Small firms cope with postal rate increase

NEW YORK – When postal rates go up on May 14, many small business owners will be looking for ways to save on their mailing costs. Many will switch to e-mail and other high-tech methods, while others will opt for smaller envelopes or thinner packages.

And some will take more drastic steps – such as abandoning higher-cost, low-margin parts of their businesses.

The postal rate change that will send the cost of a first-class stamp up 2 cents to 41 cents will also make it more expensive for businesses to send most of their letters and packages. Evan Bloom, who co-owns a Sir Speedy printing franchise in Westbury, N.Y., said that while in the past the U.S. Postal Service based its prices on weight and size, now thickness of a letter or package is being thrown into the mix.

He noted, for example, that a business sending out a letter with a complimentary pen to a prospective customer has only had to worry about the weight of the package. But as of May 14, the thickness of such an envelope will figure into the cost because the pen will make it harder for the package to be sorted.

Bloom said many companies will be able to save on postage costs by using different size envelopes or making smaller mailings. But, he said of the increase, “there’s no way to avoid it entirely.”

He expects his clients to do what his company has already been doing to contain its own costs – culling mailing lists to target the best sales prospects. “It makes me think more in detail about how I’m mailing, whether it will reach the people we need to,” Bloom said.