I’ve volunteered tow work some extra hours at my night job (delivering pizza for a major national chain) by distributing coupons to homes in our deliver area. Normall we call this process “door hanging,” as we hang coupons on homeowners’ doors rather than putting them in mailboxes, since that’s illegal and all.
However, this month’s batch of coupons is different. On the reverse of each coupon, in the upper right-hand corner, is a stamp-sized box that reads,
*where “N” is a digit.
I reasoned that this means that each coupon is now a postage pre-paid piece of mail. IOW, it’s OK for me to put them in mailboxes, since the USPS has already gotten its money, and I’m not screwing the USPS out of any business by making unfair use of homeowners’ mailboxes.
Not so, sez my boss.
[ul]
[li]What with 9/11, anthrax and pipe-bombs, it’s illegal for any person other than the homeowner (or his/her designee) or the mailman/-woman to put stuff into the mailbox.[/li][li]The free postage only applies in Indianapolis (we’re in Springfield, IL).[/li][li]The USPS doesn’t get its money until the mail is processed through regular channels. That is to say, the corporate office didn’t pay in advance for the postage; they get billed for it as the mail is processed.[/li][/ul]
So who is right?
[QUOTE]
Originally posted by rastahomie *
[ul][li]What with 9/11, anthrax and pipe-bombs, it’s illegal for any person other than the homeowner (or his/her designee) or the mailman/-woman to put stuff into the mailbox.[]The free postage only applies in Indianapolis (we’re in Springfield, IL).The USPS doesn’t get its money until the mail is processed through regular channels. That is to say, the corporate office didn’t pay in advance for the postage; they get billed for it as the mail is processed.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE]
[ol][li]It has nothing to do with 9/11. The inside of the mailbox belongs to the Postal Service. The only people allowed in there are postal workers and the person(s) who live at that address (or their designees).[]There is no such thing as “free postage.” These items are marked in such a way as to allow them to be mailed as bulk mail. To mail bulk mail, you sort it by ZIP code, bundle it acording to Postal Service rules, and deliver it to a post office. Where it’s going matters not. You have to have a permit to do bulk mailings; that is the number indicated on the “postmark.”[]Postage is assessed when the bulk mail bundle is delivered to the post office. I believe they can bill you, or you can pay then and there. Either way, they get their money when it’s mailed.[/ol][/li]Hope this helps.
rastahomie, while this is a little bit unrelated to your OP, you do seem interested in doing “the right thing” when delivering your flyers, so…
…be aware that in many communities (such as mine here in Michigan), not observing posted “No Handbills” types of signs is illegal, and could result in the chain being fined (or possibly you personally!). Just to be safe, you may avoid the “No Soliciting” (or “No Salesmen”) signs, too. Here in Warren they’re two very separate parts of the city code, but in other communities they may mean the same thing.