat mailing for both in and out of the post office for many years. My point was that based on what we paid, First Class postage would not have been that much more and very appropriate for customers located nation wide.

If anyone received the MRB with a 78 cents postage, it was not sent by bulk mail. It was sent First Class individually. According to Sue’s posting above, First Class mail was used for those who renewed after the mass mailing. Since my MRB was by presorted standard rate, that is what I believed was the method used for the mass mailing.

Re read my posting just prior to yours. I do not care how much it would have cost to stuff or handle the envelopes. I described the possible choices of mailing. Any knowledgeable bulk business mailer would NOT pay 78 cents to mail a first class piece. Since the majority of the MRB’s was mailed presorted, they could have gone at a reduced presorted FIRST CLASS rate (versus standard rate) and probably about 60 cents per piece.

What has Jennifer posting got to do with this thread? I DID NOT DISPUTE THE 3.50 FEE OR ASK FOR A REFUND. I still have my complete 2010 MRB and now the 2011, which I probably will not use. My question on why was it sent by standard mail was not answered. I thought the information I provided would better serve the customers in future mailings and hopefully, improve customer service.

I am surprised it made it on Thursday. The envelope was not sealed just flapping in the breeze. Well it's here.

Terry