Monday, January 10, 2011

It's 'Critical' for Commercial Mailers

With the Postal Service’s new Critical Mail service, recipients can indeed judge the contents by the packaging.

A new Shipping Services offering for commercial customers, Critical Mail is designed for time-sensitive documents and items such as event tickets, identification cards, and high-value direct mail.

An expedited product with a 1- to 3-day delivery target, Critical Mail provides customers with tracking and free Delivery Confirmation. Additional services such as insurance and Signature Confirmation also are available.

Customers must be Priority Mail Commercial Plus mailers and also must commit to a minimum volume to qualify for Critical Mail.

USPS is charging one price — $3.50 for automated letters and $4.25 for automated flat-sized envelopes — for delivery to all destination zones regardless of weight.

Critical Mail must be processed with automated First-Class Mail, and the pieces must be scanned — the same as all Delivery Confirmation mailpieces. Also, customers must use USPS-supplied envelopes for Critical Mail, which are available free of charge.

Pieces with postage applied may be placed in a collection box, picked up by a carrier, or entered through a Business Mail Entry Unit.

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