Category: Uncategorized

LetterStream is paying very close attention to the Coronavirus situation and is meeting and taking new actions daily.

At this point, we are still fully operational but we are reducing the number of active employees working at peak times in order to increase “social distancing” for our team.  And while we expect minimal impact, we do know that the amount of mail we can get out the door the “same day” it arrives is likely to be diminished.

Keep in mind that FedEx, Certified Mail, and Expedited mail will have the same priority as always and we believe we will continue to hit those targets.  The change will be in USPS First-class, NonProfit and Standard/Marketing Mail where customers may be accustomed to loading a job at 3pm and seeing it mail the same day, without paying for expedited service.  We foresee this being the most impacted and highly unlikely for weeks ahead.

Here are some things you can do to help us stay in step with you about your mailing projects.  If you need the mail delivered quickly, we highly recommend our FedEx overnight and 3-Day options.  If you absolutely need your mail processed quickly by LetterStream, pay to have your job expedited through rush or expedited services in the shopping cart.  If you just wish your mail would go out faster, I’d recommend trying to load your jobs earlier in the day. Lastly, please anticipate that delays are going to be occurring all around us and all around you.  Please work on plans to compensate for the new normal so that your mailings will go out as needed.

As always, if you have any questions you can contact our awesome Customer Service team, all of whom are working remotely.  Also, our website provides a lot of good help, solutions, and information via the Help button floating in the lower right corner of the screen.

Thank you for your business, for your frequent kind words and for trusting us with your critical mail.  Stay well and hunker down.

Mark Your Calendars!

The proposed price changes that the United States Postal Service (USPS) filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) back in October, were approved. Starting January 26, 2020, these new prices will officially be in effect.

LetterStream prices will reflect the rate changes starting on Friday, January 24th at 5pm Arizona Time (6pm EST), so we recommend planning ahead and approving your mailings before the price increases are officially in effect.

As it goes every year, any job in our system that has been approved and paid for prior to 5pm on the 24th will have the old postage prices, even if we mail it on Monday the 27th.  Following is a list of postage changes for some of our primary products.

Here’s the list of items unchanged by the 2020 rates:

• First-Class stamps staying at $0.55
• First-Class Postcard Rate staying at $0.35
• Extra Ounces staying at $0.15 (for letters, not flats)
• Flat base rate staying at $1.00

And some items that are experiencing an increase, such as:

• International Rates going up from $1.15 to $1.20
• Certified Mail going up from $3.50 to $3.55
• Return Receipt going up from $2.80 to $2.85
• Electronic Return Receipt going up from $1.60 to $1.70
• Registered Mail going up from $12.40 to $12.60
• Flats Extra Ounces going up from $0.15 to $0.20

Sorry, this year we didn’t find any fees that went down for the products that we offer.

Click here to review the USPS press release for 2020 postage rates.
Click here to download and review the complete list of 2020 USPS rate changes.

We should remind you that LetterStream rarely raises our prices.  We simply increase our prices by the amount of the USPS rate increases, and you can expect the same this year as well.

Again, LetterStream will be implementing these changes on January 24^th, 2020 at 5 PM, so make sure you approve any jobs you can before the 24^th to get the old postage prices.

Santa isn’t the only one busy this Holiday season!

We all get sucked into the hustle and bustle of shopping, wrapping, ordering, and MAILING!

The USPS becomes Santa’s little helpers as they deliver about 2.5 million pieces of mail this week alone and about 800 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Years. (WBRZ)

When sending out letters and packages to family and friends and want them to make it to the desired location by the big day, to do so make sure you follow the USPS shipping deadlines schedule.

Dec. 18 – APO/FPO/DPO (except ZIP Code 093) USPS Priority Mail Express

Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail (including greeting cards)

Dec. 20 – First-Class Packages (up to 15.99 ounces)

Dec. 20 – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail

Dec. 21 – Priority Mail

Dec. 20 – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail

Dec. 22 – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail Express

Dec. 22 – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail Express

Dec. 23 – Priority Mail Express

If you want more information about these deadlines go to WBRC.com

Happy Holiday!

While the summer winds down in Arizona, the food pantries around the valley have depleted their stockpiles of bottled water and seek to replenish their inventories.  Brown Management, a longtime customer of LetterStream, participated in the Code Red water drive this year and invited us to join along.

Code Red is the name given to the annual water drive that the Phoenix Rescue Mission promotes in order to replenish their water supply.  The mission, operating in the Phoenix area, is committed to assisting families and individuals with their physical needs with a special focus on the homeless population and frail seniors.  Their drive collects water for distribution throughout the valley to prevent heat related deaths.  According to their website (www.phoenixrescuemission.com/) over 100 people die each year in Arizona as a result of excessive heat.

A special thanks goes out to Brown Management for inviting us to participate in this important local event.

The LetterStream team, as they often do, rallied around the task and filled two pickups full of bottled water.  When all tallied up, nearly 2,000 bottles were donated by the team.  We love that the LetterStream team can come together to complete all sorts of projects, not just those related to printing and mailing.

Thanks team!